《The Return of the Universal Tamer.》


 Chapter 1- In the beginning.

    All was nothing and all was covered in the pitch black of darkness known as the universe. Existence had not known itself nor had it the ability to recognize anything. Such was the pitiful state of things before creation; a time with no meaning which had barrenness as the fruit of its long suffering. However, the possibility of something having come from the depths of the void to awaken life was a mystery that could not be easily solved. Why had the insignificance of darkness decided to become an entity? What was the purpose of life being created and to what end? This was the mystery behind the Sentient One, the apotheosis of god. Surprisingly, the mesmerizing being''s origin didn''t carry the most intrigue in the circles of curiosity, but what stood out was the reason behind him creating such a dreadful world. The world known as Reverie.


    When the Sentient One made his appearance in the infinite darkness, as if he had flicked a switch, the great dissipation of black was like a flood of warm and vibrant colours, devastating its intended formless victim. The emptiness was thus filled with rich lustrous galaxies, constellations and diverse solar systems. The universe was alive; the corpse had been risen from the dead. The birth had been like an influx of electrical currents, circulating to all the recesses of space. The Sentient One had come and his intention was to create life. The life that he had created was man, on a planet that he called Reverie, for it was his dream to extinguish the emptiness of space. Regardless of his innovation, the course of time would eventually show that man would fail, but in the end, his response to their failure would greatly affect the outcome of the human race. An outcome that greatly changed his original plan for man.


    When the fauna and flora had established itself on Reverie, an unexpected disgruntlement from a section of the human population began to spread like a virus. These ungrateful specimens claimed that mankind was a flawed and imperfect creation. "We do not have wings to fly like the eagles, the speed of the cheetah nor the natural ability to live under water like the fish in the sea!" was what they shouted in tumultuous indignation. Was man asking to be redesigned by god? This was the question that probed the Sentient One''s mind and made him wonder if he had failed at creating such a marvellous spectacle called man. Was making them in his own genetic image not enough? Free will and aspirations in a mortal body proved to him that man was an insatiable creature that was driven by curiosity for curiosity''s sake. This prompted him to descend onto Reverie to hear his creation make its demands, and what they demanded was simple; to have the same spellbinding natural gifts that every animal species had. A humanoid being that was part animal and part man, bearing the strength, aptitude and myriad abilities of these creatures at his disposal. The Sentient One granted them their wish and made this particular section of humanity evolve into Animorphs: part man and part animal, with a certain level of control over their base animal instincts. This ended the bitter bickering, but unfortunately, this also created an inequality on mother Reverie. Those who had remained faithful and had not questioned their creator''s design were now inferior to the insatiable ones who had demanded an evolution from their god. The sentient being knew that there needed to be a balance of power, having created man with the ability to tell evil from good, he knew that his newly evolved beings would eventually oppress his faithful people. Thus, he began the instilling of the taming power. The section that did not complain was given the power to tame the latter: enhanced physical strength and durability, and the power to dominate any animal''s will. This counter measure had sweetened the pot, but his miscalculation brooded pandemonium he did not for see coming. A people created to coexist became immersed in the elixir of strife, the former claiming to be the faithful ones of god and the latter being the ones who asked god for more because they believed that it was within their rights to do so. This discrepancy caused the world of Reverie to segment itself: the taming man on his own and the Animorphs on their own turf. Elitist and narcissistic ideologies began to surface as each faction began to conquer the world. Man was always driven to climb mountains, advance science, fashion and propriety, and after conquering these obstacles, man would naturally try to conquer himself. Hegemony in the food chain of life was as exhilarating as forbidden pleasures, a sensation of insurmountable power with a tang of euphoria. This had now become the state of things; the time for them to conquer each other had come, the first Reverie war.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    It would have been surmised that it was man versus man at that time, but it was a fierce exchange of blows between extraordinary individuals of differing races. It was man''s curse to spark pandemonium and to bludgeon the planet with the hammer of anarchy, destroying whatever beautiful things god had given them. The mutilated corpses and mass desolation reigned in the land during that era, changing the very fabric of life into a tragic tale. It soon became a twisted portrait ravished by a fiend with ominous intent. The smell of blood had become like incense in the air; it engulfed all regions of Reverie and kept on perpetuating insanity. The Sentient One watched this massacre in silence, enduring the mental strain that deeply affected his perception of his creation. The manner at which his own creation did wicked things to each other could not fully quantify his repugnance towards them. It was a sickness that affected his mind and body, the kind of sickness that would kill a man, but as a god, he had to bare all these atrocities. He had to witness the monstrosity known as man destroy himself. In that moment, the Sentient One was deeply engrossed with sadness: he had crafted a poor product, an establishment to fill the vacant form of space that they instead filled with mayhem and ultimately, killing the planet with anguish. The thought of eradicating humanity crossed his mind and also did the idea to remove their free will, which drove them to disobey him and made them follow paths that lead them to certain doom. As he delved into deep thought, each idea echoed like a cacophony of explosions that gave an impression that the end of Reverie was nigh. Was the Sentient one going to destroy his child? The idea of the apocalypse was the most prevalent amongst the inhabitants of Reverie. The prophets spoke of the end and they deserved it. Every single life form deserved to die, but something totally peculiar occurred. The Sentient One disappeared and left man to his own vices! Though this was a completely shocking turn of events, he didn''t leave without any final remarks.


    "Mankind, you have failed me as my people and have accumulated wickedness as your loot, but I will send one who will live amongst you and tame you strays. I will send the one who will tame you rabid animals, for you''re a people drawn to sin and self-destruction. His appearance will be my return!"


    The god abandoned his creation and went to the far recesses of the unexplored universe. Fear and mystery was instilled in Reverie, curiosity and perplexity at the same time. The Reverie war eventually ended in favour of the human tamers, but the casualties on both sides were the ultimate grievous collateral. A new order of life was eventually established and civilization reigned supreme, but what panged the minds of the people of Reverie the most was the unknown return of the Sentient One and the appearance of the one who would tame them all, the Universal Tamer.

 Chapter 2-My name is Kudzai Mhike

    The present day was a pleasant era, well sculpted with the appearance of a cosmopolitan and bustling modern city. It was the true definition of fine engineering and exquisite architectural appeal. The city of the current era was unfortunately burdened with constant overcast and intermittent rains and at times, heavy storms. However, though nature had given it the cold shoulder, the city thrived on serenity and a socioeconomic stability that even had those considered dirt poor by propriety''s standards to be plump and scarce of starvation. This was the loot from the past wars, the emblem of the fruit of their labour. It was a city known as Sky Colossus, a city bound in a peninsula with thriving naval activities and rich marine life. It was the central intelligence of a federation of 4 nations that called themselves the Tamerians, for they had tamed their enemies and obstacles of the past. Such was the establishment of the victors of the old war, a victory they relished with gluttonous tongues.


    The accolades of the forefathers of this city did not engulf the mind of Kudzai Mhike, the 14 year old with dreams of becoming a renowned film maker, free from his father''s intransigent set path for his life. As one destined to be involved in the military, taking over from his father, he wished to allude such a dreaded fate. Little did Kudzai know that his exposition into existence was meant neither for his father''s aspirations nor for his passion for the arts. The world on the other hand had bigger plans for him and soon he would realize that life had cultivated him for greater conquests. Conquests he would only achieve through his own personal journey as an adolescent in Sky Colossus.


    Kudzai lived at the out skirts of the inner city, in an area close to the peninsula shores, but not remotely detached from town life. He was the son of a vice admiral, and thus his house reflected the setup that would be expected from a military family. Kudzai''s home was like a fortress: imposing walls encompassed the vicinity like a dot inside a massive square. There were gun men posted on each corner of the walls, the kind that gave the impression that they would shoot first, no questions asked. High calibre anti-tank turrets were all allocated to each corner of the wall. Tower lights and a few military personnel did their rounds, guarding and patrolling the Mhike estate, an element that made the house feel like a facility than an actual home. This excessiveness was a product of Kudzai Mhike''s father''s insatiable desire to have his home secure and protected. It was a commendable quality, but one that went beyond reasonable limits. The outlying out posts that were 100metres away from the main house did not do well to ease the already set intimidating atmosphere that the well-armed men gave at the gate: RPGs were displayed with no shame and heavy arsenal was flaunted outwardly as if they were at a gun expo. These were all now nonentities to Kudzai who was brought up in this estranged environment. His relationship with the patrol officers was no different from how anyone from a normal home interacted with their gardener; it was purely not a spectacle in his eyes. His house on the other hand was quite picturesque, a beautiful mansion that to his mother''s credit, blended well with the jar head tone, but still looked like a cutting edge design fit for wealthy people. The lavish balconies with uniquely designed banisters that had ancient Greek inscriptions with limestone and marble being its key components, was without a doubt, spellbinding. The air conditioners were mounted near sections of the walls that were close to windows. The swimming pool was covered by a black fibre net, showing emphasis on how house hold order was the norm at the Mhika estate. All the hostile and exquisite household features of the home gave off an ambivalent vibe, but this was not the case for those who resided in the house.


    Kudzai had a consistent habit of waking up at 5:00am for his usual light work outs in his bedroom. His brother, Tendai, usually woke up about the same time to pump some steel, a tradition that made them bond as siblings. Kudzai had the consistent routine that involved:


    3X100push ups


    3X200situps


    3X100tricep dips


    3X50squats with dumbbells


    It was something he grew accustomed to, having been raised by a father who believed that inversion drills were a good pass time for an 8 year old. The sweat drenched his body; however, his natural musk didn''t give off a repugnant odour, something he had to owe to his genes. After he completed the task, he began to stretch his muscles at the same time as he heard his brother''s grunts and subtle moans due to benching 140kgs. It always puzzled Kudzai that his brother could do a full weight lifting workout session without having anyone place the weights on him in the reposed bench pressing position. The fact that Tendai did 5 sets of 30reps, working on his chest, shoulder, biceps, triceps and 180kgs on squats, 250kgs on dead lifts, made him feel so mortified. His brother was an evenly toned muscular athlete with somehow an austere but pleasant face, almond eyes, a chiselled nose and a high and tight haircut which was relaxed. Tendai didn''t do exercises side by side with his little brother for he feared that his prowess would greatly belittle the youngster. Kudzai''s workout session to him was purely light to him. Nevertheless, he still admitted that even an adult would have a hard time doing his brother''s 900 sit ups everyday routine. After cooling down, Kudzai, the ebony, and light in complexion 5.9 feet tall, toned, and athletic boy, left the spacious corner of his room that made any type of body workouts applicable. His curly combed black perm had always given him the pretty boy look, which his brother at times jeered as effeminate for a son of a vice Admiral. Kudzai barely took the jokes seriously and always replied, "Girls these days like metrosexual men." Tendai was always left speechless upon hearing such a defence and blamed it on the advent of popular culture. As he moved from his corner, he dropped his 6kg dumbbells on top of his bed, which was against the wall on the right side of the room. His room, which he shared with his older brother, was a rectangular prism with two opposite adjoining rooms, one being the bathroom and the other being the fun room where all the gym equipment, home theatres, and video games were allocated. The man cave had pictures of Reverie''s finest movie stars, a hobby of Kudzai who had a desire to flood the walls with blockbuster trivia. The fitted wooden shelves and ledges on Kudzai''s side had lots of fiction based books and non-fiction film and acting books. These things were complemented with trophies and awards for sports like fencing, swimming, primary school gymnastics, basketball, athletics, and shooting. These were extra-curricular activities he cherished, but he was wise enough to not over indulge in all forms of sports, as he knew all too well the importance of balance. His side of the wall also had pictures of him and his brother fishing, wearing swimming trunks at a barbecue after a swim and one of him flexing his once flabby muscles as a kid alongside his brawny brother. These were memories he cherished and were the things that made him smile whenever he was in a bad mood. In contrast to his beloved interests, his brother''s bed, which was directly opposite his own, leaving a valley like space in the middle, had a totally contrasting aura compared to his side. The ledges and the shelves had his car keys, a Ford GT40 to be exact, and a box of cards, which was a facade for it really contained condoms. Weird tokens and statues from other federation countries that Tendai got from travelling around the world and trophies from sports like VR (Virtual Reality) hunting, rugby, athletics and tennis, were all fitted to his side of the room. Wallpapers of scantily dressed super models, fast cars of the present futuristic time and self-motivational wallpapers were common on Tendai''s side of the bed. The door to the hall way was close to Tendai''s bed, which was a translucent sliding screen door. It was always an issue when people entered without knocking for Tendai; he had to always deal with the morning jump scares from time to time, which disturbed his rest. Due to having been instilled with an appreciation for interior design by their mother, the plywood walls were varnished, the ceramic black and white tiles were complemented by the incandescent light bulbs. This was all the boys'' initiative. Their sense of style coming from their mother''s side and sense of order from their relentless father, in the end made their butler Morgan Freed feel as if he was of no use to them at all.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    "Brother you gotta teach me the secret to lifting planets," he said, as he trotted to the door, which could only show Tendai''s legs due to it being slightly open.


    "I told you that it¡¯s too early for you to do so, your bones still need to develop before you can even consider heavy stuff."


    "Come on, cut the crap, we both know that there is a secret to lifting such without using your taming abilities." he said, pushing the door wide open. Tendai had just completed his set, but unlike his young brother, he reeked of foul things after a workout. Kudzai ignored the foul stench and proceeded to converse with him.


    "Come on brother, real talk."


    "Since you insist, do you know why that comic book hero captain America is such an awesome hero?" asked Tendai, in a patronizing manner.


    "Because he beats people with a steel frisbee?"


    "No silly, he just took the ultimate steroid injection and became the man!" he said, chuckling at the absurdity of his remark. Kudzai couldn''t help but laugh.


    "Well brother I want to grow naturally and attain the strength without cheating."


    "My dear boy, um not telling you to get horse growth hormones, um telling you that since you''re eager to jump to my level, take supplements, and then become a monster. If you take that advice I honestly see you posing for Muscle magazine in a red speedo."


    "Always with the early morning addition of ''Tendai with the burns'', I thought you weren''t into drugs?"


    "It¡¯s an aid not a health hazard, take some when you now want to seriously lift planets... lift me up," he said, raising his hand for Kudzai to lift. Kudzai yanked him up, but was startled by the grip of his brother''s hand which had latched onto his hand, almost crushing his fingers.


    "Hey cave man, ease up on the grip."


    "Oh sorry about that," he said, releasing the grip once his body was upright, "but I have to admit though, it¡¯s the first day of school at St.Calteco high, and you exercise as if it¡¯s just another day. Aren''t you at least happy that you''re going to a mixed school?"


    "Um not gonna become a philanderer like dad, um gonna be different."


    "I know how you feel and I feel sorry for mom, but um not asking you to be a player, but have fun at school. At least we can forget about last year."


    "Don''t worry bro, I won''t give anyone a concussion at your old high school, I won''t let that happen again."


    "Hey that kid said some nasty stuff to you so you don''t have to feel bad if you didn''t know your own strength." he said, with a grin, showing no concern at all for the boy his brother punched at his former school. Kudzai realized that his brother would always be on his side not matter what, even if he felt responsible for having over exerted himself over something like giving his classmate a concussion.


    "Hey Tendai, dad had to go for that meeting and state security conference in the North federation. Do you have an idea when he is coming back?¡±


    "Probably in 2 weeks¡¯ time, I hope you''re not hoping to be engrossed in mischief."


    "Look who¡¯s talking, says the guy who had Melissa McCarthy butt naked in the house. You know that Barbara''s mental image of you is now messed up right?"


    "Okay, okay, um not a saint, but we can''t have two bad boys in the house, being genuinely good is your gambit."


    "If you say so boy scout. On another note...," he says, changing his tone from being jovial to something more meek and stoic, "Tendai, I know that in the past years we settled to change our destinies and to be free from dad''s iron clad rule and um happy that we have both decided to follow our passions and to strengthen our resolve. How far with your side of the plans bro?"


    Kudzai had struck a chord when he had begun to talk about the things that had personally strengthened their bonds as brothers. Both Kudzai and Tendai were sons of a well renowned war hero of the past war who was now ranked as vice Admiral in the navy. Their father was autocratic and patriarchal in the sense that he believed that his sons had to carry on his legacy: the Mhike military family hegemony. However, they had their own individual aspirations for life; Kudzai wanting to be a film maker and his brother wanting to venture into the IT and business management world. Regardless of their set goals, their father was of a contrary mind towards their beliefs. Though their father insisted on their involvement in the military, from a logical based stand point, their father wasn''t entirely wrong. For one, Kudzai and Tendai were groomed into a military and soldier like upbringing. Their father at one point made them live in a barrack for 6 months as part of their so called ''grooming''. Regardless of the number of the myriad award ceremonies, tours to dock yards and various military institutions they had grown up seeing, their aversion to their father''s plans lied not entirely on their individual desires but mostly on their mutual hatred for the man. To the world, he was a hero, but within closed doors, he had many disturbing skeletons that his immediate family only knew about.


    "Don¡¯t worry bro, with the money I made from my friend Matthew''s AI interface project, I can safely begin operation moving out. Even if dad bitches, he won''t be able to do anything about it because I would have made it on my own. He won''t use guilt or the same old ''you''re using my money'' line to confine me."


    "That¡¯s great bro, your words make me want to work hard," he says, gleefully with a hint of emotion, "I think we can prove the world wrong and follow our dreams." This made Tendai warm inside, seeing his brother support him without question, the definition of unconditional loyalty.


    "Well, the other part of the plan is me being loaded enough to take care of you and getting you to film school and whatever crazy things you want to do. Our father might be uncompromising, but if you work hard and I work hard we can make the dream come to life." The dream! The dream! It was always what they both wanted to achieve, the euphoria that came from believing and taking baby steps to achieving it. The dream was the only subject that drove Kudzai into an effeminate state of softness, for in his mind, his dreams were more real and larger than life itself. The small talk eventually digressed to girls, lewd talk and his favourite TV shows that he enjoyed watching with his brother. Music and video games were the last of what was discussed. The time spent on idle talk passed until it was almost 6:00am. It was about that time that Kudzai had to go take a bath and prepare for his first day at his new school. In form one he had gone to an all-boys boarding school that had made him constantly grapple with seniors who wanted to size him up by using seniority. This unfortunately ended with most of them being sent to the infirmary after a brutal beating. His last offense at his former school involved him dislodging another boy¡¯s jaw after punching him in the face for having said something offensive to him. He was expelled and got the beating of a life time from his father. This was now a new term for Kudzai and as he soaked himself in the warmth of the shower, washing away the grime and sweat, he had only positive prospects for his first day at school.

 Chapter 3-Moments away from the first day of school.

    Kudzai was prepped up and looking posh in his new school uniform. It was an assembly of nice fabrics on his body: a grey khaki short that was just above the knees, short sleeved white shirt, a grey vest, blue and grey striped blazer, grey socks that went just above the calf reaching the knees with gutters keeping hold of them and as well as his well-polished brogues. He was eating his breakfast in the kitchen, waiting for Morgan Freed, the butler, to make his appearance, but at the same time hoping to gobble his food quickly before having to attend to the car. The Mhike kitchen was like the crossroads to the other rooms and hallways in the house. It was quite centralized and had its own uniqueness. The kitchen was spacious having carcasses, base cabinets and fitted sledges and shelves for placing spices, powders and all sorts of cooking accessories. There was an under-counter and a table at the centre that had cub boards, drawers and all sorts of assortments. The table where Kudzai was had a granite and marble coating, which made it glossy to the point where Kudzai could see a clear reflection of himself. The furniture was complemented by a pink slate floor with a detailed and wonderful apparel like pattern that gave the room the right synergy. The chandelier on top was coated with diamond light holders and a golden shaft. The chairs in the kitchen which were only 4, placed on opposing sides of the table, were klismos chairs, the finest kind in Reverie. They had a vintage aura about them and reeked of elegance. As Kudzai devoured the last portion of his meal (only ever showing gentleman like etiquette in public such as leaving the leftover food untouched), his little sister, Barbara, who he had a 3 years age difference with came into the picture and said, "Good morning fart face."


    "Good morning golem from hell," he insulted her back, hoping to end the scuffle victoriously in one round, "I hope today Satan will give you breaks for being an active member of the golem society, your ugly features have been reflecting your hard work." Barbara was hurt by his sharp words and instantly broke into tears. She subsequently called for her mother to come aid her in her distress. Her crying was annoying and sounded like the screeching sounds of discord from the bowels of a scrap grinding factory. Shortly after the crying his mother came in and as usual he was given a smack on the head, the one that resembled manly hands and nothing remotely feminine.


    "Kudzai apologise to your sister and don''t ever call her a golem again!" Kudzai at first hesitated as he looked at his sister who had an oval shaped head, corn roles, slender body, squint eyes, purple dress, white stockings, and grey flats. She was slightly shorter than he was. Him and his sister had the usual sibling discrepancies based on the age bracket myth which had younger siblings believe that the lesser the age difference of the other, the more acceptable it was to disrespect them. Kudzai eventually succumbed to get it over and done with.


    "I am sorry Barbara for calling you a golem but next time don''t you ever call me a face fart again." His mother was annoyed by the response but was more concerned about getting to the car and driving Barbara to school.


    "I will deal with your sister''s foul mouth later..." she said, with her eyes drawn towards her daughter whose cunning plan to trouble her brother had turned against her, "but make sure you''re well prepared and don''t forget any off your books, you need to make a first good impression today so don''t go on punching boys senselessly."


    "Mum?" Kudzai reacted.


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. "It¡¯s just a cautionary so that you don''t become a ronnin boxer."


    "I will do my best mother." he said, with a visible expression of embarrassment. His mother abruptly got a hold of his head and kissed her son''s forehead and cheek, and then exited with her daughter, clutching her hand tightly to show her frustration towards her bad mouthing of Kudzai. Kudzai''s mother was a curvy and voluptuous woman, ripe with beauty even after bearing 5 children. Old age had caught up with her a bit but had not tarnished her fine bust and firm buttocks. From her hair to her physique, she was a woman in her forties who could give an unrefined 20 year old lady a run for her money. Though as much as she had an alluring figure, she had scars that had tarnished her gracious body, scars that were from only one source, domestic violence. This was something that Kudzai had to live with every day, ignoring her scars to not remind her of the wrath of Moses Mhike.


