//------------------------------// // *Chapter 1: Onset // Story: Drake's Empire // by Pentel123 //------------------------------// Chapter One - Onset “Be careful what you wish for” – Parents It was late July, along the banks of the Neuse River in North Carolina. The evening was warm and muggy; mosquitoes buzzed, seeking juicy targets in the twilight. Drake Rex sat on banks of the river, watching the stars come out. A twenty year old engineering major, Drake was spending his last several days before returning to the college grindstone for his junior semester camping with friends. He had elected to stay and watch the campsite while his friends went on a quick food run into the nearby town after a raccoon had raided their cooler that afternoon. Drake had volunteered to stay behind to make sure nothing else pillaged their camp. With nothing to do until his friends returned, Drake relaxed for the first time in what felt like months; the start of the year had been busy with school, and the summer had been filled with work and toil in an exciting, but demanding, internship which ended not even a week ago. Now here he was, camping with friends before they all went back to the cycle of lectures, labs and tests. 'Ahh, this is nice. No work, no meetings, no teachers or bosses, and no deadlines of any kind. I could lay here watching the sunset and listening to nature for hours. That said, it would be nice if they would hurry back.' Drake thought ideally, sitting on the ground with his legs extended and his back propped up against a tree. With nothing better to do, Drake let his thoughts wander until eventually falling asleep. As Drake sat resting against a tree, the sunset and the stars began to appear across the sky. On this night, waves of shooting stars streaked across the sky leaving fiery trails in their wake. Drake awoke with a shiver, the cold night air waking him from his nap. Drake muttered as he awoke rubbing his head and rolling his shoulders. “Where’s everyone? I know that it’s a bit of a trip into the nearest town, but they should be back by now.” Looking around, Drake saw nothing but the campsite he was supposed to be watching. Since nothing was out of order, Drake started walking the beach looking for his friends. “Gray, Stew ya’ll here! Susan, what are we doing for dinner! Mary, am I just calling out to the air!” Drake yelled as he walked along the beach, hoping to get answer from someone, anyone. Much to his disappointment, his only answers came from the insects. “Oh come on!” Drake shouted in frustration, throwing his arms into the air. “I know I said I’d watch the camp but this is ridiculous.” Sighing Drake looked up at the sky and saw the shooting stars streaking through the atmosphere. Chuckling to himself, he lifted a finger pointing at random saying, “Eenie meenie miney mo, let’s see if I’m as lucky as Pinocchio, picking a star as it flies to and fro. If I’m right and make a wish tonight, then fuck it, let’s hope I get some super powers from this light show.” Drake finished his finger landing on a random spark in the sky. Little did he know that his luck was as good as everyone’s favorite lie detecting puppet. Once his rhyme finished, the star he was pointing at responded. Instead of continuing on its course, the star he had wished upon veered away from its brethren. It streaked through the atmosphere towards Drake. Drake, once he realized what was happening, started running to avoid becoming part of the impact crater. As the star closed in, Drake tripped on a piece of driftwood and landed face first into the sand. When he didn’t feel the life ending impact he was expecting, Drake looked behind to see the shooting star hovering above him. “What the…okay I am either crazy or dreaming,” Drake muttered, slowly getting to his feet to find the star was at perfect eye level. “This is no dream,” spoke the star, its chorus like voice sounding distant and feminine. “Yep, crazy, finally lost it. Any second now they'll come to take me away.” “What do you desire, and what would you sacrifice to receive it?” The star asked. Drake, befuddled by this unexpected turn of events, replied “Huh, sacrifice for what?” “You have a wish. you found me, picked me out from amongst all those passing through the sky tonight. You found the right one, so what is your wish?” Drake thought for a moment, he wasn’t really expecting to be asked to make a wish tonight. As he though the old adage of “be careful what you wish for” came to mind. “So I can wish for anything?” Drake asked, wondering if there was a limit to what he could get. “Anything you desire, but all things have a price, after all nothing is free.” After a few minutes Drake made his decision but decided to double check the star’s offer, “What about immortality? Or power? Or… hell how about a fourteen inch cock?” “Yes.” The star replied with what sounded almost like a snicker. “Well then,” Drake began, “Let’s set me up with immortality and power. A chance to learn everything I could want, and the ability to go and do as I please. What will that cost me?” “What do you think it should cost you?” The star asked “Well that’s curious, I get to barter for my wish?”