Starter Scrolls: by Nick Venom (best ereader for graphic novels txt) 📖

about their deaths until after. My relatives figured I was “too busy” to be with them.” Tears streamed down her cheek.

Kyle nodded, unsure of what to say. He glanced at Edwin, noticing him heading his way. He resumed stuffing his supplies in his bag with one eye on Emma and the other on Edwin.

Emma noticed Edwin heading towards them. Fortunately, he was redirected away by Kyle’s glare. Kyle didn’t realize he was glaring at Edwin.

“I can-” She tried to stand, but a sharp pain brought her down. Kyle rushed to her side, shaking his head. 

“I’ll help you in a second. Let me get the rest of the supplies and we’ll leave.”

“It might be hard with a broken leg,” Ryder interjected. Kyle glared at him, still not realizing it, and jumped towards the crates. Ryder shook his head, taking a step backward. “I’m not here for your supplies like Edwin.”

“You noticed him too?” Kyle asked.

“A buffoon like him is easy to spot. He would make the worst assassin if he uses his current skills.” Ryder joked, smiling. “Let me help you. Let’s work together. I can tell you’re going to help her, so you’ll need my help. I can protect you or carry her.”

“Why do you want to help us?” Kyle asked.

“We’re getting more out of this offer than you.” Emma chimed in.

“Yeah, something… something seems wrong,” Kyle added.

Ryder nodded. “That’s how I figured you would have responded. You can trust me if you want. If you don’t then that’s fine.” He turned around and began walking towards the forest.

Kyle looked at Emma. If I do carry her, I could be easily attacked. It would be a red target on my back… or her back… wait, whose back would it be? Well, forget that thought. I need to focus! Ryder’s offer sounds good. He protects me while I carry Emma. With someone like him protecting us, then I don’t have to worry about anything.

“Ryder!” Kyle shouted. Ryder turned around, walking back. “I do want to trust you, but I need to know one thing. Why did you choose to team up with me and Emma? Why aren’t you pairing up with the others?”

Ryder nodded to himself. “Because I didn’t see the initial potential. I saw you hesitating whether or not to intervene with Emma and Flynn.” 

Kyle glanced at Emma, seeing her confused look, before staring at Ryder. “So you trust me because of that?”

Ryder nodded his head. “I trust you because I see that you can be brave if pushed. I need to erase the hesitance inside you and you’ll be like me.” He declared.

“Like you?” Kyle questioned.

“Brave and kind. All you need is a spark under you and you’ll be the strongest person here.” Ryder said.

The strongest person here? Me, a skinny teen?

“Well, let’s get going while it’s still light.”

“Go where? To the forests where those monsters are?” Emma shouted.

Ryder nodded. “I don’t trust this beach. Something seems… off. Plus, if this kid wanted us dead right off the bat, he wouldn’t have said anything and allowed us to wander around aimlessly.” 

“He’s right,” Kyle said, glancing at Emma.

“I… don’t trust you, but-” She pointed at her legs. “-I’m useless on my own.” 

Kyle nodded, glancing at Ryder “I’ll take her, you lead the way. Go in whatever direction you want, it doesn’t match which.” Ryder crouched down in front of Emma. She glanced up at Kyle who nodded at her. She spun her body without her leg hitting the sand and used her arms to grab a hold of Ryder’s neck. He stood up, pulling Emma with him. She hugged him tightly, her legs holding onto him.

“Got it.” Kyle looked at the forest, scanning what he could. “Let’s go that way!” He pointed in front of them. He took a step forward before suddenly stopping. A small explosion occurred in front of him.

“Woah!” Edwin exclaimed. Everybody’s attention was put on him, confused about how he created the explosion. In Edwin’s hand was a playing card, something that all of the survivors had. The playing cards had a graphic on them, ranging from fireballs to electricity strikes. 

“What did he do?” Kyle asked, staring at the playing card.

“He… He summoned something. I didn’t see it in detail, but…” Ryder’s voice trailed off.

“I saw that playing card, Kyle has one in the small pocket of his bag.” Emma chimed in. Kyle dug through his bag, pulling out a playing card with the joker design on the back. The joker was colorless while its surroundings were brown and black, lines diagonally hatching.

On the other side of Kyle's playing card was a graphic of a tsunami. The picture was bright and vibrant, almost jumping out at them.

“Tsunami?” Kyle questioned.

“Don’t use it. It could summon an actual tsunami.” Ryder warned him. Kyle nodded, stuffing the dangerous card into his bag.

“Let’s leave then,” Kyle said, leading his group forward. They entered the vegetation quickly, being swarmed by the sudden humility. It felt like they had stepped into a sauna. 

They ventured farther in, trekking through the vegetation. They got deeper and deeper into the sea of trees, unsure of where they were going. They had no destination, only a pathway.

Kyle glanced behind him towards the beach. He expected Flynn or Edwin to be running after them. Behind him was nobody.

“What’s wrong?” Ryder asked.

“How long until nightfall?” Kyle asked.

“A few hours at best. It’s about-” He stared at the sun as it poked through the trees. “-5 or 6 in the afternoon. It usually gets dark at 7 or 8.” He thought about what he said. “That’s how Chicago summers worked, though. It could get dark at the flip of a coin.”

“Okay, we need to make camp soon. Not on the ground, but in the trees.”

“Why the trees?” Emma asked. “You want us to sleep on the treetops?”

“Close,” Kyle said.