    Eventually Morgan Freed showed up, dressed in a white long sleeved shirt with golden cuff links, a dark grey tweed double breasted blazer with black lapels, a bow tie, denim jeans, and brogues. He looked quite flamboyant and he had a disposition of class that stood out. He was taller than Kudzai but slender with a long face, visible cheek bones, narrow nose, a moustache, regulation haircut, and small eyes. He had an aged voice, which sounded more wise in pitch than anything he had ever heard.


    "Master Kudzai, it is about that time you came with me to the car." he said with an elegant and stoic voice.


    "I will be on my way Mr. Freed." Kudzai got his satchel, books and packed his food. He then traversed in the house until he reached the garage. There the sounds of pistons and an engine cranking gave away the position of the Rolls Royce phantom. Kudzai got in and relaxed himself on the soft seats of the vehicle. His abs were still throbbing after 900situps but at the same time, he was happy that he had made progress with his physique. The car slowly exited the premise, the gates opening with the usual patrol on standby. The car drove off, exiting the Mhike estate, leaving gusts of dusty wind in its trail. During its trek to St. Calteco high, Kudzai began to ponder about the current world system. His father back in his more amicable days told him about what made humanity or Tamerians what they were. Tamerians were the race or species name that was used to identify the non Animorphs of the planet. The Tamerians did not consist of only people who could tame Animorphs and animals but also those who could tame the seas, nature, and other things that seemed to be out of man''s scope of abilities. What separated those who were just normal people from tamers were practically two things: spiritual, ecclesiastical depth and blood lines. Some through joining religious sects could meditate and strengthen their spiritual self to harness their power, but not all could meet the discipline that was required. Those who were from the direct family trees of those who were given taming abilities by the Sentient One were considered the true heirs of Reverie. Kudzai''s father''s genealogy had those who could tame naturally and thus the Mhikes were considered royalty, but regardless of his lifestyle, which was a token of his father''s wealth, his affluent blessings were over shadowed by his personal problems. His planned path into the military and terrifying father was an ordeal that never gave his mind rest, but today he had something to look forward to. This was the first day of school and Kudzai was already wondering what was so special about the lavish world when all he cared about was his dream.

 Chapter 4-Welcome to St Calteco high

    Morgan always used the open road of the outskirts once he had descended from the Mhike estate, a path he preferred as it offered him a view of the plush greens of the country side and blues of the vast ocean. It was always a therapeutic moment for him. The journey to St. Calteco high took about 22minutes, a route that Morgan was all too familiar with during the days when he drove Tendai to school. Those memorable moments were cut short as soon as his regular passenger attained a Ford GT40 for his 16th birthday, a gift from his mother, which had rather negative effects. Tendai''s reputation as the bad boy of the Mhike family soon escalated into unsavoury levels as he traversed the plains, plundering the loins of thirsty girls. Mr. Moses Mhike, Kudzai''s father, always despised spoiling his children for in the end it cultivated irresponsible behaviour. Though Tendai had some exceptional achievements in the sporting arena and educational department, his defiance was a stake to his father''s heart and also added a fire to Kudzai''s blind admiration for his brother. His father ended up blaming his and the institution he learnt at for his lewd and deplorable demeanour. This was why Kudzai didn''t get a glimpse of his brother''s exploits in the prior year for he had enrolled him to a different school for form 1. He would end up hearing all about the nasty and awesome exploits of his brother upon arriving at St. Calteco high.


    At Heyzafolt, the boys'' school that Kudzai had attended in the previous year before his expulsion in the 3rd term of study, he had many violent experiences. It had been an initiative of his father''s micromanagement beliefs for his son to attend an all-boys school. He didn''t want Kudzai to assimilate his brother''s notoriety and believed that going to an all-boys boarding school would encourage discipline and chastity. "The skirts and girls! Boys these days need to focus on the goal and not miss the plot!" were his iterations on a regular basis. Kudzai who feared his father did not object to this decision to go to Heyzafolt. A decision that proved troublesome throughout his experiences as a form 1 student in the school.


    Seniority and rich tradition was what reigned in the institution of Heyzafolt, but it was an environment that soon proved to be incompatible for Kudzai. Kudzai was an overt and self-preserving youth who did not oblige to subjugating to seniors over trivial reasons. As such, he had several confrontations with seniors that always had him ending the fights with a knock out. In the world of Reverie, it was clear that the Tamerians were segmented into those who could innately be tamers, those who had to be trained to unlock the full potential of such power and the normal human beings that could at best tame domestic animals. Kudzai came from a family line of natural tamers and was thus a superhuman amongst his peers. The rulers of the 5 federations of Tameria were mostly tamers and this military strength was essential in keeping the utopia of humanity. However, Kudzai didn''t make his genetic gift known to the others for he didn''t want the attention that came from having such noble blood. He simply wanted to be treated like everybody else. This particular omitted information made the seniors prey on him not knowing that they were going to get humiliated by the thrashing of a youngster. Apart from concealing valuable information about his innate abilities, a consensus amongst most rich kids in boarding school was that whoever your parents were was not important. All these kids had at least a parent or guardian who was affluent, imposing and had some form of influence in the world of Reverie. Kudzai could have spouted about his father being a Vice Admiral in the navy and even if he didn''t, everyone would eventually know but that didn''t mean he would be subject to immunity in the school. After 2 terms, they realized he was bad news and left him alone, but the school administration had him on a list of possible expulsion. The breaking point that had him packing was when he punched Billy Chitsinde in the face, using 50% of his brute strength. This was something he never did even when confronted by the seniors who thrived on bullying and inscribing fear into the junior''s hearts. The percentage of ferocity he used on the seniors was 10%, which would lead one to wonder what exactly did Billy say to Kudzai? On that rainy night, in the boy''s dormitory, Billy, the opinionated, self-deluded narcissistic classmate of Kudzai provoked him.


    "Kudzai you little shit! You think you''re better than us because you can do whatever the hell you want? Your rebel antics are worthless and you''re killing the school! Just because your daddy spoils you it doesn''t make you any better than us. That silver spoon you get from your father is crap here!"


    Billy had not prepared for the consequences of such an utterance. The raging fist that came at him was like a rocking ball decimating an infant upon collision. Billy landed far away from Kudzai, smashing into the wall before him. The other boys woke up immediately upon hearing the cacophony of a smash. Billy had been knocked out cold with a nose bleed and a serious bruise that looked like a pink and purple oasis on a desert of white skin. Everyone was somehow bewildered, but at the same time happy that the annoying prick known as Billy Chitsinde was pummelled by the school''s most feared junior. In that moment they all uttered amongst themselves, ¡°Kudzai takes out the trash once again." This obviously had awarded him respect amongst his peers, but giving a boy a concussion was the last mark he left at Heyzafolt. He was expelled abruptly. This as predicted drove his father into a manic state. A heavy beating was issued on him, not as brutal as the others were, but still worthy for his stock of bad memories. Tendai was also disappointed since he really didn''t want his brother to get into trouble. A lecture on controlling one''s emotions and keeping your cool was delivered to him in a lengthy 2hours brotherly chat. That was a very grave and confusing time for the Mhike family. His little sister Barbara took the opportunity to jeer her brother in his moment of shame. In the end the time he spent at Heyzafolt ended to facilitate his life at St. Calteco high. He had made the under 14 basketball team, fencing team and athletics team, but yet none of that mattered to him. He was moving on and so the past had to be effaced from the recesses of his mind. In retrospect, he admitted to himself that he was a controversial student who didn''t want to comply with the norms of a school that was well established before his existence. So what drove him to behave in such a manner? Was it arrogance or a sense of invincibility that came from being a tamer? The truth that Kudzai wanted to seek for himself was clear as day, ''he didn''t want to be anyone''s bitch for he was already his father''s bitch.'' Unlike many children who internalized abuse from multiple sources, Kudzai could only endure one, his father. He feared his father and only his father, everyone else to him seemed like a pebble in the sea. To incorporate others was not part of his ethics. Surely he could have complied like the others and had a good laugh in the future as most seniors did, reflecting on their horrible time as juniors, but monotony was not in his life''s coordinates. Life had carved out another path for him.


    Morgan turned into the bypass, drove past the overpass and then made a right turn, which was the wonderful boulevard that led to the school. The institution was in full view and Kudzai who was sitting next to Morgan could not help but marvel at it. This was his first time seeing the neatly trimmed lawn with sprinklers actively doing their job and flamboyant decor on the walls, of an institution his brother had gone through. In that instance, he couldn''t help saying, "This looks like fun." The school entrance was segmented by a line-up of fountains that led to the school car park or preferably known as drop off zone. The school crest, which had a phoenix grasping a sceptre and encompassing vines with stars, looked dazzling. As Morgan passed through the gate, the scope of the school became more larger than life. The architecture was phenomenal, with English bond style of bricks on the walls. Multiple windows on the top floors that looked like the sliding type and air conditioners, which were common commodities in the institution. Each building had clearly highlighted typography, which gave away the purpose of each facility. The music building had corny font that gave the impression that it was a conglomeration for eccentric youth. However, what was the most spellbinding thing was the line-up of parked cars in the car park. A Zenvo ST1, Ferrari LA Ferrari, Aston Martin one-77, Ferrari F60, Lamborghini Veneno, McLaren F1 and P1, Ferrari Enzo and many more. These vehicles were most probably the rides of the seniors who had the privileges only available to the 5th and 6th forms. The fact that vintage gems like the Chevrolet Corvette L88, Chevy Camaro ZL-1 and Plymouth Hemi Barracuda were even there shocked Kudzai. It was like the season premiere of Top gear. What Kudzai had not realised was that the Jaguar XJ220 and Porsche 918 Spyder were owned by the Principle and Vice Principle respectively. This was a different environment compared to the prison of Heyzafolt or at least his first impressions of the school gave him a vibe of fun. As other cars came in to drop off other kids, the influx of grey and blue colours became prevalent in the path that led to the hall way of the school. Mr. Freed had parked the phantom and then addressed Kudzai, "Master Kudzai, we have arrived. It would be good if you joined the others..."


    "Mr. Freed, what is your take on this school?" he asked, interjecting without a care for disembarking immediately. Morgan was surprised by this interjection and the question that came with it. He thus quickly articulated his thoughts to sum up the best possible answer.


    "This school is a good institution and also one that seems to be ripe with a jovial atmosphere. If I were to surmise it accurately, it¡¯s a school that always had Master Tendai coming back with a smile." Those words inadvertently made Kudzai grin, a very lively grin at best. If it had made his brother happy it would also make him happy, this was always his daily reasoning. Kudzai eventually disembarked, taking his satchel along as he waved goodbye. Morgan was happy that the young master was being optimistic and at least could leave assured that all was well. Kudzai ventured into the crowd of students to quickly identify the environment ahead. Due to observation skills that he acquired from one of the patrol men back home, he easily distinguished the multiple cliques. The cool kids, ambiguous types, controversial types (it takes one to know one), jocks, preps, hipsters, artists and musicians. The audible group conversations amongst the girls about the tourist resorts they had travelled to, the exotic fashion they had tried on and who was dating or sleeping with who was all in their dialogue. Why they were so audible to the point he could hear them made him question their understanding of the concept of discretion. Nevertheless, he would have to learn to adapt from being at an all-boys school to being at a mixed school. His watch suddenly began to beep, something that usually occurred when someone was calling him. Kudzai pulled down the sleeve of his blazer and tapped the ''swipe to receive pop up'' to access the call. A holographic image of a mid-thirties woman, with a petite build, glasses and medium sized breasts appeared just above the screen of his watch. It hovered on top of his wrist and began to speak, " Mr. Mhike would you immediately come to the Winston foyer for your briefing." The voice of the woman was sharp and authoritative, demanding his full attention. Kudzai thus replied, "I am on my way mam."


    "Get here quickly. Assembly will start in the next 20minutes. As it is your first day, I expect a young gentleman as yourself to make a good first impression. To avoid difficulty in finding me, please use the school map that has been posted on the main office walls or ask one of the students within reach to direct you."


    The holographic image of the woman quickly dissipated, leaving his touch screen watch with the time, date, battery and applications tabs all visible on the interface''s dash board. Kudzai initially opted to check the map, but having noticed the imperative nature of the woman''s remarks he decided to ask someone nearby. He then glanced at a girl who was walking with her female friend. The girl was of Asian descent, medium height, a small round face, typical almond Japanese eyes, black stud leather hair clip at the back of her silky hair and a slender body. She had a noticeable bust, which Kudzai had viewed, but rather than entertain the raging hormones of a teenage boy, he quickly tapped her shoulder and said, "Hie there, um Kudzai and I just transferred here to this school."


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there."Oh... hie, um nice to meet you..." she said, kind of surprised at the way he had approached her. Her friend also waved at him saying hie as well. They were in the same form. Kudzai went on to say, "There is this inventory stuff I have to go through at the Winston foyer. I was wondering if you could please give me directions to the place."


    The young Asian girl known as Meiko Kuruno was initially overcome with shyness, but with the subtle elbow nudging of her friend, Meiko ended up escorting Kudzai to the foyer. Kudzai though primarily focused on getting to his desired destination could not help but notice the stunning figure beside him. He even mentally scaled her beauty objectively and based on his assessment, she fell into the 6.5/10 bound, which by his brother''s standards was smash material. Meiko who began to feel awkward in the silence of just guiding Kudzai decided to break the silence by asking a question.


    "Um by the way my name is Meiko."


    "Huh?" he said, being absent minded at the time she had uttered.


    "Um telling you my name since you told me yours."


    "Oh ...that''s a nice name." he said, not sure what to say next.


    "So you said you transferred from another school right? So what made you leave?"


    "I was tired of being surrounded by dicks." he said as a result of an involuntary action which drove him into bad mouthing his former school.


    "Ahem...surrounded by dicks?" she asked, shocked by his audacity to say such words.


    "I was at a boy''s school. It sucked because there weren''t any pretty girls like you."


    "Really now," she said, shrugging off the flirt, "and you somehow decided to come here to compensate for your thirst. Well that line was too soon buddy." An epic fail had dawned on Kudzai, but he decided to have a comeback which would save him from further more humiliation.


    "Well I will admit that being in the band of brothers for so long has given me thirst, but out of the wilderness where I have come from, I have witnessed a rare gem. Only one as parched as me can be quenched by your looks."


    At that moment, the evasiveness of Meiko quickly diminished. The word play she had taken in had captivated her senses, delving into her more sensual innermost core. She could not help but blush and she caved in immediately after hearing those words. Unfortunately, for him, he had reached the foyer and at the back of his mind, his victory, which had been sweet, had been short lived. She glowed at him and said, "We are here now, hopefully we will be in the same class, I figured that you''re in form 2 or am I wrong?"


    "All I will say is that female intuition is never wrong."


    "Thriving on word play I see, well see you later." Meiko said as she turned, heading for the hall. Meiko didn''t let on about her sudden infatuation for the boy she had just met. Was it the noticeable broad shoulders for someone as young as him or the fact that he was so confident regardless of the fact that he was still in unfamiliar territory. She had a guilty pleasure for liking ebony romance novels, a fetish that she had to keep to herself. Kudzai had stumbled upon this gorgeous creature by chance; any other girl or guy could have given him directions. This was a meaningful encounter that he would surely get to enjoy in the near future.


    Orientation with the teacher went well with him being placed in the class 2B1. There were 5 classes in the 1st form up to the 4th form; the 5th and 6th forms only had four, which specialized in a particular aspect of study. After the orientation, he went for assembly. The hall looked like a platform for an opera house. The bottom seats were flooded by the juniors with the first formers in front with the gradation ending with the form 4s. The top seats were occupied by the seniors who had a more stylistic uniform that made them distinguishable from the rest of the school. They had the same uniform his brother wore during his school days. Kudzai tried to spot Meiko in the crowd, but unfortunately, where he was sitting had visibility at certain vantage points. The guy seated next to him was engrossed in his mobile phone game. Kudzai wanted to make friends quickly during assembly, but it seemed the one sitting next to him was too engrossed in his video game to make time for small talk. Kudzai''s motivation to make first contact ended with him being sullen in silence. The assembly had the usual singing of hymns, which always explained why the hymn book was issued as part of the necessary essentials of the school uniform. After the singing, everyone would sit down and then rise again to greet the headmaster of the school as soon as he would walk onto the stage. The stage had chairs that all the teachers of the school were sitting on. The students and the teachers were facing each other at opposite ends. The headmaster was a plump bald man with glasses. His face had many lines that articulated his middle age. He was wearing a plaid blue and white striped blazer, a black turtle neck shirt, expensive watch, trousers and strap tap loafers. He began to talk about the success of the past and what plans he had for the school for the year. At that moment, Kudzai stopped paying attention, having no interest since all what the headmaster had to say was foreign to his ears. He instead took the time to look at the students around him, particularly the girls and the seniors. The girls ranged from average to Victoria''s secret supermodel levels. The older girls were extremely pretty and generally, almost every other girl who Kudzai could see was enticing to the eyes. However, he wanted to blot out any thoughts of philandering and rather wanted to think about Meiko. Kudzai also noticed the athletic seniors who had bunched up at a certain corner. The douche bags, dicks and the boy scouts were all clear as day from his view. His hall gazing took up most of the time and ended up making the boring headmaster''s speech seem non-existent. The assembly soon came to a close and the students were dismissed and headed off to their respective classrooms. Kudzai had been briefed by the woman earlier on about where to find his classroom and thus was not confused. As he ventured towards his classroom, he still wondered where Meiko was. His infatuation for her was slowly building up the more she became elusive.


    "My name is Kudzai Tyreese Mhike, I am a transfer from Heyzafolt high. My favourite sports are basketball and fencing. My career choice is to become a well renowned film maker." Kudzai uttered this in class. Upon arrival, he was told to remain standing by his teacher, pondering over why he had to remain stationary as his classmates filled up the seats in the room. This was a prerequisite before he had to sit with the others, commencing day one of learning. The classroom was quite well furbished with the slide glass windows and commendable interior design. The board was actually a giant LCD screen with a touch surface interface. There was a speaker at the far top right corner of the room''s ceiling that was most probably for announcements and also as an alternative school bell. His new classmates were all gazing at him curiously, trying to find out subtle things about their new member. What made them all attentive was when they heard him state his surname. The surname ''Mhike'' evoked a lot of things: awe, respect and jealousy. As soon as he sat down at his desk, he was probed with many questions. Kudzai sat at the back row, which had his first interrogators, Jonathan and Lisa sitting beside him. Jonathan was a nerd with a fairly masculine appearance. His stocky build however did not deter his nerd like aura. He had short hair, a long face and milky eyes. Lisa was an average looking specimen with blonde hair, oblong face and a curly bob cut hair style. The questions he was asked were mostly about whether he was related to Tendai Mhike. His brother, from what he noticed from the questions, was a celebrity. Lisa and Jonathan were no longer the only interrogators; everyone was now bombarding him with a plethora of questions. The two people who stood out from the rest of his 19 classmates were a girl called Melissa Keaton and a Korean guy called Neo Jo Yeun. Melissa was odd or at least he could see through her facade. Something about her made him feel uncertain. She asked questions but used her syllables in a man that she ended up creating a coded message, which after a mental deciphering were the words ''See me after school at the courts.'' The fact that she had used a method he had learnt from his brother made him think that this wasn''t a coincidence. As it was his first day at this school, he did not want to pursue the idea lest he would end up being slapped for exhibiting weird behaviour such as asking whether she spoke in code. Neo on the other hand reminded him of himself. He was the only tense guy in the room when he got into class. His tough guy vibe, physique and aura of unapproachability were easily noticed. Kudzai recognized this and knew that Neo was the scary guy in the class. The questions soon ended with the teacher now commencing the lessons. The day went on to be packed with lesson after lesson. Break time only lasted 15minutes, which were mostly more interviews for Kudzai. They asked him what his brother was up to and told him how cool he was before he had graduated from high school. Kudzai unfortunately had to entertain his classmates so that he could catch up with the ways of St. Calteco high, even though his mind was fast pressed over the thought of Meiko and which class she was in. The school cafeteria that had ended up being his last resort to fleeing from his classmates had him bump into a hot senior. During the queue for the food, which was similar to that of buying goods at a regular take away outlet, he was graced by the presence of Emerald Blake. Emerald Blake was a girl who was clearly out of his league, graced with a jaw dropping figure that could have instinctively made the boy drool. Surprisingly she made first contact and took the young teen by surprise.


    "Last minute meals are a senior''s privilege little boy. It¡¯s funny how you look like your brother. It¡¯s really cute."


    "Seems like my brother is bigger than I expected." he said, puzzled by whether cute was just an innocent remark or something within the bounds of cougar territory.


    "Well my name is Emerald. Emerald Blake. Anytime you want to know more about your brother you can find me at the art block." she said, blowing an invisible kiss and walking on ahead. Kudzai''s first impressions of the school were just full of surprise after surprise. Emerald''s alluring invitation had made his day. After break, he would have to return for his history, mathematics and geography lessons. History and mathematics were his forte, but he despised geography with a relentless passion, an attitude problem that landed him with a lifelong tutor. Kudzai realized that the cafeteria was now becoming empty and decided to devour his food quickly, then suddenly a hand grabbed his shoulder and a firm grip it had indeed. He recognized the face of the person from one of his brother''s tennis and rugby team photos and realized that it was his brother¡¯s junior, Matthew Logan. Matthew was a brawny guy with broad shoulders and a well sculpted body. His picturesque face, squint eyes, pulled back curly hair with long side burns made him look like a candidate for a Hugh Jackman Wolverine look alike. The bass of his voice also came as a startling shocker.


    "Hey kid, you''re Tendai''s kid bro right?"


    "Yes.¡± he said, wondering if he was in trouble or not.


    "Well you should finish your meal and get to class... by the way, after school come and see me at the tennis ball courts, I want to show you the VR room."


