It was late on a Monday night in the middle of winter. It had been a pretty good day and I was driving home after a long day at work. I had turned onto the street my home was located on; it had started snowing a short time ago and visibility was poor to say the least.
I pulled into the driveway and cut the engine. It was eerily quiet this night, even more so than usual. The nearby streetlights dimly illuminated the surrounding area. I grabbed my duffel bag from the passenger side seat and stepped out of my vehicle. I slung my bag over my shoulder and headed for my house. At this time I lived alone, I was more or less a recluse; I didn’t really see the need to interact with others. Now that I think back I lived a pretty sad and dull life. I never really cared for the company of people, mostly because most people I had ever met were selfish and incredibly greedy, cruel, and unpleasant. Of course I could be pretty selfish myself at times as well. But I’m off track.
I had entered my house and locked the door behind me. It was roughly eight p.m. and it was time for me to just kick back and relax. Little did I know that tonight I would get a visitor that would change my life forever. As I was watching TV there was a knock at the door now being the recluse that I was at the time I thought little of it at first but I stood up and walked to the door grabbing my 9mm pistol out of my nearby gun cabinet, I always kept it locked and the key on me, just in case.
I looked through the peephole in the door and saw on the other side a figure wearing a white hooded jacket. I loaded my pistol and flicked the safety off. I undid the deadbolt and cracked the door. “Who’s there?” I asked in a weary tone.
“I realize it’s late at night but is this the residence of a Mr. Maximillian Porter?” The figure asked. I realized that the figure was a woman.
“Who’s asking,” I replied.
“Oh, Sorry, My name is Celes,” she replied.
Celes? I remembered my parents talking about a woman named Celes when I was younger. “Well miss Celes why are you here so late in the evening?” I asked.
“I’d really like to say but it’s quite cold out here, do you mind if I come inside so we may talk?” She asked politely. I thought about it for a moment. On one hand she could be the person my parents talked about. On the other hand she might be lying through her teeth. I decided to take a leap of faith.
“Alright, but I’ll be watching you,” I replied as I slowly opened the door. Celes walked into the house.
“Thank you,” She replied.
This was a strange situation I had found myself in, I mean sure she was a friend of my parent, but for some reason I had my doubts. I took a look at Celes, for someone claiming to be a friend of the family, who should have been much older than me, she was incredibly youthful. There was a sense of agelessness to her; she had a slender, athletic body, long blonde hair, striking blue eyes that showed the wisdom only gained through a long life filled with hardship, but they seemed to exude a sense of tranquility. I took my seat across from her. “Alright Miss Celes, what is the reason that compelled you to visit this late at night?” I asked her.
“Getting straight to the point, not much for pleasantries, are you?” She asked calmly, taking a sip of hot cocoa for the mug I had provided for her only moments before.
“No, I guess I’m not,” I replied simply.
Celes sighed. “I was instructed by your parents almost ten years ago to give you a letter in the event something should happen to them, before you ask, they specifically told me to give it to you shortly after your twentieth birthday, I tried to locate you at that time, however you had just seemed to disappear, my sister and I have spent the last six months trying to find you, you’re lucky I found you first,” She explained.
“What are the contents of this letter exactly, what does it say,” I asked, the curiosity in my voice plain as day. Celes shook her head.
“I’m unsure myself, I was told nobody but you were allowed to read it.” She replied.
“Before that though. What did you mean by I was lucky you found me first?” I asked. I had a sinking feeling that I wasn’t going to like what Celes was about to tell me. “How much do you remember about your parents?” She asked me. I thought for a moment.
“Well I remember them being distant at almost all times, they, as in both of them had a mile long stare, I knew they weren’t born in this country, and they told me stories of their first home, A country known as Gryphus. I’ve tried to locate the country but I’ve never found even a shred of evidence that proved the country even existed,” I explained.
“Do you know why they left?” Celes asked me. “They never said,” I replied. Celes looked sharply to her left.
“You better brace yourself,” She said.
“Huh?” I asked.
“Maxi!!!” a female voice called out from my right. I turned to look only to be tackled into a bone crushing hug.
After struggling to free myself from my unexpected situation, I finally managed to escape, of course that was a lot easier said than done, I won’t bore you with the details.
I now sat across from Celes and another woman, this woman was younger with dark hair and blue eyes, she wore a dark blue jacket with a black blouse and black dress pants, like Celes her eyes shone the wisdom one would only acquire from a long life, but unlike Celes her eyes held a darker edge that I couldn’t quite place, In hind sight I should have recognized that look, it was the same look of loneliness that I had carried most of my life, I think If I would have caught it sooner It may have saved me from many awkward situations, But, Back to the story.
“Max, you don’t remember her, but this is my younger sister Luna, You met her when you were still a baby,” Celes said. I just nodded, still reeling from my encounter with her. “Now, as I was about to explain, Your parents had enemies, Max, and they are not the kind of people you want after you, they are led by a man known as Magnum, and he has been hunting for you for the last ten years, much like we have, only he wishes to get rid of you,” Celes explained.
“Why?” I asked.
“You are the only person that can stand in the way of his ambitions,” Luna replied.
“What ambitions are those?” I asked.
“It’s best we leave that alone, at least until you’re ready for the entire story, plus, we don’t have much time, Magnum and his forces are on their way, which is the reason of our visit, we promised your parents that, should anything happen, we would step in and do anything within our power to keep you from harm,” Luna explained.
“Luna are you positive?” Celes asked.
“Definitely,” Luna replied.
“Max, quickly pack up anything you may need, we don’ have time for an explanation, just do it!” Celes said quickly. Hearing the panic in her voice forced me into a state of compliance. I dashed to my room and grabbed a suitcase and threw my clothes into it, I put on a Kevlar vest over my shirt and put on my black winter trench coat, I grabbed my black leather steel toed boots and put them on, I grabbed one of my many combat knives and fastened it to the inside of my coat, in its sheath of course I’m not stupid, I grabbed a weapon case and started putting many of my more useful weapons inside it, an M4 carbine, a Barret 50 caliber precision rifle(yes, you can own one as a civilian, with the proper license), an mp5,an M1911, multiple cases of ammunition and magazines, and various scopes and attachments, oh and my custom longsword which I still carry to this day.
I headed back to Celes and Luna, I grabbed my pistol from the table and stuffed it in my jacket. “Alright, I have everything I need,” I said.
“Are you positive,” Luna asked. I nodded.
“Okay, take my hand, Max,” Celes said. I took her hand in mine.
“This may hurt a bit,” She said.
“What?” I barely had time to ask before everything went white.