“You fear that Flynn or Edwin will attack us?” Ryder deducted. “If we’re on the ground, he could get us easier.”

“Yup,” Kyle said. “He was clearly eyeing Emma on the plane. And as much as I want to not believe it… men can be cruel beasts.” Stop crying boy, you’re getting me turned on. A voice emerged from his memories. It was his father’s voice, standing over a young Kyle with a belt firmly in his grip. Shut up and take it! He whipped Kyle over the giggles of his mother, off in the corner smoking. She didn’t care about him. 

“Kyle! Kyle!” Ryder exclaimed, shaking him with his free left arm.

Kyle’s body jerked into reality. “My bad, I was… remembering some things. Anyway, let’s spend a half-hour walking and then set up camp.”

Ryder nodded. I wasn’t kidding about making you the strongest person here, Kyle. You have the ability to become a leader, you’re only lacking a drive. The question is… what is your drive? Emma? Maybe he has a crush on her… or he’s simply too kind. Who knows? Who cares?

***

Night fell earlier than they expected, between what Ryder guessed as 6 and 7. Using Kyle’s plan, they made the time-consuming process of heaving Emma onto the branches while securing themselves in the trees alongside her. They chose a large oak that managed to hold their weight and their items. Fortunately for them, the branches were thick and long, enough for them to sleep somewhat comfortably.

The three sat on nearby branches, all facing each other. They balanced themselves on the branches by tying their bodies to the branches with unnecessary clothes. Ryder made the knots, using Kyle’s bomber jacket and some other articles, and secured Emma and Kyle before himself.

Now secured, they waited for Flynn and Edwin. Kyle felt that they would chase after them---for Emma---and Ryder agreed with that idea. Flynn, at first appearance, seemed like an obvious rapist, his demeanor chilling and unwavering. How comfortable he felt touching Emma didn’t help with this rapist idea.

“While we wait, mind telling me what you had in your crate?” Ryder asked, trying to ignore the thought of Flynn. “I had some weird stuff in mine.”

“How weird?” Emma asked. “Because in mine-” She had her bag in front of her, digging through the large pocket. “-there’s a pencil and two boxes of cigarettes. And that isn’t including the locket that I lost some years ago. It suddenly showed up here out of nowhere.”

Ryder’s eyebrows went up. “That is weird, but… can I have one of those boxes.”

Emma shrugged her shoulders. “Not like I have a use for it. My manager would never let me smoke or drink or it’ll-” She changed her tone to mimic her manager’s voice. “-tarnish your image and everybody will betray you. The label will drop you and you’ll become a homeless bum with nothing but a cent to your name.”

“That’s harsh,” Ryder remarked.

“So you are a model?” Kyle asked. Both Ryder and Emma looked at him strangely.

“You didn’t know?” Ryder asked, being thrown the box of cigarettes. 

Kyle shook his head. “My parents didn’t let me watch television or be on the internet.” 

“There are people that exist that aren’t online” Emma questioned. “Anyways, I used to be a model. As you can see,” she pointed at the sea of trees that they were consumed by, “I’ve left my old profession on the beach.”

“Were you a good model?”

“I would think so. I was earning millions of dollars and on magazine covers everywhere. My very presence was enough to be swarmed with people wanting my autographs.” Emma said, a sparkle in her eyes.

“And yet you were on a commercial flight without any bodyguards? What if Kyle had tried attacking you or teamed up with Flynn?” Ryder asked, breaking the sparkle in her eyes.

She let out a sigh while shaking her head. “I wasn’t raised with the best idea of financial saving. I blew through my money quickly.”

“What about your parents?” Kyle seemed sad about the word ‘parents’, which Ryder picked up on.

“Them?” Emma looked irritated for a single second. “Let’s say they were dead… I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference anyway. That’s how much they were gone in my life.”

“Wow, I guess we have something in common. My parents have been gone since birth. Can you believe it? They up and disappeared after giving birth to me? They literally told the nurses, ‘can you hold the kid real quick’, and vanished.” Ryder was smiling while talking, clearly hiding his true feelings. Nobody enjoyed the idea of their parents abandoning them. It wasn’t a memory that left a good taste in your mouth.

“Well, you turned out well,” Emma said.

“I could say something similar to you.” Ryder retorted with a small smile. “Well, anyway, I wanted to become an FBI detective, so I went and applied. I am still in training, so I haven’t fulfilled my dream.” He turned his head away from them. “I was being shipped discreetly for a mission in London before this.”

“Can you talk about this stuff?” Kyle asked innocently.

“Why not? It doesn’t appear that the government is pulling the strings here. If anything, once the plane crashed, we lost our old selves.”

“So that’s how you figured out Flynn’s name? You used your detective skills?” Emma asked.

“I guess you can call it that. Since birth, I’ve had a keen memory. I simply use my memory like a camera. I take snapshots of my surroundings and review them later. I took a snapshot of everybody’s tags that I could see. I recognized several of them on the beach, but the ones I didn’t see on the beach. They must be…”

“Yeah, what happened to them? There were only twelve of us there.” Emma said.

“Maybe they woke up on a different beach or somewhere else on this island. We can’t be the only survivors here, right? Maybe we got shot out of the plane while it crashed on the island?” Kyle theorized.

“A good theory, since the plane is missing. However, I wouldn’t hold my breath on finding them, especially alive.” Ryder pressed his back against the tree, closing his eyes. “Both of you get some sleep, I’ll wake