    "Wait this school has a VR room?" completely ignoring the order to go for his lesson.


    "Yes and when you''re done with school come to the tennis ball courts alone. Your brother was my rival when it came to VR, so let''s see if the skills run in the family."


    Matthew departed and left Kudzai who was finishing off his food. VR was a Tamerian Virtual Reality simulation game that was common in the military barracks. VR was designed to simulate belligerent conflicts with an Animorph. This game helped internalize the belief that the Animorphs were Tamerian¡¯s natural enemy. However, in times of peace, the game was slowly being put into the category of optional training, for there was no need for every soldier to partake in the Animorph killing session. The fact that this game, which was commonly found in military institutions, was in the school made the school seem more mysterious. The resources to have such a facility built and maintained was expensive, however there is no way a private school would have such a facility. This is something that would be expected at a top tier military school. From the time he got here it was an encounter with a beautiful girl, estranged students from his class and a possible freak by the name of Emerald Blake. Kudzai could now clearly see why this school made his brother smile as Morgan had stated, because it was darn interesting!

 Chapter 5-These are the rules that govern Sky Colossus

    The Tamerian power of taming was a complex entity on its own. It was a power that god had given them based on their faithfulness and lack of snivelling towards his designs. Due to this, the tamers were awarded with a myriad list of abilities. The definition of taming in the world of Reverie was the ability to subdue or control any living or existing entity that was driven by instinct, stimuli or anything bound by fixed laws such as the laws of physics and so forth. This however did not include mind control of other human beings because of the emphasis of free will of man, which was predisposed in him by the Sentient One. However, one could deter carnal desires if reason wasn¡¯t being put into practice. Thus, in short, the Animorphs who were the Tamerians'' sworn enemy were at a disadvantage, for their humanoid hybrid concoction with animalistic genetics made them easily follow their baser instincts. Therefore, anything that was bound by the laws of nature and an affinity for its baser instincts could be subdued by a tamer.


    In the field of taming, there are 4 types of tamers: elemental tamers, technological tamers, Animorph tamers and hormonal tamers. Elemental tamers can make use of fire, gravity, lightning, water, and air, but cannot conjure it into existence. Tamers are simply limited to the present medium within reach and would be useless if they were left in space, for they would have nothing to control. Technological tamers can control the flow of energy in any machine and control it based on its set of commands. Animorph tamers can subdue the enemy race by weakening their resolve; making them lose their will to fight, usually when the Animorph is purely savage. Lastly, the most controversial of them all was the hormonal tamer. Though humans had the power of choice, they were still creatures that reacted to stimuli. It was believed that a male or female tamer could make anyone who they desired fall in love with them by manipulating their hormones. This could also be applied in a different sense to make someone lose interest in you by depleting his or her libido, a form of forced menopause. However not a lot of people took this lightly due to it being boarder line mind control. These were the daily complaints of house wives who believed that they only stayed in abusive relationships because they had been jinxed.


    The final account on how the Tamer system works lies in how the selection process and scouting for tamers amongst the majority of normal humans was conducted. Natural potent hereditary tamers were the rulers of the land and dated back to the time the Sentient One had augmented them. They were the pioneers that founded the 4 federation states of Tameria. Their blood, sweat, and tears, engineered the world into what it was: a prosperous cosmopolitan with strong elements of an archipelago. However, there were some cases of strong tamers being found outside of a specific family line. In the olden archaic days, new born babies were put into a cage with a tiger to see if it could subdue it unconsciously. The babies that passed had the tiger tamed and lived, but those that could not evoke subjugation were mutilated in front of their hopeful parents. Such was the pressure behind identifying these superb individuals, but as time went on, new discoveries were made. Those who were not innately born with astonishing strength could now attain high levels of skill by hermitical meditation and specialised training, which required a lot of discipline and concentration. It was believed that these types of tamers had to work 5 times as hard to get the same result as that of an innately potent tamer who gained outstanding base strength even when they were stationary all their life. Their efforts were commendable, but sadly, those who were born into families of royal lineage usually had the upper hand. The value of potent bloodlines, the pure breed of Tamerian elites, was something that created a division even among the chosen people. Not everyone could be born equal and arranged marriages were influenced by wealth and good genes. Though there are some who have done exceptionally well in the battlefield, till this day only a few of them have everbeen awarded any commissioned ranks. The undying natural selection had dealt a heavy blow on these types. Those who were fed up with their limitations reverted back to their civilian life, actually benefitting and getting more recognition than what they did during their tours. In an oligarchic military state like Sky Colossus, getting to the top was like bungee jumping, most of the time the rope would snap. This is what Kudzai had been brought up to believe, something that his father reiterated to make them know that they were carved out of a silver spoon and their life was cereal for the taking. However, the aspect of taming which separated the elite from standard tamers was their personality. Kudzai knew this all too well as the son of Moses Mhike. Taming was the power of subjugation and the tamer had to have a certain demeanour: narcissism, authority, egotism, despotism, and dictatorship. Those who exhibited such high amounts of the control freak and elitist trait were refined and powerful beings. Luckily, for Kudzai, instead of following this bleak path to personal decay, the demeanour of confidence, optimism, and self-belief was also another alternative aspect that propelled tamers into god tier levels of power. This is what Tendai had inscribed into him, saving his brother from turning into a monster.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

 Chapter 6-VR missions are my speciality.

    The second segment of school continued on well for Kudzai; the questions had stopped and the class was engrossed in their lessons. They had begun biology under the guidance of Mr. Basin, their biology, and chemistry teacher. The class prep, Dionne, who Kudzai noticed due to her elitist and over emphasis on mannerism, was head over hills over Mr. Basin. She looked like the poster girl for the school, not the one who made grown men drool, but the one who fit the image of the school: class, etiquette, excellence, and formality. She sat at the very front of the class with her cronies: Clarice, David, Michoone, and Alice. She was a looker, but one thing that made preps unbearable as living specimens was that they were usually intimidating or extremely rude and snobbish people. She was bangable in his eyes, but reeked of the psycho bitch scent to the point that he erased any potential interest in her. On the far left of the class, at the window, sat Melissa Keaton who would looked dazed, taking intermittent glances outside the window and sketching something on a piece of paper. Kudzai had figured out that she was the artsy emo chick in the class. She would of course look back and sight him in his observation pose. Kudzai would then quickly initiate pretence of having been doing something else. The back of the class had the ultimate vantage point and this made it easier for Kudzai to identify and scrutinise the mannerisms of each individual in the class. The Korean guy, Neo Jo Yeun sat in the middle of the class. His row was a clique of sportsmen and a girl next to him who seemed to fidget a lot to discuss with him, writing him something on a piece of paper for him to read or whispering. Her name was Tracy Madison, an average looking girl with blue eyes, short curly hair, noticeable cheek bones, lip balm on her lips and a basic body that was yet to reach puberty. From the way she handled herself around him, she was clearly Neo''s admirer. The other guys in the clique would soon be Kudzai''s sporting colleagues, if they were in the athletics, basketball, and fencing team. However if they were lacrosse players it would just be a basic classmate relationship. Lacrosse as a sport to him was an elitist, isolationist sport that didn¡¯t have much competition due to it being within only A-list schools settings. The other sports had a lot of competition ranging from all walks of life, private schools, and public schools. His negative opinion of the sport was most likely going to be permanent.


    Kudzai had surprisingly gotten along with the two he was sitting next to, Jonathan and Lisa. They had shared their personal tastes and had reached common ground. Jonathan was the guy who blogged about the school''s sports stats, tech reviews, style reviews and at times, gossip columns. He was a big movie guy and shared similar interests with Kudzai, but he was kind of effeminate and soft for his size. After a brief conversation with him, he realised that he was gay and ended up giving more attention to Lisa. His tolerance for Jonathan''s homosexuality was a miracle on its own. Being raised in a militant environment, soldiers who were part of the LGBT communities were stigmatized and such liberal concepts didn¡¯t settle well in the barracks. It was usually best to keep one''s orientation under wraps. However, Lisa compensated him well by being a fun person who often blurted odd sexual innuendo. She was a tom boy who obviously found Kudzai to be fascinating though the feelings of attraction were not mutual on both sides. Lisa was okay looking, but her dialogue, which bordered on guy talk, landed her in the friend zone. She was also geeky but in a different sense, talking about MMORPGs and ancient medieval lore. From his time with them, he got to know about Emerald, who he had asked about as they conversed. As Kudzai had predicted, Emerald was a freak and exceptional artist who actually was rumoured to have paintings that sold extremely well at auction houses. Jonathan even stated that she recently made 900000 credits (equivalent to $900000 US dollars in the story) when she submitted her painting of a popular Reverie icon, princess Danai Guru. Her paintings were usually humongous and framed at a whooping 5metres by 7metres in terms of dimensions. Unlike most rich kids who were dependant on their parents'' affluence to flaunt their snobbery and class, Emerald was an exception. Though Jonathan argued that her success was mostly due to her father being a well renowned art gallery curator in Sky Colossus. Her father multiple major art galleries and museums, which generated decent returns from the commission money they got for having sold the works of the artists. Lisa would interject Jonathan and defend Emerald''s eligibility, but Kudzai remained quiet at the spectacle of these two arguing. The two of them both agreed on one thing though, that she had no reason to attend school at all. All she did was sleep around with younger guys, attend parties, leaving her infamous exploits and immoral influence everywhere, which could . She was a temptress who Kudzai was warned to avoid at all costs. These chats all happened during the time it took for the next teacher to come to their class for the next lesson. It was set up in a way that if the period ended the next teacher would have to come from whereverthey were and access the class. This restricted mass movement in corridors and made it in such a way that kids would not have an excuse of being lost which was common in the old system of students going to the teachers¡¯ different classrooms after a lesson. Kudzai learned a lot from these two, even finding out that Meiko was in the class 2A2, information that really gave him something tangible to work on. As the last lesson came to a close, Kudzai had made new friends, familiarised himself with the class and fit in well. The transition from a boy''s school to a mixed school was a pilgrimage and St. Calteco high was his holy sanctuary. As he packed his books and emptied the room like the rest of the class, greeting the sports clique and telling Jonathan to email him all of last year''s notes, he bumped into Neo. Neo who seemed to have a serious expression in the beginning, grinned at the sight of Kudzai. He nudged him on the back calling out his name.


    "Kudzai wait!"


    "Huh...oh Neo¡­ what''s up?" he said casually.


    "I know everyone here was going on and on about your brother, but I actually have something different to say." Something different? What was in Neo''s mind was drawing Kudzai into a state of curiosity and nervousness.


    "Sure man, tell me what''s on your mind."


    "I want to tell you that your father is a hell of a war hero and that his military policy in regards to the grabbing of Animorph states is a blessing to the state. I respect him and think his cool."


    "Sure... thanks man, you really surprised me with that one." he said, scratching his head over the idea that someone could have such an admiration for his father. It was true that he was awar hero of notable merit and currently the Vice Admiral of the most powerful navy in Reverie, but the public didn''t know how he was behind his prestigious uniform. He was the hero to the masses, but he was the villain within his own house hold. Kudzai received his father''s complement and acted normal. He proceeded out the class, heading towards the tennis ball courts thinking to himself, "If only they knew who he really was."


    Kudzai met Matthew Logan at the tennis ball courts which had a foyer, the designated area where these two would go together alone. The room had the usual library of trophies and school pictures that gave it a family feel, the kind expect in a school of this calibre. Morgan was mostly quiet, being taciturn as he led the young man to a room at the far end of the foyer. The room looked like a cubicle, a small space with not much to speak of. Kudzai got underwhelmed by this and asked, "Hey I hope this isn''t it,cause that would just be a shitty joke."


    "Patience kid, don''t puke once we fall."


    "Fall?"


    The cubicle''s door shut behind them and a series of mechanical sounds began to happen. Kudzai heard the shift of gears and then suddenly their cubicle plummeted to the ground. It was an elevator that led to the underground room that Morgan had intended to show Kudzai. Morgan began to speak, "You''re familiar with the number of types of Animorphs right?"


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. "Yah," he said, holding his wits together, "what about them?"


    "Of the 3 types commonly known; land creatures, sea creatures and sky beasts, there is a fourth that is never stated...actually omitted to not cause a panic in the state."


    "A fourth, wait a minute why are you telling me this and how would you know this, if that were even true?" he said, weirded out by his sudden revelation of things foreign to him.


    "Your brother didn''t tell you didn''t he? Hmm... Kudzai, you and I are the same."


    "Huh?"


    "We are both sons of high ranking officials in the military."


    "Wait you are?" he asked, shocked that his brother had never mentioned this. They were in the same team, but it¡¯s not like Tendai would disclose information about his friends as if it were public domain.


    "Yes, Captain Miles Logan is my dad. He works alongside your father. His also at that meeting at the north federation."


    "Wow I didn''t think there would be a lot of us types."


    "Trust me there are more of us, but I will introduce you to Tinashe and Edmund soon. First things first, I wanna see how good you are at VR battles."


    "Cool."


    The cubicle reached the bottom and made more mechanical sounds and electrical sounds. The wall in front of them separated and opened them to a world so far-fetched it looked like a prototype to alien technology. It was a corridor with several servers stacked to each side of the walls, all glowing ambient with neon lights. As they trotted down the corridor, their footsteps left an imprint which then conspersed in the form of purple and blue lights on the black surface of the floor. Matthew led the way, going straight, turning right to face another door ahead. The sound of computers processing things became more vivid as they drew nearer to the last door ahead. As soon as they reached the door, the blue mounted object just above the door began to scan him, a process that took less than 10 seconds. Upon being scanned he uttered, "Scan the new member Harvey." An automated voice then replied, "Beginning scan of Kudzai Mhike." Kudzai was scanned and the colours of blue and purple were highlighted onto his skin. Kudzai then said, "Well, it seems like your scanner is no different from the one used at the Elba barracks, it accesses and relays information in real time."


    "Yah... it¡¯s the genuine article." The door in front of them opened as soon as the voice said, "Scan complete." What Kudzai saw was a highly technological circular room with extremely large curved terminals. The setup was like a concentric circle with subsets of gadgets, overlying cables and four seats at the centre. The servers acted as the sledges and the light in the terminals resembled that of a larva glow lamp withfluctuating intensity of different lights. The room itself glistened as if there were Christmas lights shimmering on and off. Kudzai didn''t really marvel at the site of this for he had been used to seeing such at the barracks. All he said to kill the silence was," Sweet set up man."


    "Thank your brother who actually forked out the cash to have this built."


    "Wait he did?" he asked, caught off guard by this sudden revelation. The secrets of his brother were slowly being revealed to him and somehow in the back of his mind he began to wonder if Tendai had a lot more than he was letting on.


    "I guess he didn''t tell you," he said, glancing at the kid in bewilderment, "well that''s a personal issue that you will have to sort out between the two of you. For now get on the NHMD seat."


    Kudzai obliged Matthew and went on ahead to go lie on the NHMD seat. The seat was inclined at an angle of 30¡ã degrees and had a combination of latex, synthetic, and silky nodes that were supposed to latch onto the limbs of the one in a reposed position. Matthew did the same, having the nodes latch onto him. Upon lying on the seat, a mechanical sound began to occur, and a HMD device began to appear below the top tip of the seat. It pulled a full rotation and then latched onto his eyes. The same happened to Kudzai. The terminal began to glow and thus an image of a Greek like statue with chiselled fine features began to speak.


    "Master Matthew, back yet again for another round of trying to break Mr. Mhike''s record."


    "Not this time Harvey, I am here for a versus match, the slayer campaign at the Mylican island with a 3 kills target count. This is what I chosen for today." he said, kind of embarrassed by the disclosure of his personal trials.


    "Very well, enjoy your play." said Harvey, instantly dissipating upon the last word.


    The VR game that both Matthew and Kudzai were about to play was different in that it was connected to the brain''s response to stimuli and synapses. NHMD stood for Neural Head Mounted Display, thus it meant that whatever they were going to encounter in the game, the pain and other tangible experiences, would be felt by them. Kudzai felt a tingly sensation in his body and then heard Morgan say, "May the best man win!" Kudzai blacked out and then woke up in a tropical jungle set up which had the feel of a remote island. The flora looked exquisite and bushy, the likes of the Amazon rain forest. He could see mountains in the background and beautiful red and orange clouds. The time in the game was most probably around 17:00, which would explain the colour of the clouds. It was most probably twilight, which looked like the perfect setup for an epic conquest. Kudzai soon realised that he had body armour similar to that of a police officer in the SWAT. He was wielding a large lance with spiral sharp serrated prongs at the end. It looked as if it were designed to slay a whale, something he had chosen naturally upon waking up in this virtual reality. Apparently, unlike most games that allowed you to choice your weapons on a dashboard, the game gave the user a weapon and armour based on his unconscious desire to have it. To the merit of the game, it was usually right and the users usually didn''t complain for theywould wake up with what they had wanted in their artillery. Kudzai then noticed Matthew who was wielding a huge rectangular prism like hammer that was the size of a brawny7 feet tall man. It was as if he had taken iron ore and compressed it into one shape. Kudzai naturally reacted like any normal person upon seeing that, he was overcome by great awe.


    "Dude what the hell is that?"


    "You mean this," he said, tilting his head to look at his weapon, "this baby is called the Livestock basher."


    "What a name."


    "It weighs a lot, like close to 10tonnes, but its light as a feather when um using it."


    "I call bullshit on that! 10tonnes, you''re lying."


    "Um not, my weapon is modelled out of my personal arsenal outside the VR world. If you still doubt me, come, try and lift it. You might as well use your tamer strength." he said, trying to sway the kid into belief. Kudzai walked towards Matthew who was pretty much wearing his school uniform in the game. Kudzai started to think that Matthew was pretentious; he had no body armour that was necessary for this kind of mission and seemed to have suggested that he could lift a planet easily. Kudzai then stretched out his left hand and grabbed hold of the long handle of the weapon. He began to tense and his muscles began to bulge, actually ripping off a part of the armour that had concealed his bicep. He had activated his tamer brute strength and attempted to lift it. In that moment, he remembered the painful moments of the gym that involved lifting weights that weighed on his will power to the point of surrender. The darn thing was extremely heavy and made him feel less of a man as Matthew observed him with a grin of mockery. He began to grunt and his body became veiny, showing how he was struggling. He only managed to lift it 3centimeters above Matthew''s hand. He quickly gave up and admitted defeat. Matthew had clearly now become the alpha male in this setting and Kudzai realised that he was bad news. Kudzai went on to ask, "How are you this strong?"


    "It¡¯s a trade secret I can''t let on kid, ask your brother and you will be well informed. For the meantime, let''s see who¡¯s the fastest when it comes to taking down these animals. The GPS on your screen should have already turned on, you know the rest."


    "Alright, I will show you what I am made of."


    "Good, if you''re competitive it makes crushing you even more enjoyable," he said, getting into a stance as if he was about to jump, "let the games begin!"


    Matthew leaped upwards like a man who had been deployed from a catapult. The ground where he had initiated jump had ruptured, cracking as if there was an earth quake. Kudzai had not clearly seen how he went from point A to Z for it all happened in a flash. The 10tonne hammer of death was wielded with such majestic ease and prowess to the point it was like the perfect glimpse to a form of remarkable cinematography done by the hands of a talented film maker. Even Matthew''s landing in the dense bushy forest to the far left was astonishing. A loud boom was heard and shortly after that, there were vertical gusts of dust emanating from within. Kudzai realised that Matthew was in another league of his own. This was going to be a challenge that Kudzai would surely lose, but Kudzai wasn''t one to give in even if it was an insurmountable task.

 Chapter 7- Battle is not for the faint hearted.

    Kudzai had arrived at a swampy area after sprinting faster than a cheetah on anabolic steroids. The lactic acid slowly began to build up as he exhaled air, breathing in and out. Kudzai could see the blue holographic GPS in front of him as if he were wearing a visor. The digits that represented metres became fewer and fewer as he drew nearer to his target. The sound of bugs, frogs, and mosquitoes gave the place a tropical jungle feel that Kudzai surprisingly loved. Kudzai began to mumble inwardly saying, "Come out you bastard, Kudzai is gonna kill you." This muttering was his way of getting into the mood, a method he found most appropriate since serial killers in crime films always did that. Kudzai went on and on, searching until he heard the loud gong, which signalled the death of the first target. Matthew had made his first kill already! Kudzai glanced at the sky and murmured, "Darn it! He already has a lead..." Suddenly Kudzai was dragged into the pool of the swamp. His leg had been yanked by a hand from below, one, which had a firm grip. His body was submerged into the swamp water as he was being drowned by his enemy. Kudzai began to struggle through the vines and several protruding things in the water, mustering a lot of strength to shake off the hand that grabbed his leg. After some quick thinking, he slammed the leg on a ledge that was within the pool and broke free, but another hand grabbed his leg and this time he was thrown out of the water. Kudzai''s body flew out like a missile that was deployed by a submarine. He landed badly on one of the eucalyptus trees, smashing through it like a wrecking ball, cutting down other trees. It was clear that his opponent was strong, but he had to defeat it quickly or else the difference in points between him and Logan would be too much. Kudzai got a few contusions from the cut and picked himself up. He was covered in dirt and fragments of wood on his body, thinking about where his opponent would appear. Luckily for him, he had not released his lance regardless of being tossed by the unknown figure. Suddenly the pool in which Kudzai had been launched from began to ripple and then the unknown figure made its appearance. It was a tiger man who was the spitting image of a Muscle Magazine poster boy. The tiger man had the head of a tiger and human hair line that complemented its face. It had long reddish hair that spread around its nape and back of its body. Its body structure was that of a body builder with hints of fur conspersed all over its body. The skin of the creature had the same colour as the fur of that of a normal tiger. It was all stripes and had white paw like hands. The claws were sharp and savage as that of a grizzly bear; dangerous and packinga lot of slash power. Kudzai heard it growl: a tumultuous feat that sent all the birds and creatures in the swamp fleeing for their safety. The sheer power of its roar ignited the flames of adrenaline and passion within him. It was about that time to dance with the enemy, and Kudzai was surely going to show him his best moves.