?” “Yes, why chose those things and not others, immortality is not invulnerability, power has its own pitfalls, why not choose love, wealth, peace of mind, world peace, to change something in your past, or to see your future as most others do?” The star replied. “Love and wealth, both can be gotten with time and power. Peace of mind comes from ignorance, at least as far as I have ever seen, so I’ll pass on that. World peace would only be achieved if everyone looked and thought the same, so I’ll pass on perfect harmony too. Changing my past would change who I am. If I change, then I don’t make this wish and bing, bang, boom paradoxes, or a revert to this moment. As for my future, well that is what we are discussing isn’t it?” Drake said. “That only answers part of my question.” “I want it because, as crazy as it sounds, I want to be mankind’s guiding hand. The one that subtly shapes its future and directs it towards tomorrow. Maybe it’s a god complex. Maybe it comes from playing to many strategy games. Perhaps I’m just bat shit crazy.” Drake said sighing. “I may do it right, I may be the greatest screw-up since Nero, but if this isn’t a dream or particularly vivid hallucination I’m going to take the chance and go for it.” “If that is your wish, I can grant it. Your reasons make sense, if not the most noble. There is still the matter of payment,” The star said calmly. “Well immortality comes complete with watching those around you age and die while you remain a constant, removes your ability to have love as the heart becomes hardened to loss. Throw in disconnection and apathy there is a good chance that the grand ideals I am going to start out with, will fall by the wayside, and perhaps the loss of my soul?” Drake said, muttering the last part under his breath. “The cost for power; well power comes with responsibility, corruption, expectations from others. Depending on its nature of the power, the well-being of others; their lives and livelihoods, will be my responsibility. If I make a bad decision, others might die or suffer because I was wrong. I may even become inured to it. What more would you ask from me?” “That was oddly well thought out,” the shooting star responded, an awestruck tone plain in its voice. “What can I say? I’m a strange one,” Drake said with a somewhat strained smile “Given this cost, you still desire power and immortality?” “Yes,” Drake said, starting to get slightly irritated. “Look; you came down here and offered to grant my wish, so are you or aren’t you gonna do it? What do you think it should cost me?” “Don’t get cross with me,” hissed the shooting star with malice, “I still have control over how the wish will affect you.” “Okay, okay, I’m sorry.” Drake said insincerely, motioning for the star to calm down. “So anything else I need to do to make this happen?” “Just answer one more question. Does mankind not have the right to determine its own path?” “Well; if you don’t grant my wish then yes, but given the conflict, strife, disregard for the wellbeing of our fellow man and destruction of our environment, should it be allowed to? From my point of view, I would argue that no, it shouldn’t.” “How sad it is that you see the worst the world has to offer and ignore the good mankind has done and continues to do.” The shooting star with disappointment. “Are you going to grant my wish or not?” Drake snapped. Sure there was good in the world, hell it probably outweighed the bad, but he wasn’t going to acknowledging it. Not when it wouldn’t help his case. “Fortunately for you, I have to grant your wish since you are willing to pay a fair price,” the shooting star explained, “But I can decide how it is granted.” “This sounds like it is going to end badly,” Drake muttered. “Perhaps, but you have only yourself to blame for that. Mankind deserves the right to self-determination--no power in the universe may interfere with this. Therefore I grant you your immortality, but not in this reality, and with power you must master on your own.” The shooting star proclaimed as it began to pulse, blinding Drake. Drake threw up an arm to guard against the light now coming off the star. “Always has to be a catch with wishes, doesn’t there?” he complained to himself. The shooting star started pulsing faster, the air swirling about picking up sand and leaves in a whirlwind. As the air swirled Drake felt himself being drawn towards the core of the star. “Hey, at least tell me where I'll end up?” he yelled over the wind. “In a world you can help, a world that you know well enough.” After its reply, the shooting star exploded. As the explosion washed over Drake, it muted all sounds. Once inside the explosion, pain began to overwhelm his senses. Through the pain Drake heard one last message. “Enjoy your wish, and know that I will be watching you to see how this turns out.”