    Kudzai charged with his spear drawn and leaped towards his enemy. The tiger man did the same and they all struck each other simultaneously. The claws of the tiger man grazed the lance causing it to spark, but the sheer force of the tiger man sent Kudzai falling back, landing in a crouch position. The tiger man then berserked and pursued him, knocking down all the trees and obstacles in its path. Kudzai charged once again, waving his deadly blade at the creature. The tiger man managed to dodge and avoid all his attacks, showing such magnificent agility even though it had a bulky body. It then got a hold of his lance and stripped it away from him. A very hard kick in the gut came in Kudzai''s way, throwing him far away to the point he traversed through the entire forest until he landed badly on the sea shore. Kudzai had realised that the tiger men or other species of Animorphs he faced at the barracks were nothing compared to this formidable monster coming his way. Kudzai ignored the pain and roared; a roar that actually made the water behind him ripple and the ground beneath him shake. He was pissed off and was now planning on dropping the creature on its ass. He charged this time and noticed that the tiger man was wielding his weapon. Kudzai had usually preferred to fight without ever turning to the use of his powers, but he decided to break that code of honour today. Kudzai flexed his right arm, fixed his fingers into a fist shape, and then outwardly struck the air, facing his adversary with his clenched fist. The air around his fist shifted and rushed out like a powerful wave, striking the creature with devastating violence.


    The creature that had sent Kudzai flying before was now getting its fair share of air time. It smashed through a number of trees and let go of Kudzai''s lance. Kudzai soon enough had grabbed hold of his weapon and began to run sideways on the remaining trees, not missing a single step like a ninja set out to assassinate its intended target. Kudzai increased the pace and caught his target mid-air before its velocity had reached inertia. Kudzai swung his blade and managed to slice off a limb, cutting off the right arm of his enemy. The blood sprayed like a burst pipe and covered Kudzai eyes, unintentionally impairing his vision in that moment. The tiger man noticed this sudden loss of vision and twisted its body to enable itself to kick him. This feat was some form of god tier level of gymnastics and thus Kudzai was sent flying into the sky by this hard kick that felt as if a crane had justpressed on his flesh. The kick however proved detrimental to the tiger man for it smashing into a huge eucalyptus tree with its leg stretched out. The impact instantly dislocated its leg, causing its lower leg to bend outwardly to the opposite direction of its thigh. The tiger man screamed out loud, as it throbbed over its gruelling pain. It moaned, murmured, and then suddenly stopped. It gazed at the sky and watched Kudzai who was now plummeting to the ground. Its rage nullified its pain to the point that it regained its strength even though it was covered by its own blood. The lacerations and deep cuts from the smashing into the trees had not depleted its resolve. It soon enough got a hold of its leg and pulled it back into position. Relocating its leg made it scream even more to the point that tears trickled downwards on its face. The monster then set its eyes on Kudzai who was in free fall and began to run like a speed demon. Its legs thumped on the ground leaving a trail of dust, which soon turned, into a fog in the forest. It got faster and faster and then leapt, jumping more than 20meters into the sky. It came at an angle of 50¡ã degrees and caught him mid-air. Kudzai who had temporarily knocked out had woken up once again after feeling a very tight squeeze on his body. The tiger man had grabbed on to him, and had changed the trajectory and velocity of the fall towards the sea shore. Kudzai had experienced pain before in his life, but this time it wasn''t a mere punch or kick, it was something far much worse. A body slam from hell.


    Matthew on the other side of the island was covered in blood, but not his blood. He was standing in a pool of blood and flesh of that of a sea monster. It looked like a typical Chinese dragon, but what he had left of it was purely mincemeat. Its entrails, skin, gelatinous insides, were all exposed. Matthew had bludgeoned this creature to death and looked like a manic butcher who worked at a gore porn factory. The gong soon came when the animal''s life had ended. Matthew had no injuries at all; he was still fresh and had zero traces of fatigue. Matthew began to wonder, "Um on to my last kill and he still hasn''t killed the first thing. Hmm, I guess Tendai is soft on his youngster." Matthew who had believed that his rival''s sibling would amaze him had now lost interest in the child. He then looked at his GPS and began to run voraciously towards his next target. In between pacing like a speed demon, he heard the gong that signalled the end of the first target. Matthew halted for a bit and smiled, "I guess I judge too quickly, hmm, I hope he won''t take too long with target number 2." Matthew continued running, even exceeding the speed of that of the tiger man. His target was being approached by a man of great murderous skill with a fetish for violence.


    Kudzai was at the bottom of a huge crater, the aftermath of a meteorite in the form of his body and the tiger man''s body smashing into the sea shore. His back was in excruciating pain and he had coughed out blood. His mouth was bloody and he had scrapes, cuts on his face and ears. The tiger man who was on top of him was dead. Apparently when it had caught him, Kudzai had let go of his lance, accepting the fate below, but as soon he had slammed into the dirt, his lance also came along, landing right at the back of the tiger man. The blade had pierced through the flesh of the tiger man, but due to Kudzai''s body armour, it only managed to nick his chest and abdomen. He won based on some lucky technicality and was surprisingly glad that it had turned out this way. Kudzai waited for 2minutes to recuperate his strength and then pushed the body away to the side. The scarlet blood of the creature had flowed heavily onto his body, bathing him in warm blood. This had not disturbed Kudzai at all for he had gotten used to the blood and death that came from the VR battles at an earlier age. By the time he was eleven, he was already desensitized and could kill without hesitation. This was a side of him he vowed to never tell a girl he liked about, due to the fact that no normal girl would date someone who exhibited psychotic angst murderer traits such as his in VR games. Kudzai''s GPS tracker, which had been offline during the fight, was now on again. This time the indicator showed that his intended target was much closer than he thought. It was 12meters away. However, the distance between him and the next target was somehow lessening by the second. Kudzai plucked out his lance out of the corpse of the tiger man and crawled out of the crater, which looked like half of a cracked egg shell. Kudzai observed the vast blue ocean before him and realised that his next target was going to come from the ocean. A great bubbling of the great deep blue see began and Kudzai took this chance to speak out loud, "Shit is real in this game, darn that bastard really hurt my back." The pain in his back was immense, but unlike a normal person, the pain for him was no different from a regular tackle at a rugby match. The pangs of pain began to dissipate as his adrenaline was seething inside. He gazed at his opponent, the creature still unseen and then shouted, "No matter what you are I am going to end you!" The water burst upwards, revealinga great beast Kudzai had never encountered before. It was a giant mammoth serpent with two slithering long furred human like hands mounted close to its head. Its tusks and horns were well defined, imposing and deserving the title of the 9th wonder of the world. Its whole body was heavily coated in fur and its eyes were of that of a viper. Its rise caused a tsunami wave, which sent loads of water rushing straight into the forest. At that moment, Kudzai had already launched himself into the sky, gliding downwards, avoiding the giant kaiju as he landed on the water. As one of the perks of being a tamer, Kudzai could run on water. Kudzai began to pace on the ocean, running as if he were on land. The monster turned to face him and then deployed its hands at him. The strikes were like fired bullets, doing their worst on whatever they hit. Kudzai had avoided these meticulously and embraced his excitement. Kudzai broke off his run and leaped towards the monster that saw him as a tiny dot in its field of vision. The hands that were preoccupied with trying to crush him had forgotten about the dust mite heading towards the head that was controlling them, but suddenly, that very head defended itself. The mouth of the mammoth serpent opened its reptilian tract and a violent gush of burning hot liquid came out of its trap. It was a geyser which Kudzai quickly blocked by using his air punch. The water, which was blocked, moved around this air shield and behaved like water ejected violently towards a spherical object. The air fist and geyser soon dissipated, but at the same time. Kudzai''s initial momentum was broken by the clash of elements and his end root became the right horn of the beast. His lance was the first to latch onto the bare flesh where the horn sprouted. The lance cut through the meat until it was lodged tightly like a pole in the ground. The mammoth serpent shrilled in pain, almost causing Kudzai to experience deafness due to the sheer magnitude of its voice. The hands that had once neglected their post were now drawing near him with ferocity. Kudzai was now driven into a dilemma, but his quick wittedness soon came in handy as he played a smooth move. The right arm that was going to splatter his body on the creature¡¯s tusks missed him. Kudzai let go in time, falling into the sea below. The right hand instead, smashed into the spear that was left mounted on the root of the giant horn. The impact hammered the lance into the flesh of the mammoth serpent, slicing through the internal organs and coming out the other side. The self-inflicted fatal wound made the beast shrill again, making it tumble sideways. The left arm, which was on the verge of striking Kudzai, was blown away by another of his air fists. Kudzai dropped into the ocean, sinking deep as white bubbles encompassed him. After a while, he began to swim upwards, but then he heard his spear drop into the water. The adrenaline of battle had heightened his senses, causing him to distinguish all the vibrations in the sea. Not wanting to face the creature without his weapon, he began to swim fast, pacing towards his prized weapon. The fluid movement of his swimming was that of an Olympian gold medallist who broke more records than what was normally sanctioned. As he drew nearer to his weapon, something up above had submerged itself. It was the beast pursuing him to the very depths of the deep blue sea.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Matthew had just finished mutilating his target and his last gong finally occurred. He was standing on top of the roof that was the shelter to a hut, which had kept his target safe until he had invaded it. Matthew heard Kudzai''s second gong and then clapped his hands immediately. He uttered with a smirk on his face, "That was even faster than the time it took Neo to defeat it. Remarkable, but can he go through with the last target? Hmm, hopefully he will surprise me." Matthew decided to reach the final site that had Kudzai''s last target. He carried his heavy weapon with ease, his chiselled and refined muscles showing on his uniform and flung himself to the sky in pursuit of Kudzai.


    Kudzai grabbed a hold of his spear and gazed at the coming obscenity before him. Kudzai who had been struggling with water taming under the guidance of his brother, failing the aspects of fluid control and changing its form had at least mastered one thing. The ability to violently thrust water he was immersed in. Kudzai concentrated on his target and gave it his all. He thus released what looked like a spiral of waves that formed a spear with prongs at the end. The mammoth serpent was blasted out of the sea, pierced by the water''s sharp like prongs, and landed on the forest. Its body flattened the trees and smashed most of the land marks into rubble. The water, which had been in the form of a violent spiral and spear, smashed itself into the flesh of the beast and ended up ebbing back into the ocean and also forwards into the recesses of the jungle. Kudzai was done and he was rewarded with the gong, giving him relief that the creature was dead. Kudzai then lifted his body out of the water and fell on his back, treating the surface of the water like a water bed. He then uttered with laughter, "I did it! I finally beat that thing!"


    Kudzai''s GPS had taken him to his last target: an isolated hut witha chimney. The chimney had smoke coming out of it, which gave the impression that there was either someone cooking or it was just a fire. Kudzai approached the thatched hut and opened it hurriedly. What he found was the definition of the ultimate anti-climax. It was a little cute tiger girl nursing her ill tiger mother near the hearth of the fire. Kudzai who intended to end the game quickly with a hack and slash finally was utterly confused. The creature before him looked so innocent and picturesque. It looked harmless, the definition of a pacifist entity. Kudzai who had been brought up to believe that the enemy race only looked vicious and dangerous was completely taken away by the inability to strike. What was wrong with him? It was just a VR game, its not like him killing the little girl and the mother was like actual murder in real life. It was just a game he thought, but no fibre of his being could go through with delivering the final blow. In his immense indecisiveness, the tiger girl took notice of the soaked wet Kudzai and cringed in fear. Her majestic cute and large kitten like eyes began to pour out tears of fear. At that moment, the very thing Kudzai had never expected to hear from an Animorph occurred to him. The little cute tiger girl began to speak.


    "Please don''t kill us, we won¡¯t attack you. I promise you that I won¡¯t attack. My mother is sick and I need to keep her safe. Please don''t kill us!"


    The fangs of emotional investment had deeply rooted themselves in Kudzai. He could not kill this girl. He knew that she was part of the program generated by the game, but didn''t desire to end her. He was willing to tarnish his first impression of himself over this girl. In that moment, he realised that he had been naive all his life. Hearing about the war stories from his dad and grandfather had been all figurative to him. The only thing that had been real to him in his life had been the harsh training and fear of his father, but a sudden notion dawned at him at once. The casualties of war really made people ugly and rotten inside. Kudzai dropped his spear and began to walk away. Matthew who had traversed the plains of the jungle to get a hold of Kudzai had been watching behind him. Matthew whose face had been smiling at the idea that Kudzai would get the job done was now grimacing.


    "Kudzai you made it this far beating the enemy, don''t you dare pussy out just because you saw something you didn''t like. Go back and end this now!"


    "End this? What the hell is wrongwith you, why did you code such a match up into the system!?"


    "Kudzai, I thought you would understand that in a real war, the enemy comes in different shapes and appearances. That family in there is no exception to the norm. Get it done and end the simulation."


    "No, you sick bastard I am not going to do this! To hell with this game, I won''t kill them!"


    "Then you have failed as a son of the military. You, your brother, and I are the future rulers of the state. We are the heirs to Tameria''s sovereignty. Even your brother butchered that family on his first try. If he can do it you can do it."


    "Shut up! Just shut up! You don''t know Tendai like I do. His not sick and demented. He would never make such a moveso shut up!"


    "I get it now. Your brother didn''t show you his dark side so that he could nurture you into a good boy. Its a commendable trait of his, but he has clearly made you soft."


    "You''re lying Matthew, you''re lying!"


    "This might hurt you, but everything I have said has been the truth. There are things that your brother hasn''t disclosed to you that I wish he had told you. I feel sorry for you for having had a brother who kept you in the dark for so long."


    "Shut up you know nothing about Tendai! Shut up before I come there and kick your ass!" he said with a heightened rage that coursed through his blood. He was mad, extremely angry at Matthew. This was surely going to end in a clash between them.


    "Very well Kudzai you made your choice," he said, walking towards Kudzai whilst laying his hammer on his shoulder, "you don''t get to kill them. The game is over and I won." Kudzai in that moment was relieved. He felt bad that he lost, but his moral code could not make him go through with it. He was also glad that Matthew had stopped pressuring him to kill them. However upon reaching Kudzai he uttered something else, "But the game only ends once you have slain everything."


    In that moment, Kudzai''s shock had worn him like a deformed and obscene masquerade mask. Kudzai tried to stop Matthew, but was useless. He was awarded with a slap, of the back of the hand. The slap hurt more than the pain he got from the body slam the tiger man had given him. It was as if he was thrown into a comma upon the hand striking his face and woke up as soon as he slammed into the surface below. Kudzai was helpless and watched from a far as Matthew did the unspeakable to this child and her mother. Matthew thrust his hammer onto the little girl with extreme might. The hammer smashed her head like a brick squashing a bug, the two as a comparison were both gruesome, but his performance of brutality was like an illustration of sadism at best. The base floor of the hut was disgorged and spoiled by the impact of the hammer and by the girl''s mangled flesh respectively. Matthew went on to bludgeon everything, painting the thatched walls red and wetting the fire at the hearth with their blood and flesh. Matthew''s gratuity was that of a builder plastering a wall with his tools, everything had to be mashed together to bring out the perfect house, in this case, the perfect slaughter. Kudzai screamed out no and no as he laid on the ground. He cried at his weakness and inability to do anything as Matthew gutted away at his innocence. His mind had been violated, the ultimate mind fuck had dawned on his brain, and to add the icing on the cake, Matthew uttered something disturbing before the game ended.


    "The Animorphs are nothing but things. Killing them should be no different from squashing a bug. They are the enemy dammit not a civilian casualty, don''t ever get the two confused!"


    Kudzai immediately woke up upon the game''s end. The latex and nodes latched onto him became loose, freeing him from the clutches of his seat. Matthew was also awake. Kudzai immediately got off and ran out of the room. Matthew told him to stop, but he didn''t even give him the chance. His good start had turned sour fast. He wished he had never encountered Matthew Logan.


    Meiko had been pressured by her friend to seek out Kudzai, the guy who had dazzled her with his wonderful words. She was walking near the basketball courts with her glossary of novels and text books in hand, heading towards the car park to be picked up by her mom. As she drew near the tennis ball courts, which were just after the basketball courts, she spotted a Kudzai Mhike pacing fast as if in a rush. She called out his name, but Kudzai''s state of mind had blocked out any other voice besides his. Meiko was ignored by the guy she had an interest in; a dreadful experience for any girl her age, but what was clearly visible as he trotted away was that his face looked depressed. His frown was as clear as her infatuation for him was and this had led her to say inwardly, "What happened to my Kudzai?"

 Chapter 8-The Night Owl

    The drizzle and over cast had changed the mood at the unit Z7 seaport. It was an industrial area, the by-product of an indentured labour pact between an affluent Tamerian in the east federation and the heads of Sky Colossus, the Monopolists. This port had a number of cargo, containing weapons of biological warfare and high tech hydrogen bombs. The weather, which had given it a gloomy and overcast feel, having intermittent violent bursts of thunder, was now reinforced with fall winds. The guards patrolling the area were already having a hard time with the rigorous hours put into safe guarding the facility, the breeze was now just overkill. The orographic nature of Tameria never ceased to implore its inhabitants to move to warmer regions that were graced by exotic weather, but these people were a stubborn lot, the kind that would find any means possible to become compatible with their environment. The elements'' appeal would just be empty words, deflected by the industrial nation of Tameria, which had proven since the beginning of time that they were the chosen ones, god''s beloved children.


    "Castle indigo to base. Castle indigo to base. How''s the night shift tonight?" said Takura, the man appointed to the task of managing the cargo deck. He was in a tower like structure, which had a conical shape. It had a mounted tower light; a beam of intense light that scanned the whole area, twirling as it did its rounds. Takura''s room was an iron fortress, the kind that would require anti-tank piercing rounds just to scratch the surface. It was a control room filled with several touch screen dashboards, randomly placed buttons and plastic encapsulated handles that were meant to be pulled to initiate something. Takura was all alone in the tower that had incandescent light bulbs, casting a dark shadow on his front frame, the kind that scared children. He was a mid-forties mercenary with brown skin, a deep scar on his lip and forehead, complemented by a rigid brawny jaw, firm chin, and semi-wrinkled face. He had a stylish mullet hair style with fades on the sides of his head. His hair was a combination of a withered black colour and whitish grey hair, something that always gave away his numbered days on Reverie. The old fashioned camouflage of the Reverie army that had black and faded yellow was worn with pride by this old brute, decorated with a lieutenant major insignia on the shoulder pads of his uniform. He was out of form due to his age, having a noticeable bump on his tummy, the sign of a true alcoholic, but regardless of the plump tummy, his arms, shoulders and the lower regions of his body were all still in their prime. He was not yet out of the game and his presence in the control room was living proof that you can''t pin down an old dog with a menacing bite.


    "The night shift is shit Takura, why don''t you come here and join us you bastard!" said the voice which was coming from the radio he was holding. The radio was oval shaped with two buttons on it and a dial on the side, the kind found on private planes. Takura grasped the radio with his right hand and his cigar in the left hand and spouted out, "You will just have to deal with the weather, you''re still several ranks below me maggot!"


    "You still are a cheeky bastard Takura. It¡¯s cosy up there in the tower right? Well when this shift is over, our men need a raise!"


    "You can take that up with the man himself, Alexis Norton; um pretty sure he will entertain his investment!"


    "You should be the one reporting to him dammit!"


    "You seem to forget that human relations isn''t my forte," he said grabbing a hold of a bottle of whiskey with his left hand and sipping before uttering, "just do your jobs right and you will get a raise, stop complaining!"


    "Catching feelings aren''t you old chap, well fine. Hopefully that bastard will show up and we will nail him to the ground!"


    "Why wish for conflict? Lack of excitement isn''t necessarily a bad thing, the Night Owl invading this place wouldn''t exactly be a good thing for your team"


    "Well without them coming, there are gonna be more shifts like this and you will be warm and cosy up there on your ass you bastard!"


    "Well kill a whale man, a hydra and a mammoth beast in your life time and then you can earn yourself a place on my seat, just work harder son and you will enjoy being a dick like me!"


    "You''re an ass Takura!"


    "I just do my job well maggot!"


    Takura turned off the radio and then put it back in its glove compartment. He gazed at the port below whilst drinking his whiskey. In the past years when he was deployed to the lower levels of Tameria, close to the boarders of the Animorphs land, he had a sense of excitement similar to that of a child. He yearned for those days, but now he was just a seaport lookout, managing men whose everyday complaints were beyond his scope of empathy. The mercenary sat on his couch, smoked his cigar, and then snapped the fingers of his right hand, which initiated the music in the room. He was playing conscious reggae music which had lyrics that touched on hope, despair and being one with Jaja. Takura began to nod his head to the melodic sounds whilst exhaling ring clouds of smoke. He closed his eyes to fully take in the rhythm of what was being played, humming to the tune of the song. As he basked in his chair something peculiar happened, the power in the room left. It was like an unsuspected blackout that took him by surprise. He quickly rose and waited for the back-up generators to kick in. The generators began to burn fuel, illuminating his fortress once again. Takura took the initiative of opening the glove compartment, taking hold of the radio and began to contact Castle indigo. The receiving end soon replied, "Takura! They are here, those bastards are h..." The communication was cut off immediately, which gave Takura the impression that all hell had broken loose on unit Z7. Takura moved to a metal closet that was just after the control panel. He nudged it and took a step back, waiting for something to happen as he heard miscellaneous sounds beyond the walls of the tower fortress. What came out of the closet was a gallery of weapons: handguns, futuristic sub machine guns, automatic weapons, RPGs, stingers, shotguns and many more. As he grabbed hold of the shotgun and submachine gun, the generator switched off. The sea port was now not only devastated by fall winds, but was now completely deprived of light. Takura then realised something that made him excited inside. The generator, which automatically activated, upon the power dissipating, had been destroyed outside. The fact that this mechanically done process was stopped regardless of there being a failsafe meant that whoever caused this was a tamer who was well versed in technological taming. Takura smirked and then dropped the submachine gun on the ground. He then took the RPG and old fashioned weapons that didn''t come with electronic fitted parts. He had armed himself fully, adding an additional hand grenade to his pocket. He opened the tower door and felt the cold breeze rush into the fortress, the very act of diffusion. Takura glanced at the number of cargo on the ground and the hazy looking buildings in the background. The rain began to wet his frame and body, but in the back of his head, his excitement gave him an exothermic aura, which negated the adverse effects of the weather. Takura was about to unleash his inner beast and this time he was going to do it guns blazing.


    A masked figure with a latex espionage suit landed precariously in the middle of the cargo area. Upon landing, he quickly began to eliminate the guards patrolling the area, knocking them out one by one without giving away his presence. The intruder had clearly mastered the art of stealth and was applying it on the hapless guards. Castle who had noticed that one of his men had gone missing had become suspicious of foul play. The power cut had confirmed his suspicions, but soon after contacting Takura, he was shot by a Sniper who was 3km away from him. The sniper who had stun bullets was clearly on a high platform for them to be able to execute the shot perfectly. The marksman was concealed somewhere in the city outskirts, but delving further into the whereabouts of the shooter would be pointless for the now incapacitated Castle. Castle was knocked out and the port had been infiltrated. The masked figure, who also had a small bag, began to off load the contents of the satchel. It contained chameleon C4s: a viscous plastic and technical explosive that injected or diffused gaseous chemicals into an object or living organism, causing it to implode. It was clear that the weapons and explosives inside the cargo holders were the primary target, but blowing them up would also result in a catastrophic explosion. The blast radius would not only level the entire facility but everything nearby. The masked man was playing a dangerous gamble, one that would easily blow up in his face if he made the wrong move. However, his brisk and nimble execution of applying these explosives on each cargo was impeccable, an act that would end disbelief on any doubting man. He simultaneously took out the men patrolling and placed his explosives on the elongated cargo containers. The C4 stuck onto these receptacles of deadly weapons, merged with their alloy and became one with it. It was no different from how a chameleon blended with its environment, earning these explosives the title of chameleon C4. Upon clearing the whole area, the masked man pressed his middle finger and forefinger on his ear and began to whisper words as if he was communicating via radio.


    "Emilia, I intercepted and cleared the base, are there any other guards I missed?" said the masked man who whispered calmly.


    "You''re all clear, get this done quickly like the last time.¡± replied Emilia


    The intruder began to use his tamer abilities. He manipulated the gravity around each crater containing the weapons and made them rise above the ground. The very levitation of these objects happened so effortlessly even though the cargo inside had a lofty weight. The masked man lifted the cargo 6meters above ground level and began to deploy each one of these 42 vessels into the vast sea. He flung them 5km away, using a velocity that defied logic. The open sea beyond the industrial port was his trajectory, making each container sink into the depths. No one with normal hearing capabilities could have heard each splash from that far, but the masked man could. His dexterity in tossing such heavy loads showed that he was a formidable force to reckon with, one that Takura would surely contest upon his arrival at the scene. The last container was about to be deployed into the sea until he heard a grating scream from his com link.


    "There is someone to your right, look out!" shouted Emilia who had just spotted Takura approaching her partner in crime. Takura, who had climbed down the tower, finding most of his subordinates pinned down, was on the verge of purging this unsolicitated guest. He had been concealed by an AGV construction vehicle when the masked man had begun to levitate the cargo. As soon as the last container was about to be ejected into oblivion, Takura opened fire on the intruder, giving him a taste of his semi-automatic berretta and Heckler & Koch G36K with a calibration of 5.56x45mm NATO. The masked man saw the incoming pellets of steel and dodged them easily, an agility that impressed Takura who had murdering him on his mind. The masked man who was taken by surprise did three back flips to evade the bullets and then landed close to the hull brim of the port, which was further west from his initial position. He gazed at his unexpected threat who was still firing and then grinned. Though his expressions could not be seen under the veil of his mask, his actions would soon speak louder than his poker face. He stopped the bullets in mid-air. All the bullets coming his way were all stopped on one spot like flies entangled in a fly trap. Takura who was enthusiastic before soon lost his itchy trigger finger. He saw this exposition of power as spite and uttered indignantly, "The bastard thinks a few parlour tricks will phase me? Hardly, I also have my own circus tricks." Takura threw down his weapons, leaving only his RPG that was strapped to his back. He stood in a stance, as if attempting to grab something with some form of hesitation and stretched out his hand. He had his eyes drawn and then flickered his stretched hand''s fingers. The bullets that were stationary, as if lodged onto the air like hammered nails on a wall, began to regain animation. They began to pursue the masked man, and this time, he was evading them for his life.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Though the last container, which had been levitated by the man, was still in mid-air, waiting to follow the rest of its comrades into submersion, the fact that it did not fall to the ground once the masked man was disrupted proved that he had commendable skill. He was still levitating the cargo and at the same time dodging the bullets that had been locked on to him. He was sprinting on the moist and slippery surface of the port deck as if each step he made was similar to that of suction boots with V12 engines. His running left after images which began to disturb Takura who was beginning to think that his upper hand before might just be short lived. He then took his RPG in hand, focused on the man and fired multiple shots. The grenade bullets were coming fast, closing in on the man, but they were also stopped mid-air, but this time, instead of being inanimate, they were redirected at Takura with even greater momentum. Takura realising how screwed he was quickly compressed the air around him and created an air shield to soften the impact of the explosion coming his way. The grenades blew up and flung him away into the ocean. He fell into the water, immersed by the refrigerated water, which was a vice of the morbid weather and began to swim up to the surface. The bullets that had been chasing the masked man had ceased their pursuit and fallen to the ground, the result of Takura''s focus on manipulating them being disrupted upon blocking the explosion. The masked man had finally out classed him, and he was now looking from afar, greatly mortified by his misstep. The reason was simply due to under estimation and over confidence in his own abilities. The tamer system of controlling the elements had a rule of first come first serve. This meant that whoever affixed his taming will on an element first had total control of it and no one else could obstruct it unless they used another element to counter it or different medium. For instance, if a gravity tamer used bullets as his medium another could use water, air or another object to strike the bullets. Another aspect of taming in this context was WCS (Will Capacity Strain), the mental strain that one could endure from taming multiple elements, animals, flora, and objects. Concentration and focus was required to handle such a task and an additional level of egotism and confidence. Takura upon blocking his own launched grenades lost sight of his bullets and thus could not terrorise the masked man anymore. This was the brief summation to why he had encountered defeat.


    "Hey stop! Stop damn it! I know you can hear me asshole!" shouted Takura in his stentorian voice. The masked man was about to deploy the last container, something that Takura as the one who was in charge of the port''s cargo protection did not desire. This was going to tarnish his reputation for he was a man who thrived on his own merits, a slave to his ego. His voice began to sound more guttural and strident as he mustered the strength to shout, trying to get the masked man''s attention.


    "I said stop! What do you think will happen once those things go kaboom in the sea? Are you planning on destroying Sky Colossus'' marine life you darn terrorist?"


    "No!" said the masked man who had a modulated voice, "I intend to end your terrorism of the Animorphs!"


    "Heresy! Heresy! Such words are treason. You''re going to blow up the ocean and poison this trade route, you must be one of those Animorphtarian radicals!" said Takura with a now taut voice. The adverse effects of blocking the blast without having developed a strong air shield in time were now showing as he began to nose bleed.


    "I assure you lieutenant major Takura Hondo that I am not here to poison the sea," he said, looking at the distressed Takura, "but I will detonate these deadly weapons of the Tamerian army, the ones you intended to ship off to Animorphia!"


    "You crazy son of a bitch, do you know what the hell you are doing? You radicals are all the same confused shits who don''t believe in the state!" he said, shocked by how audacious the masked man was. The 42 containers had bombs that if all blown together packed a whooping 70megatons of explosive power. Such a blast could level an entire city and life 60km away from the initial blast site if it was detonated on land. However, the blast in water would have a different result. The water could act as a means of energy consumption, mitigating the power of the blast if it had been within the 8megaton explosive range. The sad truth was that the explosive power of all these bombs collectively was 70megatons plus and such power would not only go beyond tidal waves tsunami territory, but could cause a severe fissure that would instigate a fault line disruption. A convergent or divergent shifting of the tectonic plates due to enormous pressure mounted onto the seabed would result in a Reverie earthquake. Takura had every reason to worry, but yet what he marvelled at or at least was puzzled by was the fact that the masked man on the contrary believed that he was not going to poison the sea. This infuriated him and made him go from being motivated by personal bride to a more noble form of nationalism. He had to stop this insane man who he came to believe to be known as the Night Owl. An alias known for its exploits in sabotaging arms and weapons production facilities and stealing any cargo related with being deployed to Animorphia, but this time, the infamous name was about to detonate a terrifying bomb. Takura had to stop this man and hopefully, find some way of diffusing or nullifying the chameleon C4s, which from previous cases were stated to be the Night Owl''s primary choice for blowing up things. His rise to infamy as a thorn to the clandestine Tameria military campaign was what gave the intelligence department a headache, whom also had to constantly, filter the press, making them tell a story that was far from the truth. This was Sky Colossus'' way of keeping the truth from its citizens, but neither of that mattered to Takura, to him whatever the state wanted was best.


    He used his tamer abilities, grabbed onto the fluctuating ripples and got himself out of the water, but instead stood on top of it with a posture of defiance. He glared at the masked man who had just tossed the last container into the sea. Only beings of their magnitude could hear the splash of heavy cargo that had just dived into the ocean, 5km away. All that was left was now detonation, but Takura had one thing in mind, killing this danger to the state. Takura began to bulge his muscles, releasing his tamer brute strength, ripping the sewn thread of his uniform, leaving it in tatters. The now determined Takura began to run with every intention of harming his enemy once he reached him. The masked man''s body language showed lack of interest, ignoring his charging opponent. He instead glanced at the sea and what came out was a giant vertical wave of water in the shape of a gargantuan hand. The hand had been carved out by the masked man, which ended up grabbing Takura, wasting away all that exerted effort Takura had put into charging. He was clenched into a watery fist, which then evolved into a spiral silhouette. The silhouette began to spin and spin, taking the shape of a tornado fused with a whirl pool. The revolution made Takura dizzy, making him pass out as he was spun in the 100km/hr vortex of H2O. The spiral form suddenly retracted like a spring coil ring and ejected Takura far away into the distance. His body was propelled farther than 40km, exiting the masked man''s view in a flash. The water eventually receded and flowed back into its normal base form, the result of that man calming the sea with his will alone. Upon completing his task, he heard a girly scream, the one that fan girls of boy bands would make, on his com link.


    "Oh my gosh Tendai, that was so awesome!" screamed Emilia who had witnessed all the events that occurred at the port with her sniper rifle scope. She was gleaming underneath her own black latex body suit, which was covering her curvaceous body, an erotic pleasure that would cause weak souls to break down upon seeing it. She had long orange reddish hair and night vision goggles on and was deafening her partner with her fan rant.


    "Tendai you have got to teach me how to do that, you really handed that guy''s ass to him!"


    "Emilia stop screaming jeez!" he replied, imploring her to stop.


    "Um sorry... did I hurt your ears?" she apologised, asking earnestly like a child who wanted to go through positive and redemptive contrition.


    "You think?" he said, annoyed by the girl''s response.


    "Um sorry, I got carried away."


    "Never mind about that, get your nuclear yield EMT bracelet out and begin to observe it. Like the simulation we did at Tub, tell me how the blast energy is gonna be flowing."


    "Okay, um taking it out," she said, taking a belt like device which had a LCD surface and already equipped touch screen. What appeared on the dashboard was an EMT (Equivalent MegaTonage) real time graph indicator. The pulse at the moment was weak, but soon after Tendai detonating the 42cargo, containing weapons of mass destruction; it would glisten with thermal colour variances. As Emilia set up the device, Tendai began to levitate, flying at will and heading towards where he had disembarked his containers. The air to him was a non-existent obstacle; he flew in the sky at the speed of that of a rocket ship, defying all that impeded the possibility of such in a matter of seconds. He arrived at the very sea level submersion spot he had dropped his containers without wasting any time. He breathed in deeply and levitated upwards, going 30m above sea level. Emilia knowing what was coming next took this chance to utter a few heartfelt words.


    "Tendai be careful, always keep in mind that you are the chosen hope of Reverie and also my hope."


    "Emilia...," he paused, upon hearing her beautiful words of encouragement and replied with a grin, "you always said out of character things in the heat of the moment, but I will do my part. This act will be symbolic to greater things to come."


    Emilia instinctively nodes, and agrees with him, respecting his resolve. She is filled with euphoria, but at the same time dread for what''s to come. Tendai who has now stopped in mid-air begins to separate sea water from its harbouring resonance, making it rise to form an encompassing spherical water dome. The scale of such was like that of an epic tsunami only that it was one that he was controlling. Tendai had already tamed all the neighbouring fish and commanded them to flee the blast site. All that was left for him was to suppress the impact of the 70megatons blast in a sea of great depth. He looked down below, getting a worm''s eye view of his lower body and saw a flash. In that moment he uttered, "It has begun."

 Chapter 9-Behold I am powerful

    At a military base near the Far East side of the peninsula of Sky Colossus, a man called Dane Trent is doing his 21:07 over time as usual, prolonging his stay at work to evade his marital squabbles at home. His in the EMT nuclear yield and thermo dynamic detection command room. His two assistants are working down below at the lower recesses of the command centre. His colleague and wave variance calculator, Amara Black, was his stress relief. They were having an affair, but keeping it under wraps. With the recent military production activities, the command centre had become busy, but due to there rarely ever being any exciting stellar stuff, the focus on foreign terrorists bombings had declined. The Tamerian military, despite this, didn''t become complacent; their level of paranoia and alertness had still remained even in peaceful times. Dane didn''t mind pulling off extended hours and of course, sleeping with Amara to pass the time. It was the same old night with them talking about scientific theories and running down simulations about potential attacks and even farfetched ones. At the command centre, Dane was happy. He was obsessed with his work and had a woman who shared with him the same voraciousness.


    The night was slow as usual until his humongous terminal began to point out erratic hydrostatic and violent thermo nuclear magnitude wave signatures. The room went from taciturn boredom to terrifying ringing of alarms. The night had finally come, the one with activity and everything at stake. Dane and his mistress quickly began to use their tablets, which were connected to the command centre main server and began to analyse the readings. Amara with her 38 year old woman features, nerdy glasses, moe-esque look , grey cotton dress and almost bland body, nudged Dane and asked, "This is bad Danny, should we wait for base commander Takawira to make the call?"


    "No need to call that insensitive man, I will alert the higher ups myself. Initiate magnitude 8.0 defence system." said the semi-bald man with a small head, freckles and short stature, embodied in a classic suit and tie. Dane initiated protocol Defence against magnitude 8.0. This was a massive bulwark that emanated several hundreds of meters from any given point of the harboured resonance below sea level. As soon as Dane initiated the protocol a 20meter metal wall sprouted from the ground, causing a quake in the city out skirts of Sky Colossus, something that Kudzai Mhike would surely hear about tomorrow at school. The wall didn''t encompass the whole island, but made a crescent shaped curve, covering the section of the peninsula that was estimated to be prone to severe damage due to the blast. All those who were outside at this time of night, may it be parting, night shift work or a general stroll in the night, witnessed the gargantuan walls. Even the vibrations of the ground, a ripple effect of summoning part of the great wall of Tameria had startled many. Dane who had done his job already knew that Intelligence would just redact the truth of what had happened. Dane was not really curious at all about what was going on and what caused such a massive explosion, he simply did his job and left the idea of meddling further, into his mental trash can. He knew in the end that tools like him and Amara would never be told everything, but what they needed to hear.


    The great flash of light in the water was in full view, sending vertical gusts of hydrostatic water into the air. The water level rose up extremely high, but Tendai who had separated a lot of water from the harbouring resonance, made the water seem like it was in a sphere that resembled a continental aquarium, bound by gravity and devastating hurricane like air pressure. This was the phenomenon created by Tendai. The blast power was strong and Tendai could feel it. Emilia then suddenly blurted out, "Tendai, the epicentre of the blast has spread rapidly to the north side, you better get things done quickly!" Tendai heard her warning, but didn''t reply. He merely focused on the task at hand. Tendai, who had thought about the fissure effect aspect of the blast, cleaved the water close to the sea bed, leaving it as a shallow pool as soon as he had separated it. Tendai had created a meteorite sized ball of water that was glowing inside; each explosion was like a spectacular heartbeat. Tanaka who had initially levitated close to 30 meters had gone past Reverie''s stratosphere, self-containing the huge sphere of water and at the same time compressing it with wind pressure similar to that of an apocalyptic natural disaster. Such power he exerted was god like. The men at the command centre and all that travelled at night in their hover crafts saw this feat. The energy, which was violent, thumping like a caged animal trying to escape, had been suppressed.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Tendai was in another league of his own. The remaining ocean water, which had not been included into the giant orb like sphere of water, began to ebb inwards, taking up the vacant space. The water level of Tameria was surely going to have drastic change. The spherical compressed ball of intense pressure was beginning to give off steam, which he instinctively blew away with the surrounding little air. Several minutes had passed as he waited for the energy output to dissipate as he watched the water before him coagulate. The raging heartbeat of explosive power soon lost its pulse, succumbing to the will of Tendai. The spherical meteorite sized water was now just a compressed geyser. It was boiling, but some of its initial water had evaporated upon detonation making the remnant a miniature shell of its former self. Tendai had tamed this malicious vice and had won. All that was left was to get rid of the toxic impurities. Tendai levitated downwards, getting closer to the ocean bay and stopped mid-air. He gazed up at the clouds above and began to cause friction within the clouds. The pressure he applied was intense and soon enough lightning bolted down and struck the ball of water. Tendai cooked and cooked the water until its smog was ripe for extraction, his epic version of electrolysis. He finally separated the smog inside, meticulously going through every molecule of water and only selecting what he considered malignant. It was like sifting out rocks out of a tray of sulphur, but his means of doing it made it seem so easy. Tendai separated the smog from the water and flung it out of Reverie''s atmosphere. It had been ejected like a cannon ball, never ever to be seen by all manner of life on Reverie. Tendai then began to pour the water down into the sea as if it was in a jug, being poured into a glass bowel. The fact that the whole feat was effortless, defied logic; he was unbelievably awesome. He soon restored the water level back to normal, but as he was doing so, he began to hear sounds of propelling in the distance. Hornet jets were coming for him. The national guard of Reverie had dispatched several of them, hopefully to end him, but his mission was done. Tendai then averted his attention and then created the same silhouette of water he had used on Takura and put himself in it. It retracted likewise, coiled like a spring, and then finally ejected him into the outskirts, which was at the opposite end of the city. He was gone and free from peril. He had won and accomplished his mission.


    Kudzai was lying on his bed, stressed out and covering his face with a¡¯ Movies Tonight¡¯ magazine. He had not felt hungry that night and had said he had no appetite, a reason that baffled his mother who had known her son as one to devour quantities that would easily turn her obese if she were to emulate the same eating traits. He had just put himself into a sullen state, thinking about the butchering that Matthew had performed and whether his brother had partaken in such disgusting thing. The possibilities were vast, but he would have to confront the horse¡¯s mouth himself. Soon enough, his window opened from outside. What came into view was his brother, who looked as if he was rained on. The time was 23:06 and Tendai had sneaked into the house. Kudzai had noticed this, but had a weak response due to being maimed with insomnia and the post-traumatic stress he was dealing with. He called out faintly at his brother, "Tendai, Tendai..." Tendai who had just closed the window behind him took notice of the hissing and whispered back, "Yah it¡¯s me little bro, it¡¯s me. Don''t tell mom."


    "Don''t forget that um not the type to snitch... " he said, with a morose voice that Tendai easily mistook as being tired. Tendai immediately headed for the bathroom, but was halted by Kudzai''s question which went like, "Why do you smell like fish and salt water, I hope you weren''t doing a triathlon in this weather you gym freak."


    "Not at all, I was just practicing water taming," he said with a bit of a laugh, "how was day one of school?"


    "It was okay." he lied.


    "Well that''s good to hear; at least you will have a menu of girls to choose from, I always said that boys schools were a prison, welcome to the club sunny boy."


    "Go bath you stink." uttered Kudzai with a faint chuckle. Tendai raised his hand and gave him a thumbs up as he entered the bathroom saying, "Goodnight little bro." Kudzai waved back to show confirmation. The door was slammed shut from behind and his brother began to bath. Kudzai wanted to ask him a lot of questions, questions regarding his affiliation with a psycho like Matthew and other things he didn''t know about his brother. It wasn''t as if he was doubting him, but one thing that scared people who idolized their hero''s is that they didn''t want any other mental image of how they perceived them being altered. They simply wanted what they had gotten in the beginning, a loveable personality that inspired hope. Kudzai could have dropped the question there upon seeing Tendai, but somehow he would rather have what he knew his brother as and not what he would soon unravel. His dilemma finally exhausted him and he soon fell asleep. His brother came out of the shower, and saw the unblanketed Kudzai and covered him with his own blankets. He smiled at the fact that his brother was snoring peacefully and left his room to eat his refrigerated food which was left for him in the kitchen. What Tendai hadn''t realised is that their relationship of brotherly fondness would soon take an unsavoury path into the depths of dissention.

 Chapter 10-School days

    The next day of school was a sullen start, but Kudzai had already mastered the art of internalising his problems, carrying his poker face with him, which always made him appear like a happy youth. Morgan Freed, the man who had served the family for 25 years could easily see through the youth''s forced facade, something he had gotten accustomed to due to working several years in his trade. The butler didn''t try to pry into what was going on in the mind of the young master but rather ignored it, hoping that the young master would soon find a resolution within his own internal conflict. This concern was something that these two were mutually sharing as they drove off to St. Calteco high for day 2 of school.


    Class was going to start in the next 10minutes! That was always a ghastly scenario for anyone who was caught up in the early morning traffic jam. They were probably regretting having not driven earlier than what was commonly sanctioned by the laws of the road, getting into early morning road rage as they watched the clock ticking to their dismay. Kudzai was fortunate to be punctual like the rest of his peers, evading the armada of cued vehicles in transit and arriving to find the same flashy cars from yesterday all parked at the school drop off zone. Upon arrival he could not help but notice the attention, he was getting from a couple of form 4 girls who giggled at the sight of him. They teased him calling him ''Tendai junior'', and seemed to be glowing as they were gawking at him. He felt objectified like a nude model in the view of countless perverse eyes, going from enjoying his attention to feeling uncomfortable. At first, he thought it was some form of group jeering, but in actual fact, it was a silly juvenile taunting of the opposite sex. He inadvertently smiled, but felt embarrassed as he headed towards class. The girls saw this and began to giggle even more, shamelessly scoping Kudzai who immediately trotted fast, heading to his class with a classic face palm as he tried to alleviate himself from that awkward moment with the two giggling girls.


    Upon arriving outside his classroom, he saw Neo who had a fixed and serious face, the one commonly found on badly taken passport photos. Tracy was tagging along beside her friend with a sullen face, something that gave Kudzai the impression that today was going to be a bitter day. As they entered class, Kudzai soon realised that these two had come from the direction where the class prep Dionne was. Dionne was with her cronies: Clarice, David, Michoone, and Alice, discussing vehemently about something as if they were in a political gathering. Having been noticed by his 5 classmates he instinctively waved hello at them and they all did the same under Dionne''s instruction. He soon enough entered his classroom to find cliques engrossed in their own forms of discussion. Jonathan and Lisa were at the far right corner at the back of the classroom, talking to Melissa Keaton. Kudzai was puzzled and wondered what their discussion was about. The estranged Melissa Keaton had given him discomfort the day before and he didn''t feel obligated to converse with a pale emo girl who was prone to daydreaming and sketching random art on paper during lessons. As he surveyed his environment, the muscle spasms from his regular early morning routine workout had surprisingly taken noticeable physical strain on him. He was fatigued more than usual, and even though he could hide his ominous feelings with an optimistic face, he couldn''t fake his body language. He walked stiffly, heading towards the back role and found Neo with his clique of athletes, all bunched up in deep conversation. Neo was with Randal, a chubby and a bit firm, squint eyed boy with a plump accent. He had green eyes, freckles on his nose and cheeks, curly pulled back hair and was medium height in disposition. His entangled hands and rough frame made him look as if he was a red neck in restraints. He was constantly nodding at Munya, who was saying something that had the name Dionne spouted as a motif in his dialogue. Munya was an ebony light skinned tall and physically fit boy. He had lime light enormous eyes that were complemented with black nerd glasses. His eyes were a bit milky from what Kudzai had noticed, but he had neatly done corn rolls. Tracy who was part of this meeting began to utter words in a conspirator like manner, which then quickly enticed Kudzai''s curiosity. He amplified his hearing perception to a tangent that made all of Neo''s clique''s subtle whispers and intermittent shouts into an extremely audible horn. Upon eavesdropping, he began to hear them each utter their sentences, but the dialogue soon revealed to him an already existing conflict within the class.


    "That little twat Dionne is so full of herself; this is the problem of aristocrats. Unlike the sons of the genuine nobility, she has no approved claim or entitlement to say that." uttered Munya with an expression of protest.


    "I propose we humiliate her in public and destroy her pride. She is just a nuisance that girl! Rude and conceited twat indeed." uttered Tracy whose eyes would go blood shot to express her anger.


    "She has gone too far Neo, why do you let her trash talk you like that? You''re way cooler and better as a person than her. You should tell her head on... " said Randal before being interjected by Neo whose frustration was seething inside of him. He was happy that his friends had shown him support, but the support did not thwart the truth he knew deep down inside. The truth being that he was a commoner who was lucky enough to get a government scholarship to attend St.Calteco high. It was an achievement that he attained from working hard and showing athletic aptitude, but no matter how skilled and talented one was in both academics and sports, someone would still overlook those achievements and only see their humble begins.


    "Stop both of you," said Neo who was rattled inside by their hate speech, "Dionne is an elitist twat as you say, but it doesn''t change the truth about me."


    "Neo you know we don''t care about that strung up stuff, we both like you the way you are, you''re talented, and you lighten up the mood..." said Tracy who sounded as affectionate as a mother who was consoling her child.


    "You say that because of my skill set, but if it wasn''t for that you''d treat me different right?"


    "Neo we aren''t like the rest of the snobby brats in St. Calteco high, we are your friends, don''t insinuate stuff like that." said Munya who was astonished by Neo''s odd remark. Dionne had said something venomous as usual, but this time it had tipped the scales on the Asian boy''s thick skin.


    "You shouldn''t get mind screwed by Matthew Logan. His your team captain for tennis and your friend, but he has issues. Don''t let his way of thinking rub on you and make you say stuff you don''t really mean." said Randal who grasped Neo''s shoulder, reassuring him that all was well.


    "Neo, if you don''t take her on you will just bottle up all that anger inside and vent it out on us like what you''re doing now. We are your friends." said Tracy who looked deeply into Neo as if trying to draw out his inner most affirmation of trust in her. Neo eventually admitted to have spoken out of personal bitterness, smirking and apologising to his friends for having suggested that they weren''t genuine. Neo rose up and said, "I think it¡¯s time I accepted where I have come from and not use it as a sob story to fuel my personal insecurities." The remark instantly widened the smiles of Neo''s inner circle, but what he did next was unexpected. He left the classroom to confront Dionne. As he was leaving, he greeted Kudzai who had been static during his eavesdropping. He was smiling more than usual as he shaked Kudzai''s hand, exchanging concise words before leaving his sight. The cordial greeting was surely brief, but what lasted longer was Kudzai''s anticipation of a violent reaction between Neo and Dionne''s clique. The very idea of something cataclysmic happening entered his mind as Neo left the classroom. Kudzai''s brief distraction from other events taking place in the class as a whole made him not see Melissa Keaton who was on her way to talk to him. She had that pale vampire look, a bit cute for those with a fetish for gothic Lolitas, but a look that would shrivel a sane boy''s libido. She nudged his shoulder and quickly asked, "You never came to where I had stated, why?" Kudzai who was always startled by her appearance reacted in a kind of subtle shock, which she could have easily misinterpreted as revulsion. He didn''t hear her first utterance and instantly greeted her, saying, "Hi, its Melissa right? What''s good?"


    "Um all right. You didn''t make it to the place where we were supposed to meet?" she said with a dazed look as if she was high on heavily saturated shrooms.


    "Huh?" he asked, taken by surprise by her sudden remark.


    "I had told you to meet with me at the courts, why didn''t you come?" she asked, this time with a more sullen and hurt tone, but her facial expressions didn''t blend well with what she uttered. Even though the tone of the question was chagrin, Melissa''s expressions were too apathetic to the point that it gave her an intimidating aura. Kudzai having just realised that she had been speaking in code the day before, paused as he glanced at the empty doll like expression of Melissa and then asked, "So you were using a coded speech?"


    "Yes, the fact that you know this means that you intentionally didn''t come. Please tell me why?" she said, still lacking any appropriate facial expressions to match her appeal.


    "Well the honest truth is that I didn''t think you spoke coded speech, so forgive me, but next time just ask me using simpler methods." he said, horrified by the thought that he would end up socialising with this girl alone in the near future.


    "I thought you''d be quicker witted about it like your brother." she said with a passive tone. The remark struck a nerve on Kudzai, who to his own surprise was shocked by his own reaction towards Melissa''s statement. Kudzai with a loud and somewhat enraged voiced replied, "I AM NOT MY BROTHER DARN IT, WHY DO YOU GUYS ALWAYS INSIST THAT WERE THE SAME! DON''T ASSUME RUBBISH LIKE THAT AND END UP THINKING THAT WE''RE THE SAME!"


    The students of 2B1 who were already in class were taken by surprise by this sudden roar of disapproval that had emanated from Kudzai. Jonathan and Lisa were astonished and wondered what in the hell was going on. It was the same for Neo''s cliques who were down casted by this unexpected melt down. Kudzai soon realised his impulsive behaviour had proved to be detrimental. He was being eyed by everyone except by Jake Cavendish, the class hikikomori who was self-absorbed in his portable gaming device, embedded with wireless ear plug phones that looked more like black circular ear muffs. He had, a slender disposition, narrow but refined face that looked effeminate due to everything about his facial components being small. He had small eyes, a small nose, miniscule ears, and small lips, the very definition of a living dwarf. His grey eyes, blonde shaggy hair, short height, and mystic vibe were what summed him up in totality. He had not heard Kudzai''s sudden outburst and was seated two desks just after Melissa''s desk. He was jamming buttons on his video game with enthusiasm, oblivious to what was going on around him, but the same didn''t apply for the rest of his classmates. Everyone had halted what they were doing and wondered what on Reverie had Melissa said to provoke the golden boy of 2B1. Melissa who had been emotionless like a blank emoji suddenly began to show tangible human emotions. It was as if it was her first time showing any signs of life on her pale face, frowning like a child on the verge of pouring tears of insurmountable vexation. Jonathan whose discussion with Lisa had been abruptly interrupted and was now also a part of the audience watching Kudzai, decided to break the awkward silence by saying, "Everybody I have exciting news on my school tabloid! It¡¯s about Regina Shaw; you definitely gotta read about it!" The name Regina Shaw quickly took the lime light and made the rest of the class briefly forget about what had just happened. Melissa walked away from Kudzai who was about to apologise for his impudent behaviour, but she didn''t give him the time of day. Randal and Munya watched this spectacle whilst the rest of the class began to gossip upon hearing news about Regina. Jonathan went on to even say, "Get your phones out and quickly download the video along with the article on my Jona XOXO link hash tag Regina Shaw breaking news."


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. "You should have said this sooner Jonathan, why the impromptu nature, this isn''t like you to randomly spout your new updates. You should be more professional since it¡¯s your dream to run your own prolific popular magazine in the future." said Benjamin Baker, the male prep of the class. Like Dionne, his attention to neatness and posh disposition was quite flamboyant. His black hair was all oiled, shiny and cut exceptionally well as if handled by a majestic barber. His hair style was a refined specimen deserving the applause of a king and queen. He was generally handsome: blessed with a chiselled frame similar to that of an ancient Greek statue, the kind that had been worked on by the hands of an unrivalled craftsman. He was a pretty boy who carried himself well, but unlike Dionne, he seemed more debonair than the usual repugnant prep. His uniform looked different from his peers; the colours of the uniform were all the same, but the materials used to produce his look were of the highest quality in Reverie. It was custom made and even smelled nice. Benjamin who had noticed the perplexed Kudzai about to follow Melissa to beg for forgiveness decided to halt this act of commiseration.


    "Mr. Mhike I would suggest that you don''t waste your strength on that girl. Whatever you said to her will not be compensated well by you following her." he said with a plump voice, one that emanated from a mouth that was well fed since infancy with a silver spoon that lived up to the merit of unmatched affluence.


    "What do you mean I can''t...?¡± he said before being interjected mid speech.


    "Trying to console a girl like her is like trying to stop the wind, an unstoppable force that even a tamer like you wouldn''t be able to resolve." he said, taking out his mathematics text book and his tablet out. Kudzai paused and glanced at Benjamin whose composure made it seem as if what he was saying was fact. Benjamin then ended off his discourse with Kudzai by saying, "I am Benjamin Baker the 2nd, it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you Kudzai Mhike, son of Vice Admiral Moses Mhike."


    "Yah it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you too Benjamin." he said before being yanked by Jonathan who took him to the corner where Lisa was. Though Jonathan was gay and at times exhibited overly effeminate traits, his physical build was not atrophied at all by his demeanour. Kudzai felt like he had been grabbed by a polar bear, which had a very strong grip as he was dragged just in time for a lecture from Jonathan. Jonathan hissed into Kudzai''s ear, "What was that Kudzai? Honestly you soldier boys are too temperamental."


    "Hey hold up," he said breaking the hold Jonathan had on him, "chill out man, it was just a misunderstanding. I can get this resolved..."


    "I think you weren''t listening when Benjamin was talking. Melissa might feign being emotionless and an odd ball, but she is very sensitive."


    "Sensitive?"


    "Yes. She is very sensitive to the point of being mentally challenged. Just don''t lash out at her. Her idiosyncrasies can be much to take, but you have to be patient with her." he said, gazing into Kudzai''s eyes emphatically to get the point across him.


    "What''s wrong with her?"


    "It¡¯s a long story which I will explain to you to avoid another outburst with her."


    "But if she has a serious problem then why did you insist that I shouldn¡¯t apologise to her? I mean it¡¯s my fault but that Benjamin guy even stopped me."


    "Trust me on this, the last thing you''d want to do would be being next to her when she is unhappy." he said, pulling down his right sleeve to unveil a ghastly scar.


    "How the hell did you get that?" he said, shocked by what he had just witnessed.


    "I learned the hard way," said Jonathan who was now pulling up his sleeve, "you don''t have to or at least you don''t have to force yourself to be put in a position where you''d have to harm her out of self-defence."


    "Darn it Jonathan, if she is bat shit crazy, then why would she be learning with the rest of us?"


    "Her doctor said her psychosis or something like that can be managed to the point where she can be efficient in class. That''s just about much of the details I know about her condition, but the rest of the class has adapted for her sake. It¡¯s our fault we hadn''t told you sooner about her behaviour. Just don''t lash out at her when she says nasty things, she is just coping with her illness."


    "Okay... I guess I over did it back there."


    "That my friend is the biggest understatement," he said, now averting his attention to Lisa, "Lisa as I was saying, I couldn''t find the guy with the Asian anime merchandise you wanted, I will try again later tonight."


    "Oh... well, that totally sucks, I was planning on having my complete zanpaktou collection. I only need Yamamoto''s sword."


    "Your obsession with Asian cartoons even gave Meiko a scare when you called her a yandere, whatever that means."


    "It means a special kind of girl right Kudzai?" she said, glancing at Kudzai at the same time blushing.


    "Huh?" he asked, without any inclination to what she had just suggested.


    "Never mind, anyways what was that about with Melissa, I didn''t expect drama this morning."


    "It was a misunderstanding, I will get it fixed soon." he said, with a contrite face.


    "You don''t have to get touchy man, it¡¯s okay, you''re officially now well acquainted with this class now. Melissa''s episodes shouldn''t be a shocker anymore."


    "Oh... Okay." he said, surprised by her complacent tone.


    "Jonathan you might as well tell him about your plans of making him a partnered confidant. ¡° she said, looking at Jonathan who was staring back at her with a dubious look.


    "Um, Lisa¡­ you do realise I was planning on asking him later, why did you have to spoil the process." said Jonathan with a now upset face.


    "Oops, my bad," she said, pouting her mouth, "I did it again."


    "This is why your world of Warcraft avatar is always being assaulted by your gaming buddies online, always spoiling things for others." iterated Jonathan with a glare.


    "You''re so naive Jonathan, boys online obviously want to talk to me. A male gamer''s fantasy is to have his female gamer girl. Then again, the force-98 really wanted to destroy my allotted territory and stored up mana." she said as if daydreaming in between talking.


    "What on Reverie are you two talking about?" asked Kudzai whose lack of knowledge in the area of discussion was beginning to annoy him.


    "Video games Kudzai, you do play them do you?" asked Lisa who seemed to be squinting her eyes, anticipating a yes from Kudzai as she blinked intermittently.


    "Yah I do, but I prefer those FPS games and maybe online fencing sometimes when um free. I usually play with my brother."


    "But why not strategy games?" she asked as if she was undoubtedly struck with chagrin.


    "I don''t find them interesting. They require too much time to invest in... Anyways, thanks for the notes Jonathan, you guys are 2 topics ahead of the Heyzafolt boys from what I noticed." said Kudzai who shrugged off Lisa and averted his attention towards Jonathan.


    "Really, you guys hadn''t ventured into seismic activity and river systems?" said Jonathan with a perplexed look.


    "Yep, pretty much. Anyways, who¡¯s Regina Shaw?"


    "Oh that girl, she is a commissar¡¯s daughter, but she tends to leave nasty trails of her nudes and promiscuous behaviour at Lindenbergio (An infamous night club in Sky Colossus known for strippers and lots of shady activities)."


    "Lindenbergio, wow, she is really that freaky?" he asked, stupefied by the degree of depravity, which this girl had exhibited, "are all the girls in this school crazy?"


    "Not all Kudzai, but a select few in the whoredom ladder." he said with a modulated voice, to accentuate the necessary wit required.


    "Come on Jonathan! Watch your potty mouth for Sentient One''s sake!" interjected Lisa who had noticed the foul venomous words Jonathan had uttered.


    "You don''t have to yell at me Lisa, I get it, my tongue has a tang of black mamba, but you know what it''s like in the school."


    "Regardless of that, I can''t believe you kiss Walter with that mouth, it must really be a stain that requires a very efficient detergent." said Lisa with a clear and exaggerated bass. They all burst into laughter upon hearing the joke.


    "That was really funny Lisa, I didn''t see that one coming," said Kudzai who was chuckling, "by the way Jonathan, how is it that you always have access to this information?"


    "A very good journalist never reveals his sources." he said, flexing and feigning a business like pose.


    "You mean professional right Jonathan?" asked Benjamin who had overheard their discussion. The question he asked was out of patronising him for having not used the exact words to convey his sentence.


    "Why don''t you quit it you elitist linguist!" shouted Jonathan who was annoyed by this jibe at him by Benjamin.


    "If you''re going to say it right at least get it right on the first try. I could always turn on the class LCD screen to outline the appropriate vocabulary to aid you in your speech." he said with an air of great disdain. Jonathan glared at him and gave him the middle finger. Benjamin unmoved by this insult quickly retaliated by saying, "Well you could always devolve to the use of sign language, you seem to be showing ample talent in that department. Good day to you Jonathan."


    Kudzai noticed this unprecedented mockery of Jonathan and wondered why the sudden exchange of sour words occurred. He simple commented, "What''s his problem?"


    "His my rival in linguistics in class. You could call it a healthy rivalry."


    "Healthy?" asked Lisa with great bewilderment.


    "How is that healthy?" asked Kudzai whose chagrin was mutually shared with Lisa.


    "Trust me on this one, a rival is pretty much your best friend." said Jonathan with a smug on his face.


    "If you say so Jonathan," said Lisa who seemed doubtful of her friend''s stoic stance on things, "anyways Kudzai, you''re a tamer right?"


    "Obviously, he is Tendai Mhike''s younger brother. The royal powers should be in him as well." interloped Jonathan who was annoyed by the naive nature of Lisa''s question.


    "Hold your horses¡¯ girlfriend. Um just making sure, we don''t just tag him as one. Do you remember what happened to Timothy Harrington? The boy whose sister was a tamer... he felt the pressure to be a tamer when he was skipped by the family genetics."


    "You don''t have to go crazy about my status, um a tamer, haven''t been skipped at all by genetics except for my little sister." said Kudzai who wanted to end these two''s squabbles before they morphed into something ugly.


    "Oh wow that''s so cool, sorry about your sister.¡± said Jonathan.


    ¡°Maybe she is a late bloomer." said Lisa who wanted to console Kudzai''s tragic family misfortune.


    "Well time will tell. By the way, are there any other potent tamers besides me in the class?"


    "Well only two more. Dionne and Neo." replied Jonathan.


    "What? You mean that girl is a potent tamer?" shouted Kudzai who was beyond shocked by this revelation.


    "Yep, the class bitch is a potent tamer. It makes it hard to believe that people as pretentious as her would be that talented. Um honestly jealous." said Lisa who was clearly bothered by that fact.


    "Well it¡¯s really not a big deal... " said Kudzai who had tried to be modest.


    "At times not flaunting the obvious is bad. You don''t have to be humble, we all know that potent tamers are special," he said abating Kudzai''s noble attempt at moral decency.


    "You guys really like the pompous?¡± asked Kudzai.


    "Nope, we just like it when you don''t keep things that are obvious, to yourself.¡± replied Jonathan.


    "Kudzai could you demonstrate some of your tamer talents for us?¡± asked Tessa Lake, a girl who was seated at the far middle left of the classroom. She was a petite and dainty girl, one who also seemed as if she had not reached puberty due to her youthfulness. She had a balloon rounded face, ebony dark skin, squint eyes and a million credit smile. Kudzai had wondered why he hadn''t noticed such a beauty before in the class. In that moment he realised that, his infatuation for Meiko now had a contender.


    "You want to see me demonstrate my taming abilities?¡± he asked thinking that it was just some harmless taunting.


    "Yes.¡± she said with a more than alluring modulated voice. The girl that Tessa was sitting next to, Simone Iverson stood up and shouted, "Guys Kudzai is gonna show us his taming tricks!¡± In the background, the rest of the class began to talk about what Simone had just announced and then looked at Kudzai who was once again in the spotlight this morning. Kudzai at first didn''t notice the now observing eyes for Simone''s appearance had caught him off guard. She was a towering stocky girl who looked like a female version of Goliath. She was average looking facially, though her extremely well defined jaw made her look like a Russian dominatrix, a possible transgender model. If she had a nickname, the one they would give her would be Helga.

 Chapter 11-So I am in this house?

    As the audience began to take their seats in preparation for their show, Neo who had left the classroom had made his triumphal return to find a mob of students all directing their gaze at Kudzai. He asked his clique about what was going on, but all he got from Randal was, "Kudzai is about to do something mint.¡± Neo took this vague remark as it is and averted his attention towards Kudzai who seemed surprised by the scrutiny he was getting. In this very instance Lisa took this chance to intervene on behalf of Kudzai by saying, "You don''t have to do it you know.¡±


    "Eh... well it would just be boring if I didn''t. I guess I will just show them a few things before the lesson starts.¡± replied Kudzai who gave into the demands of his adoring fans.


    Jake Cavendish was still obliviously engrossed in his game and didn''t pay attention to what was going on in class. His muffled grunts as he completed another challenging level on his portable gaming device were all over powered by the chanting that Kudzai was getting from the rest of the class. Kudzai began to focus on all the desks and chairs, flickering the fingers on his right hand as everyone watched in anticipation. The desks and chairs began to levitate, disrupting Jake who was immersed in his game. Jake made an astonishing scream, which made the whole class laugh at him as they marvelled at Kudzai''s gravity taming. Everyone who had been on their seats includingBenjamin had shifted positions as they saw this wonderful exposition of power. As this happened, Dionne walked in glaring as her cronies flowed behind her. Her face was fixed in a solid frown that had completely altered her pretty face into something horrendous. Her now squinted eyes were darting at everyone who seemed to be having fun, something that she clearly was not experiencing due to what Neo had said to her. She took a long pause as she surveyed her audience and then put on a smile just before interrupting the fun. She snapped her fingers and used the air around the class room to drop the desks. Some landed properly and some didn''t, but Dionne made sure that one of the four legs of Neo''s desk landed on his foot.


    Neo was bruised by the desk: felt a tingling sensation of pain when the leg of the chair connected with his right foot. He immediately realised that this was some form of foul play on Dionne''s part, but decided to not berserk on her. Everyone glared at Dionne and at her respective cronies as if they were criminals on death role. Benjamin was the first to speak up, asking why she had done what she just did, followed by Jonathan and the rest of the class. Dionne simply replied, "Mrs. Latvia is just right around the corner. Unless you want us to have class detention you''d better get yourselves in order.¡± She had aggravated the class with her display of contempt, but they all agreed that Mrs. Latvia finding the classroom in a mess would award them a dreadful detention with the strict middle aged Latino beauty. Everyone began to sort out their desks and finished just in time to greet Mrs. Latvia who was decorated in an Animorphia woman Tigress chinchilla. Kudzai was surprised to see one like that on her, but decided to focus on the class formalities of greeting teachers. Melissa Keaton who had disappeared earlier on had made her return, but her face was back to normal or at least it looked as lifeless as before. She still looked apathetic which really disturbed Kudzai who thought that he had really driven her to the edge of tears. Melissa sat where her desk was and took out her mathematics text books and tablet. The fact that no one in the class had taken time to scope her as she walked in, made him say to himself, "2B1 is one hell of a class.¡± Regardless of Melissa being ignored by her classmates as if her squabble with Kudzai was last century''s news, what was at least commonly shared by everyone during their first period of school was their animosity towards Dionne who was technically the queen bitch in the class. Quadratic equations were the topic this morning and as Mrs. Latvia dictated notes meticulously and had digital simulations of worked out questions simulated on the LCD board. Kudzai soon enough glanced at Tessa who he had discovered as the prettiest girl in the class and winced at her. Tessa also noticed this flirtatious act and gleamed at Kudzai. This all happened during the lesson, right under the nose of Mrs. Latvia. Lisa noticed this and felt a tad bit jealous. She had a crush on Kudzai and instantly grimaced upon seeing him look at Tessa. Jonathan''s intuition quickly noticed this peculiar activity, something he had gotten accustomed to as the young pioneering gossip column junior of the school. After the notes were done being dictated, Mrs. Latvia, a flamboyant Latino with varnished skin, a product of her expensive foundation powder which imbued her with glossy radiance, began to talk about something totally unrelated to the lesson.


    "Did any of you watch the 06:00am news?¡± she asked the whole class. Everyone was quiet and had nothing to contribute to the question. Mrs. Latvia darted her eyes on everyone and then ended up looking disappointed. She recoiled her strength and asked again, but was rewarded with uneventful silence from her students. Dionne in the silence of the class felt ashamed for not having been up that very morning to have seen the news. It was always her habit to show compliance towards authority when it was asked for. Mrs. Latvia who expected her to have answered was disappointed by Dionne''s rather nonchalant silence, a contrary characteristic of her habitual school prep demeanour. The mathematics and accounts teacher began to twirl her eyes, looking for someone to probe. She noticed Kudzai who was staring at her, clueless of what was about to transpire. She then uttered, "What about you our new transfer student?¡± Everyone in class averted their gaze at Mrs. Latvia towards Kudzai who was in the lime light once again. Kudzai looked startled and answered, "Yes mam.¡±


    "Did you watch the news this morning Mr. Mhike?¡±


    "Unfortunately mam, the time the 06:00am news starts is about the same time I take my morning bath. I usually get to watch the 20:00 news on weekdays with my parents.¡±


    "Hmm... Most unfortunate indeed that the son of one of the military pillars of Tameria would have missed this morning''s news.¡±


    "I apologise...¡±


    "No need Mr. Mhike you haven''t done anything wrong at all. Well I guess I will be the bearer of the unpleasant news.¡± said Mrs. Latvia who seemed like a prophetess of doom, about to cast her depressing premonition to scare the masses. All the children paused and had their eyes drawn at the teacher as she began to divulge the news.


    "This morning on the 06:00am news, the eastern seashore of the Sky Colossus peninsula experienced severe tidal waves and a sea port attack by the wanted terrorist Night Owl.¡± she said with a modulated tone, the kind that emulated a news anchor''s approach perfectly. The class of 2B1 was immersed in their deep concentration as they listened to what this old instructor had to say.


    "Lieutenant Major Hondo was hospitalised with a broken arm and concussion. He was on duty when the terrorist attacked the port. Fortunately, for the state, none of the cargo at port unit Z7 was destroyed. The flood water waves that were directed to the eastern shore were a result of the Night Owl''s water taming. The great wall of Tameria was released just in time to counter the waves, saving the lives of the nearby civilians. State bulwark specialist Dane Trent has been awarded for his effort in stopping a possible early morning crisis in the sovereign state of Tameria.¡±


    Kudzai was surprised by the news, but what was more of a spectacle for him was the way Mrs. Latvia had managed to reiterateeverything that had been announced on the 06:00am news. The class immediately broke into a murmur as soon as she was done, about the Night Owl, delving into many of his farfetched tales and conspiracies. Mrs. Latvia broke off the discussion by stating shockingly patriotic words.


    "Well as Tameria is the sovereign state on Reverie, all that will try to disrupt the progress of the father land will die. Death to all enemies, loyal allegiance towards the Tamerian federation!¡±


    The class broke into an enthusiastic clapping session, applauding the teacher for her display of nationalism and at the same time wondering why the embodiment of stricture had given some time for small talk. The teacher, after the praise, quickly resumed into teaching mode, giving her students exercises to work on. It was a very nationalistic start for the 2nd day and Kudzai was beginning to appreciate the atmosphere of St. Calteco high, one that had made him forget his internal conflict that morning.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    The first four periods were a breeze for Kudzai who had easily decimated the Quadratic equations during the mathematics lesson. The tutoring he had gotten during the holidays from Mr. Elton Hobson, the family tutor as he was called, had given him the upper hand over his classmates, except for Cosmos Madziva, who was the undisputed class genius. Geography, which came after mathematics was as usual for Kudzai, a manifestation from hell. The migraines he got from geography were similar to that of gruelling pangs that came with a brain tumour. By the time the geography lesson was over, Kudzai and Lisa were overcome with mental exhaustion. Jonathan was managing well, spitefully taking his sweet revenge at Kudzai who had shown over confidence earlier on during the maths lesson.


    The signal for break soon rang, saving the molested mind of Kudzai from further more cranial degradation. Everyone descended from class and went their separate ways. Tessa made an effort to tell Kudzai that she was going for house assembly soon after the brief break and was more than happy to see him again once she returned. This had churned his brain into cascading volumes of euphoria. Jonathan couldn''t help, but notice his friend''s wide smile and commented, "I thought you liked Meiko.¡±


    "Gosh Jonathan don''t be silly, um just tasting the waters.¡± he replied with a cocky gaze, shrugging Jonathan as he pondered over his new fortune.


    "Well sorry to burst your bubble, but she has a boyfriend. A form 4 by the name Kenny Lapel. He does athletics so you are probably going to clash soon if your carry on chasing Tessa''s skirt.¡±


    "Really, she has a boyfriend! Why do girls like to cause such drama?¡± he asked out of pure astonishment.


    "Because boys love it when it''s torture.¡±


    "Come on don''t quote such a horrible song in this moment.¡± said Kudzai who was a bit annoyed by Jonathan''s remark.


    "It¡¯s not horrible it''s just appropriate.¡± replied Jonathan, with a modulated voice to accentuate his wit.


    "Whatever man,¡± said Kudzai who had just gotten out of class, now stretching as if awakening from a deep sleep, "why did Lisa leave so quickly?¡±


    "She is handling form 2 chess for her house so she had to rush and get the names handed quickly to her house prefect.¡± he explained.


    "Wow, it must be really urgent, which reminds me. Where does Zambezi house usually meet during house assembly, as in where is its base?¡± asked Kudzai who was curious at the same time oblivious about where to go.


    "You mean the evil elitist Zambezi house which is usually a contender for the overall house cup at the end of the year?¡± asked Jonathan who gave Kudzai a grave look as they walked out the school corridor.


    "Wow I didn''t know it had such infamy. Yes that one.¡± he said laughing at the manner Jonathan had ridiculed the house.


    "Well it¡¯s a highly competitive house full of jerks and bitches like Dionne. They have been coming second from what I have heard ever since your older brother started school here at St. Calteco high. Your brother was in Limpopo house, the awesome house I am in which has been coming first. Excuse my redundancy.¡±


    "Darn it um in the same house as Dionne?¡±


    "For Sentient One''s sake, how did you end up in Zambezi?¡± Jonathan shouted, vexed by the sudden turn of events.


    "I don''t know man. I just filled in this form which they used to process my information and I got a message on my phone that um in the house.¡± said Kudzai who looked riled up more than usual.


    "It must be a mistake, how is a nice guy like you considered for such a crappy house!¡± said Jonathan who seemed extremely energetic as he showed strong disagreement towards Kudzai''s determined fate. As the two discussed, a female prefect who was a form 6 studentwas patrolling the area and noticed Jonathan who was shouting. She immediately called for him and asked, "Why are you blowing your horn like that can''t you see that there is a teacher''s meeting at class room C?¡± Jonathan who did not expect such a turn of events quickly modelled a contrite disposition to avoid any trouble. However, this particular prefect didn''t harbour any form of mercy and Jonathan was in for some trouble.


    "I am sorry mam for causing any trouble. I didn''t realise that there were any gathered teachers at classroom C. Please forgive my negligence.¡± implored Jonathan. Kudzai was ignored by the prefect as if he was just a passive bystander whose only responsibility was to watch his friend get into trouble.


    "Jonathan you have always been a clever and disgusting queer. Your quick words won''t save you today. I hereby place you on break time manual labour.¡± said the prefect who seemed to be enjoying her abuse of power. Kudzai seeing this tried to intervene for his friend''s sake.


    "Mam, he made a mistake and apologised. There is no need for him to go for manual labour.¡± he appealed, hoping that she would back off.


    "Mr. Mhike you seem to share the same tenacity as your brother, but unfortunately your appeal won''t work. Your friend here broke a school rule which he must atone for with his blood, sweat, and tears.¡±


    "That''s preposterous!¡± argued Kudzai.


    "It would be wise if you remembered that I am your senior and a prefect. I will punish you too if you interfere.¡± she said as if daring the boy into making a reckless decision. Jonathan who could clearly see Kudzai''s unwavering loyalty decided to sacrifice himself instead of having to experience manual labour with his friend.


    "Kudzai it¡¯s okay. Don''t worry about me, you better go for house assembly. Missing your first assembly would get you into loads of trouble. So don''t worry about me.¡±


    "But you didn''t really cause trouble.¡± he said, trying to defend his friend.


    "Listen to your friend Mhike. You wouldn''t want to piss of your sirs by missing your first house assembly.¡± she said in a sarcastic tone.


    "My sirs?¡± he asked in bewilderment.


    "Sir Tinashe and sir Edmund are your house prefects. They aren''t as kind as me.¡± she said, smiling sadistically as if she had just released her ultimate trump card.


    "Don''t worry about me Kudzai just go. It¡¯s really okay.¡± said Jonathan who really didn''t want the situation to escalate into something ugly.


    "You sure?¡± asked Kudzai, not willing to give up the fight.


    "Yes, it¡¯s cool. Go for your house assembly.¡± said Jonathan who begged for Kudzai''s willingness to just let this issue go. Kudzai thought about what he was about to do and finally accepted defeat. He watched his friend being dragged by the girl as they headed off to the infamous prefect study. Before the girl left, she gave him some important information.


    "By the way Mhike, you''re in my house. If you want to find our assembly point, it¡¯s at the first team''s rugby field. Make your way there now!¡±


    Kudzai was now alone dealing with the fact that he had left his friend behind and that he was supposedly in the house of Satan. He quickly trotted away, looking for the designated location of his house, burdened with ominous imagery as he headed there. Kudzai arrived at the massive rugby field to find a red and orange banner, which was hung on the enormous grand stands. The plush greens of the field were well seasoned, something to be expected from this well renowned private school. From what Kudzai could see, the grand stands of the field most probably had a capacity of 40000 plus people. As he came across members of his house, he was greeted with so much respect. Kudzai could even hear whispers from those who were about to settle on the grandstand seats, all talking about him as if he was a guest of honour. One of the boys from the fourth form even commented, "We now have Tendai''s brother, this is really gonna boost the house''s moral.¡±


    Kudzai had a very negative mental image of a dark coven when he was coming to the rugby field; however, what he saw was totally different. The house seemed jovial and had an air of pride, his kind of vibe. They had organised themselves with the seniors sitting on the very top of the grandstands. The forms ones were at the very base of the steps, looking very much confused as was expected since it was their first house assembly. Kudzai who had paused to look at the gradation of high school students was suddenly yanked from nowhere by Dionne. She entangled her right arm with his left and dragged him upwards. Kudzai soon noticed and asked, "What are you doing?¡±


    "You were looking confused and since um the captain of the Zambezi form 2s, I can''t have my classmate looking confused. Especially one of your calibre Kudzai.¡± she said with an air of unbelievable confidence. Kudzai began to wonder whether the girl was just full of herself or was deprived of social etiquette earlier in her life. Dionne took Kudzai to the form 2 section and sat next to him. Kudzai was more than annoyed by this girl''s incredulous impudence and wanted to sit elsewhere. Dionne noticing Kudzai''s aggravated state, quickly spoke in a kind and pleasant manner and said, "Sorry for the tug, but I really had to get you seated. Sir Tinashe shouted at the last boy who looked dazed, starring at the grandstands as if he had nowhere to sit.¡±


    "You do realise that I was eventually going to sit there right?¡± he asked Dionne, revolted by her pathetic excuse.


    "My my, forgive me for being too energetic at times. Okay I over did it, but anyways assembly is about to start. I can see sir Tinashe and house captain sir Logan.¡±


    "Huh?¡± he said, just before everyone rose from their seats to greet the coming house prefects. Sir Tinashe from what Kudzai could see was brawny. His uniform seemed like a restraint that was caging a savage brute. He wore glasses, was ebony skinned and had an oval frame. His military haircut gave away his background. However, as the house formalities began, Kudzai noticed something peculiar. The supposed house captain who was wielding a hockey stick as he trotted towards the grandstands was Matthew Logan. Kudzai looked emaciated by his very existence. From that very moment, he surely believed that he had been put in the house of Satan.

 Chapter 12- Our world is in danger

    Matthew Logan was as imposing as the last time Kudzai had seen him, graced with a pulled back hair style, long side burns, and a refined physique. His very presence in Zambezi house changed the entire atmosphere as if he was the epicentre to a violent earth quake. Dionne gleamed at the very sight of him, but in a more fanatical cult like manner. She really knew how to act weird in situations that didn''t require such eccentric behaviour. Kudzai could relate to the fanatical chants that he was seeing now due to having been exposed to such at his former school. Heyzafolt was a barbaric man cave, which echoed the howls of idiots, disguised by its rich and noble history as a respectable school. During his time there, he realised that a lot of things there were overrated, but what he witnessed within the Zambezi house was an infectious energy, the kind found in extremely driven groups. The whole house began to chant tumultuously to the point of deafening the surrounding sounds. The psycho who had ravished Kudzai''s mind with a very despicable act of brutality during the virtual reality game was now the source of noticeable euphoria amongst the students in the infamous Zambezi house. Did these guys really know how depraved Matthew was? This notion was doing several rounds in his mind, driving him into internal discomfort. As everyone cheered and marvelled at sir Tinashe''s presence and Matthew''s energy as well, Kudzai was the only one who was left looking apathetic and distraught towards Matthew. The form ones only did what form ones did best, following suit. The youngsters of the house were not aware of who Matthew was, but were smart enough to know that the needs of the many outweighed the confusion of the few. The prepubescent voices of the juniors resonated down below the grandstands, which made the senior forms chuckle. As soon as all the other house prefects had assembled, glancing ahead with visible smugs on their faces, two eyes met as the commotion died down. Kudzai was looking directly at Matthew who was looking back at him. Matthew''s indifference was fixed into his eyes, disturbing Kudzai even more. Kudzai then opted to leave, an impulsive act triggered by his intolerant repulsion towards Matthew. As he rose from his bench, Dionne noticed this act of disdain towards the house gathering and yanked Kudzai. She grabbed his left arm, pulling it with surprisingly muscular force, something that took Kudzai by surprise. She was a tamer after all and Kudzai had been reminded by her painful grip.


    "Kudzai what are you doing?" she hissed, pulling him down into his seat.


    "What do you think um doing, um leaving," he said, feigning an indifference towards the pain of her grip.


    "Don''t be ridiculous Kudzai; I wouldn''t want to be embarrassed this morning. Just behave yourself, it''s still way too early in the morning for you to be causing an uproar." she said with majestic elegance, abating Kudzai who had already decided to walk away without looking back. Kudzai eventually succumbed to her persuasion and sat down. Dionne went on to award his submission with a modulated ''thank you¡¯, which sounded very cute. Kudzai didn''t take notice of her unusual tone, but instead glared at Matthew. The heinous imagery of the little tiger girl being bludgeoned to death did not escape his mind, reminding him of the sadness that tarnished his first day of school. How fate had placed him in the same house as Matthew Logan perturbed all reason, but in the end, he would just have to sit this one out and watch.


    Like all house assembly formalities, the house captain would outline his goals for the particular year and review the previous year''s accomplishments. Matthew was gifted in the oratory skills department. Kudzai couldn''t help but notice his charismatic energy, which resonated with the rest of the house. After Matthew''s speech, sir Tinashe addressed the form ones of the house with an intimidating tone, one used to initiate the new comers into their respective roles. After this exposition of authority, everyone in the lower forms was told to contact their form captains. This order gave Dionne a great feeling of entitlement. She called out all the form 2s in her stream, over powering the shrill of the 2 older male form captains from the form 3 and form 4 section respectively. She had the 46 members of the form 2 section of Zambezi coming up to her and leaving a thumb print on her tablet. The thumb print would scan and relay complex and intricate information about the one who had left the print. The information would be transferred to the Zambezi house private server, one that would be scrutinized by Matthew and his team. From athletic attributes to possible talents and estimated intellectual capacity, Dionne''s tablet recorded each individual¡¯s peculiar data for the house captains to later view. This was a competitive way to discover a house member''s latent talent, keeping tabs on their performance in class and also their level of influence in the school. Kudzai had heard about such from a random discussion, which he had with his brother, but seeing it now in person really made the farfetched discussion into something mind boggling. Matthew had implemented a very tactical system into something as domestic as a school house. Kudzai began to question Matthew''s level of excessiveness and loftiness, wondering what the psycho would do with everyone''s personal information. Kudzai followed suit like the rest, leaving his thumb print on Dionne''s tablet as she swiped her screen from time to time. Dionne looked quickly at his stats and somehow gleamed methodically as if she had discovered something special. Kudzai noticed her expression but decided to move along, not wanting to prolong the queue. Dionne suddenly stopped him, surprising the young boy yet again with her unbashful behaviour. She caught him by the shoulder and screamed out, "We have a 7.5 ranking here!" The cacophony of murmuring and idle discussions dissipated in an instant, paving the way for Dionne''s attention. Matthew and his subordinate house prefects halted, glancing at Dionne who seemed to have a smug on her face. Dionne then uttered, "We have a 7.5 in the form 2s section. A 7.5 I tell you!" Matthew gazing at Dionne realised that she meant Kudzai. The whole house began to murmur, discussing vehemently about what Dionne had just revealed to them. Kudzai looked perplexed, wondering what the term 7.5 meant. Kudzai then asked a random boy who was stocky and maimed with scruffy hair what that meant. The boy simply shouted out, "It means you''re awesome mate!" Kudzai immediately twirled his head to view all the darting eyes that were looking at him. He could hear them whisper many praise worthy things about him as they marvelled at the fact that he was a form 2 with a 7.5 ranking. Kudzai was now feeling awkward and couldn''t help but embrace the praise he was getting. Matthew eventually got riled up by this chanting and silenced his house with a loud, "Silence!" His voice carried an impact that even startled his fellow classmates in the house. Kudzai was freaked out and wondering whether the turn of events would amount to him being in serious trouble. This wasn''t like him to be frightened at all and back at Heyzafolt high, he would have gladly rebuffed his house captain, but this time, disobedience wasn''t an option. Matthew then surprisingly told his form captains to continue on with the member list, giving relief to those who were expecting a very grave situation. Kudzai watched pensively as Matthew carried on with his house duties, acting as if he didn''t exist. Kudzai''s focused gaze was soon interrupted by his new fans, a concoction of form 4s, 3s and his very own stream. Dionne who had just finished her list came just in time to save him from the mob of admirers, yanking him yet again in an unbashful manner. This happened in conjunction with Matthew dismissing the house, ending the ecstatic formality, which had left them, discussing about Kudzai. Kudzai soon enough brushed off Dionne''s hand and then asked, "Why do you insist on grabbing my hand? What''s wrong with you? You literally pulled me away from those guys, like seriously what''s up with you?"


    "You don''t seem to understand Kudzai, you''re a 7.5, you don''t need to entertain the lower class of the house." she said shamelessly without seeing at all the error of her discourse.


    "You know that'' that elitist talk makes you highly unlikeable right? Anyways, what does me being a 7.5 mean?"


    "It means that your estimated athletic, intellectual, and latent abilities are within the senior ranking." she said, taking Kudzai to the cafeteria as they walked away from the grandstands.


    "Senior ranking?"


    "Yes. There is a ranking for each age group. Form 1s to 2 are usually in the 3.1 bound and the form 3s to 4 are usually within the 6.5 bound. There are some students who are exceptions to this norm and prove to be valuable assets to the house. My tablet instantly relays what you''re made of in real time. Sir Matthew is really brilliant for having come up with such a system."


    "I know how the system works; it¡¯s used all the time at the sea shore barracks. So what you''re saying is that um a special case? Wow I didn''t think I would be ranked the same as my seniors." he said with a smug on his face.


    "You should thank me for boosting your ego Kudzai. Um the type of girl to give credit when credit is deserved. So yes, it¡¯s awesome to have such a rank." she said, flaunting her majestic smug.


    "What''s the bench mark rank for a senior and what''s the highest ranking there is for any member of the house?" he asked, curious about how special his position was in Zambezi.


    "The highest ranking would obviously go to sir Matthew whose ranks 11 out of 10, followed by sir Edmund, sir Tinashe, Ms Tariro and Gwen who are all in the ranking of 10. They are all potent tamers by the way. The bench mark for seniors is 7, but both of us managed to get to the top."


    "Both of us?" he asked, stupefied by her remark.


    "You can''t honestly think that you''re the only special one amongst the form 2s, surely? Can''t you recognise the one next to you?" she asked, seeming rather disappointed by Kudzai.


    "You''re the other record holder for the juniors?"


    "Well used to be, until you showed up. Well as long as it¡¯s you and not that shitty Neo, I am okay with being below you. By the way um ranked 7.4 in the house."


    "7.4! Wow that''s incredible," he said, getting his tray of food from the cafeteria lady, "but why do you not like Neo? He seems like a cool guy. I noticed your¡­ whatever it was stuff with him."


    "Hmm, you noticed," she said, taking her own tray of food, "well Neo isn''t like us at all, we are special and of noble blood. His just a natural born poser."


    "I think you''re just jealous." he said, teasing her for being so negative towards Neo.


    "Hardly Kudzai, why would I be jealous of a commoner. He doesn''t have well established parents like those that we do. His funded by the government on a scholarship and somehow is made to coexist with us cut above the rest students. His a glitch in the system that needs to be fixed."


    Kudzai was astonished by what she said and went on to say, "Wow you really are a bitch, I actually thought you''d have something reasonable to say about Neo, but somehow you''re behaving like a snobby twat."


    "You''re really harsh Kudzai, but nevertheless I will forgive you for telling me such harsh words. You see us noble children of Tameria were carved out of the finest silver of this world, groomed to be leaders of tomorrow. Neo is invading our space. His not a natural potent tamer. People like him are considered trash in the military hierarchy if I am not mistaken, but I guess the government wants to look good for its charity work so that it can foster orphans of Neo''s calibre."


    Kudzai immediately felt sickened by Dionne''s venomous words. What was wrong with her? Kudzai paused and left Dionne who was now pacing alone, heading towards a vacant seat on the cafeteria. Dionne noticing that she didn''t have an acquaintance walking with her, glanced back at Kudzai and asked him, "Are you not gonna join me?"


    "I don''t think I would after what you just said."


    "I don''t see why a person like you would be offended. You''re the son of the vice Admiral of the state. If its sympathy towards the boy then I guess you do it as a whim. Um just stating what everyone is thinking. If that makes me bad then I have been incriminated by the truth."


    "You really have issues." he said, astonished by her unwavering petulance.


    "It really hurts me when a fellow house mate says that, but I guess there isn''t much I can do. Well I guess I will see you later in class." she said sitting on one of the mounted tables in the room. Kudzai felt like an ass for having left Dionne to herself, but her uncouth mouth was too much to take in. She clearly didn''t understand the term political correctness. Kudzai immediately averted his attention to sit elsewhere, hoping to have a decent meal during the brief break time. As he wondered about what had happened to Jonathan and how grave his punishment was, he saw Dionne''s cronies coming from the opposite direction. They all flocked like sheep heading towards their shepherd, joining Dionne for another meeting. Her cronies acted like her disciples, even going to the point of returning her tray for her when she was dissatisfied by her meal. As Kudzai observed this spectacle of a girl, sighing deeply as if to pity her, an unexpected hand touched his shoulder. It was Meiko! Kudzai averted his attention to the petite beautiful Asian girl who surprised him. Meiko had apparently changed her look, cutting her hair short and gleaming due to the lotion she had applied on her body. Meiko noticing that Kudzai was surprised at the same time pleased to see her went on to say, "Seems like you have made yourself comfortable new guy."


    "Oh its Meiko, wow you look different." he said, happy to see her new look.


    "Hopefully I didn¡¯t interrupt your national geographic nature watch." she said, sarcastically pointing out the fact that Kudzai had been observing Dionne and her clique.


    Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!"Oh, it¡¯s not what you think." he said, trying to abate the possibility of her thinking that he was prying.


    "I think a new guy like you is sensible enough to avoid Dionne."


    "I guess um not the only one who thinks that she has issues."


    "Oh my, you got a glimpse of her. Well I apologise on her behalf." she said, chuckling sarcastically.


    "You''re in a jovial mood today. Hmm are you always this friendly to cool looking guys such as myself?"


    "Wow, you don''t waste time. Is this how all boys are like from most boys schools?"


    "If there were many like me then I wouldn''t be special then." he said, chuckling with a smug.


    "Um actually being serious here," she said, nudging his shoulder, "well anyways, which house are you in?"


    "Um in Zambezi."


    "You''re part of the group of strung ups? Hmm, they usually choose people who are of the same behaviour as them. Are you an elitist?"


    "I just show off." he said, wincing at her.


    "Ah ya yah," she said, pouting like an adorable creature, "well I think you''d fit in the drama club, you seem like the type who can act."


    "The type, really. Seriously?" he said, laughing at the thought of him acting on stage, "um good with cameras, well kinda learning but I can be of some use in the film club. That is if there is one in this school."


    "Oh... well, you can use cameras? That¡¯s a surprise, well we have a photography club, but if you want to start a film club, you have to apply for a new club application. That would depend on you being able to get at least 10 members" she said, fumbling her hair, "well¡­ to be quite honest, I just wanted someone who could act in my play. There is a character in it that matches you description."


    "Wow and you went out of your way to look for me, I guess I did leave a lasting first impression the first time we met." he said, with an exhibitionist grin.


    "You really are ridiculous, don¡¯t flatter yourself." she said, feeling shy and meek at the fact that she secretly was looking forward to seeing him. The young Asian girl who had approached the boy with an air of confidence was now cringing to her shyness and blushing. This caused her to fall into silence for a few seconds. The awkward silence drove her to say, "Oh look at the time, I must get going. Please do consider the offer. Bye." she thus trotted away, looking very peculiar in her movements. Kudzai, who had thought that a good thing was going well for him, was left with his mouth wide open. He was confused and wondering why all the sudden Meiko had made her quick exist. Did he scare her off? This was a strange occurrence, which made him ask himself, "What was going on with her?" The optimistic boy was thus left alone to finish his meal, wondering what had driven the female psyche of a girl like Meiko to end an interesting conversation with him. This contemplation was soon enough, interrupted when Kudzai saw Tinashe and Matthew approaching him. Kudzai did not give them the time of day and immediately left his tray of food to walk away, but he was soon impeded by a Caucasian fellow with short hair and broad shoulders. The senior who had blocked his path looked like a delinquent gangster in a St. Calteco high uniform, relaying his intimidating aura towards Kudzai. He was grabbed by the shoulder by this fellow, instantly restrained as if he was a stationary object. The grip, which he got, from an onlooker''s perspective, would have been considered, as a mere resting of one''s hand on one''s shoulder, however, what Kudzai was actually experiencing was pain. It felt like a severe dog bite from blunt teeth. Kudzai looked petrified and wondered what was going to happen to him. He looked at the other students who were in the food court, hoping that they would take notice of his struggle, but no one even flinched. They simply carried on with their break time feasting as if all was okay. It was certainly not okay for Kudzai, but before he mustered the strength to scream, Matthew told his crony to let go of the young boy, relieving the young man from his torture. Matthew came face to face with the boy and said, "There is no need to worry kid, I just came here to do 2 things."


    "Um not interested in anything you have to say you sick bastard!" he said, glaring at him and at the same time feigning confidence. His shouting gained attention in the cafeteria food court. The prying eyes of girls and boys of different ages all gawked at Kudzai and his surrounding hostile opponents. Matthew took notice of this and then went on to say out loud, "Finish off your meals! Break is almost over. Lest you want to be a participant in my manual labour I would suggest you finish up quickly." his threat silenced the whole food court, making them continue on with other activities. Kudzai noticed this and felt a tang of helplessness.


    "I came here to apologise and to congratulate you Kudzai. I was too forward with you yesterday and should have realised that you''re still young and haven''t been exposed to a lot. It was my fault for making such lofty assumptions."


    "What you did yesterday wasn''t human it was sick, I don''t want to be next to you, not even near you..."


    "Hush young lad, that''s no way for you to be talking to your senior." said Tinashe who relayed his bloodlust to Kudzai, which instantly intimidated the boy.


    "It¡¯s okay Peezy, scaring him isn''t necessary. Um totally at fault. I can always explain to you why I did that later. As for now, you''re a member of Zambezi house. It¡¯s a pleasure to have you in the house. You even scored a 7.5 in your first entry. Quite impressive for a junior. I must say that Dionne has been in luck for the duration of her membership."


    "Luck?" he asked hesitantly.


    "She has a knack of having talented people in her stream; I could even say that the form 2s might be the spear headers of this school. Anyways, make sure you attend all house assemblies and use that fine brain of yours to get good grades. I will be counting on you. Tell your bro to pay me a visit one of these days. He still owes me a rematch."


    Kudzai''s brief interrogation thus ended with him feeling uneasy. Matthew and his henchmen were really scary individuals who had chastised a defiant boy such as himself. Heyzafolt high had never once had seniors who could make him feel this mortified and yet it was an all-boys school, the cream of brawling and boyhood tension. Apart from the vivid grotesque memories of the tiger girl being bludgeoned to death, Kudzai began to wonder how this particular individual known as Matthew was friends with his brother.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    Tendai meditated inside a fortress full of crevices, embodied with ancient inscriptions and pillars that were keeping hold of the rocky ceiling. A luminous red light bloomed in the dark setup as he chanted words that were of a foreign dialect. The hallow walls echoed his rhythmic voice and reverberated sounds that travelled into the distant emptiness of the underground layer. He was dressed in white fine linen, sweating and breathing calmly as he uttered each word. The glowing light, which was in mid-air, began to morph into a shape. It evolved and took upon the shape of a being. As it changed its previous form, the surrounding serrated rocky walls began to glow as well. The ambient energy from the glowing coursed through Tendai''s body, making his hair stand as if it had a will of its own. His body began to float, slowly, levitating upwards to meet face to face with the glowing light. The glowing form began to take tangible human like shape and then devoured Tendai. Tendai was instantly transported to the far recesses of the universe as a tiny spec of light surrounded by several other different colours of light that twinkled intermittently. He was seeing the synapses of the universe; they glistened in the void of space like fireworks in the night. He was in the mind of the universe, the brain that controlled all facets of life. Tendai was in a foetal position until a white light came from the darkness. Tendai stretched out his limbs and then focused on the coming being. It was the Sentient One! Tendai embraced the embodiment of power with his eyes, marvelling at how imposing he was as he waited for the great being to speak. The almighty was always gargantuan as ever, but this time, he had a very distressing message for the young man.


    "Young Tendai! You haven''t fully evolved yet as I had sanctioned you to! The time for you to take the title as the new age reformer is drawing neigh, but yet you detract from your path. You were an impudent creature when I found you, a defiled product of your father, but I have guided you out of the error of your ways and have given you a duty to humble the world before you. Nevertheless, you''re still lost regardless of having been shown a path. Tell me why you still encounter error in your path?"


    "Forgive me oh great Sentient One, father of the universe. I am trying my best to gather the masses into oneness of mind. My first big step to achieving my goal is drawing near." he said, trembling as he spoke to this great deity. The vibrations of the Sentient One''s voice were so powerful and unprecedented to the point that Tendai felt as if his skin was going to be flayed off by each word the deity uttered.


    "Your goal is drawing near, but your methods and attachments to the world have affected your decisiveness. You must give up on your peaceful methods of subjugating the world and realize that the world only knows one common language. Pain and suffering. Blood will be shed for you to fulfil my goals, thus, you must follow me whole-heartedly and sacrifice everything. Even the family you cherish so much should not be greater than me. You can only unite the world once you change your heart and strengthen your conviction."


    "I know that the path to world conformity is narrow and hard, but it¡¯s not easy for me. I know that I am the chosen one but it¡¯s not easy, forgive my weakness, be patient. I can make things work, the world isn''t all driven by the sword."


    "You dare defy me child! I speak only the truth you wish to evade. I have evolved from my earlier form since the conception of time and have become a living body, as your kind now knows as the universe. My body has several perfect functioning systems that could do without this disease that you call humanity. Man was a beautiful project that I created and one that went astray with the free will I gave it. Unless you reform the world into one entity, I shall soon find another and if he can''t achieve my goal, the body will then purge the infirmity to cleanse itself from uncleanliness. I will give you time Tendai, but remember, I will only entertain the existence of Reverie for a while. The days of your planet are numbered."


    The vision soon ended with the light regurgitating Tendai. He was ejected and landed on the surface of his meditating stage. Tendai rose up immediately, panting as he reflected on what had just happened. As soon as he had returned, he heard the sound of wood being banged. It was a door that was being knocked, reverberating from down below. Tendai walked towards the steps of his shrine and trotted downwards in the dark cave. He soon got to the door after traversing close to 1km worth of steps. As soon as he arrived at the door, which looked gothic with ancient heraldry engraved onto its walls, Tendai pushed it open. At the door, he found Morgan Freed who was wearing his usual attire and looking worried over the fact, that Tendai looked fatigued and drained. Tendai immediately asked, "What''s the problem Morgan?"


    "Your team is waiting for you Master Tendai. Apparently, your meditating overlapped your initially stated 2 hours. They have been waiting for 3 hours sir.


    "Oh I was out for that long." he said a bit surprised.


    "Yes apparently Miss Emelia, Muswati, and Mr. Rick Pelsh are waiting for you in the loft.


    "I guess I won''t keep them waiting anymore. I will be in there in a matter of 5 minutes. Keep them entertained for me."


    "Emelia seems to be doing that quite well without my assistance." he said, with a smug on his face.


    "Oh really, well I must warm down and then look presentable to the team." he said about to close the door. Morgan quickly blocked him from closing with his right hand and asked, "Well onto other issues. Did you get what you needed to hear?"


    "No, the memory of god keeps on repeating the same message to me. It never changes at all. I need to make more progress to uncover the true purpose behind the universal tamer. The creator loved his creation when he created it, he wouldn''t just discard it like that. My progress in the real world is the only way for me to wake up the Sentient One. As long as I don''t make progress, the world will be in danger. The memory of an angry god will always seek out the cruellest means to punish its flawed creation. I will soon tell the team about project phase 1. Until then, keep them busy."


    "I will do my best sir." said Morgan Freed who watched the door close in front of him. Morgan did not know what was going on inside the head of the young master, but was surely troubled by the information he had been given. With the memory of god dawning on mankind for its destruction, the old man could only hope that Tendai would come up with a solution soon.


    "Hey hey, how is it that you can eat more than us and still maintain such a body. Animorph genes are ridiculously durable." said Rick Pelsh, the blonde haired pale skinned endomorphic 20year old who was sitting next to Emilia. He was wearing a grey country plaid shirt with silver chains on his shoulder pads. He had grubby cowboy boots and scars on his wrist. Rick Pelsh starred at the several stacked greasy plates which had bones all trickled all over them, the left overs of a voracious eating machine such as Emilia. Rick was also sitting beside Tinaye Muswati, an average looking girl who had dread locks, dark skin, was wearing spectacles, had a short disposition and a flabby body. She was dressed in a hound¡¯s-tooth sleeveless top; black latex pants and hiking boots. Her glasses were the huge nerdy types that looked ridiculous due to their size, making her already large eyes even more startling. They were waiting for Tendai in his underground loft, a room filled with several cutting edge computers, a plethora of books and a large LCD monitor. Emilia who was still wearing her black latex mission gear didn''t have her mask on, exposing her true form. She was an Animorph fox girl type. Her orangish red hair was wacky and pulled back. She had long side burns that looked more like lengthy husks of fur. Her pretty medium sized orange eyes, freckles of cuteness and succulent lips made her ravishing facially especially with a nose that was more close to a fox''s nozzle. She was an alluring beauty despite not being human and her large breasts were well endowed. Rick had noticed her figure before and could not help but fell aroused by her very presence, but tried by all means to feign indifference. Tinaye would not admit up front, but deep down inside she felt belittled by the voluptuous body that Emilia possessed. However, her actions on the table did not reflect what would have been expected from a true acceptable lady of the modern times. After all she was still part animal.


    "Seriously don''t you have any shame Emelia?" asked Tinaye who was disgusted by Emelia''s lack of etiquette and feminine withdrawal towards her unbecoming behaviour.


    "Um an Animorph, I can eat a lot and still look sexy. A female is gotta eat too." she said, taking Rick''s plate and devouring all its contents. Emelia went on to burp like a savage and said, "It was a well-served meal. I should show Mr. Morgan Freed my appreciation. Hmm what kinda women do old men like to mate with?"


    "Hold that thought Emelia, I think a simple thank you would do." said Rick who didn''t want the conversation to escalate into lewd talk.


    "So you''re saying that a thank you is just okay? Really? What a joke. Humans really should have more fun with their bodies." said Emelia who did not realise how peculiar she sounded in front of Rick.


    "Well humans here have other means of celebrating and showing appreciation... " said Tinaye before being interjected by Emelia.


    "I already know your ways; you don''t have to remind me of the Tamerian mannerisms. It¡¯s just that I am still not appealed by the lack of activity amongst people. Such a culture takes time to fully understand."


    "If she only knew how active we were." said Rick who glanced at Tinaye, giving her the eye. Tinaye noticed this and smacked him on the shoulder to reprimand him for having said something that was indirectly perverse. As the three played along nicely, Tendai suddenly appeared. He was wearing a black tank top and leather pants. The tone of the room immediately changed as if he was the only bearer of seriousness in the world. Tendai greeted his friends and then pointed at his monitor, which was mounted on the walls. As everyone waited to hear what he had to say, the screen''s dashboard began to show a number of images. Ones with dates and set blue prints. The group observed the charts and the blueprints with seriousness and plausible concentration. After everything was shown on the screen, Tendai went on to say, "The typhoon is our only shot, brace yourselves guys, we leave on the day of the storm."

 Apology and announcement

    This book was put on hiatus for a while due to personal family trials and issues, but will resume soon towards the end of July. For the mean time, please support me on my current venture on ficfun. Its a writing contest where your votes could land me as full time contracted writer on the site ficfun.com...... Please read my work ART PIECE, vote and like my material....especially voting will ensure I will be contracted....I will not forget my readers...my story will resume soon.


    Here is the link to ART PIECEhttp://ficfun.com/novel/LdXbDReyMnO3PD.html


    and here is the snippet


    The common plight for any man at the peak of his talent is never really being in a situation that best exploits his ability. That was, for a long time, Tadiwa Kaunda¡¯s dilemma. Being the eldest in a family of 3 kids and having the comfort of supportive parents didn¡¯t waver the question at hand. What should I do with my skills? This was the coming of age question that the teenager desperately wanted to answer, one that his peers assumed he already knew. As an amazing talent, he had much given to him and much was going to be expected from him in his life. Tadiwa grew up in a country where the arts industry wasn¡¯t as well established as in other countries. Zimbabwe was not concerned with the fine arts: luxury goods were not a priority and most of the career options were limited to graphic design, interior design, architecture and web design. There was nothing entirely wrong with these other options, but Tadiwa was an anomaly to human standards of capacity. His parents could never figure out how he was able to understand complex harmonies of art such as proportion, perspective, patterns, planes, placement, consistency, contours, conception, construction, and character, at the tender age of 7 years. He was, clearly gifted; even entering adult classified painting competitions at 9 and winning. The next Picasso, Michelangelo and so forth, was in the making and nothing could stop him. With his fervent zeal, he was introduced to comics, both from the west and eastern side by his mother. This propelled him to discover a new interest, one he was also dominate in: his hands, breathed life into the pages he touched, leaving an aura of his prowess that left many who glimpsed at his work with awe and insurmountable euphoria. Even in a country where art was mostly a hobby interest, the onlookers couldn¡¯t help but acknowledge that the boy would eventually break the stigma that came with art in the country. As a youth, none of the complexities and connotations that were associated with art never reached his peripheral. He was a boy driven by his passion, and like a surge of energy, it overflowed to grand heights. This made him quite popular among his peers in primary school and even among some of the girls. Pulling off 3minute portrait illustrations for each request he got from his classmates and using his pencil¡¯s led dust to do the facial tones to achieve realism in his art, made him popular. Tadiwa¡¯s father noticed the appeal his son had and decided to monetize his son¡¯s art for a while, playing the middle man to his child¡¯s clientele. This however didn¡¯t go on for far too long because of his mother¡¯s insistence to have her son do other things other than just spending complete days just drawing. In the end, her female intuition was for the best, and the boy learned to do things outside his comfort zone.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

 Check out my manga - Bloody Mhika

    Hi guys this is a manga project I worked on for the shonen jump contest. If you''d like to read it, the link should be just above the image.


    Synopsis:


    The Musipa clan was cursed with the "DEATH BY CHIKWAMBO" curse, destined to die by the hand of the beast, but Mudiwa Musipa found a solution. A solution that would save his family from despair and alter the fate of the world, but one that his son Munatsi will have to carry out to save their entire clan.


    Please do check it out


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    Please do check it outRoyal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


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