October, 2011

  Collin ran ps and did exercise drills on the football field with his teammates. They zig-zagged around 12 cones in the grass and tackled pop-up dummies. After that he went over formations with his team and passed the football to Hero.

  On the sidelines Collin's mom talked with Coach Graham, he was told his dad was flying back home, and the hospital said his siblings were getting better. As he threw the football he thought about that text from Helena and was excited about tonight.

  When practice ended an hour ter, they ordered Italian food for supper and went home. Their house was a Greystone with a pinwheel attached to the mailbox. Collin was searching his closet as music pyed from his boombox.

  This will be his first time traveling to a different kingdom for a special event. He picked out a leather jacket, a graphic-t with the word Illusion on top, flowers, and a cross underwater. After walking outta the closet Collin tossed the clothes on his bed next to a pair of patchwork jeans and Converse sneakers.

  Helena said they were going to the Night Parade which is a 3-night carnival. This event was held in the Shigeru Kingdom and the rulers are fox spirits. Looking outside Collin realized he still had time to kill because the carnival doesn't start until 10:00.

  A few minutes ter, he leaves his room and goes downstairs to eat. Collin heard a voice coming from his dad's hobby room and the door was cracked. He saw his mom talking to herself while holding index cards as he pushed the door open more.

  "Mom?" Collin spoke. The room was decorated with movie posters, porcein artifacts, family photos, cy puppets, a quote tapestry, chessboard, an hourgss, bookcase, abstract paintings, mini fridge, a mountain snowglobe, deck of cards, art supplies, fake pnts, and a BFA degree.

  "Ayy," his mom stopped pacing and hugged him. "I have an interview and I'm reciting some questions."

  "Finally, who is it?" Collin asked. Ever since his brother and sister got sick their mom's Podcast was put on hiatus.

  "A man named Mackenzie Ferguson," his mom expined. "He use to be a Navy Seal before he got paralyzed from the waist down. Now, he coaches little league baseball while in a wheelchair."

  "I know you'll do awesome, mom!" Collin grinned and gave her two thumbs-up. "Can we eat now and watch MTV?"

  2 hours ter, Collin and Helena stood near a fancy carriage outside the castle. There were two guards in the driver's seat and chained to the carriage was 4 hippogriffs. Half horse and half eagle.

  "The journey should take an hour," Helena expined as Collin opened the carriage. She had on a bck and red lolita dress, stockings, pumps, a hair ribbon, X and O earrings, gsses, eye shadow, and lip gloss.

  After a few minutes they were soaring through the psychedelic sky as Collin gazed out the window. To kill time should he listen to music or py games on his phone? When Collin first stepped inside the carriage he noticed a few things. There was a short supply of snacks, drinks, and on the ground were two sacks filled with gold coins.

  "I got hazed pretty bad by your royal guards," Collin suddenly announced. "They don't like me."

  His friend pouted. "They just don't like the idea of being bossed around by someone younger and inexperienced. Collin, once you show off your leadership skills and get stronger they will follow."

  "Everything you said might be true," Collin ran a hand through his locks and sighed. "I need to earn their respect and trust because there's no I in Team. But that guy Sparky really hates my guts."

  Helena rubbed her temples and admitted. "Don't worry, I already reprimanded that idiot."

  "Okay. I'll keep working hard," he promised and took out his cellphone. "You wanna check out my mom's talk show? It's called the Superhuman Podcast. She's a motivational speaker with dyslexia and interviews people with disabilities."

  "We'll need a lodestone," his friend grabbed a crystal from a jar and shuffled closer to him.

  The lodestone attached itself to Collin's cellphone like a magnet as the screen turned on. After a few minutes of scrolling through his mom's videos they decided to py the most recent podcast: Faith In Music.

  "Hello, my friendly neighborhood pioneers!" Collin's mom greeted. "I'm Lenore The LimitBreaker and welcome back to the Superhuman Podcast. We have a special guess here today and her name is Novah Elias, she's a blind singer and her songs are phenomenal."

  Novah smiled. "Thanks for having me and I appreciate the compliment, LLB. I wasn't born blind and each blind person is different. Singing and writing songs has always been a dream of mine ever since I was small. I taught myself how to py the guitar and I was in choir. Even though I can't write anymore I use a voice recorder to memorize my songs. We use other senses to see the world, I still remember colors, ndscapes, and I also dream."

  It was 10:15 at night when they arrived at the carnival in the Shigeru Kingdom. When Collin saw the Night Parade he was amazed as he walked with Helena and the guards. The crowd was huge and there was makeshift gate up ahead as they cut the line completely.

  "Make way, make way for the first princess of the Xenovia Kingdom and her Maverick!" shouted the female guard.

  There was muttering as little kids pointed.

  "Yes, make way!" repeated the male guard. "We thank you for your cooperation."

  When they make it to the gate the ticket master bowed respectfully before giving them permission to enter the carnival. Collin gnced back at the booth and saw the ticket master stamp something on the hybrid's forehead, it was a glow-in-the-dark eye. After that he noticed the whimsical decorations, music, food stands, game tents, prizes, and floating above their heads were radioactive jellyfish creatures.

  "Collin! Your gonna love the Night Parade and I can't wait to introduce you to my friends," Helena told him.

  An hour passed as they pyed games and ate food. Collin and Helena was approached a few times and asked questions. This reminded him of the questions people would ask him at school. Was he gonna be a superstar athlete and follow in his mom's footsteps? Was he gonna quit football because his brother and sister were in the hospital? What NFL team did he wanna py for?

  Once the swarm left a pop-up screen appeared. [ Objective: Win an arm wrestling contest to earn 10 training points ]

  With who? Collin scanned the area and saw two men and two women pying cards. After telling Helena what happened he trudged over to them. "Scuse me."

  The chattering stopped once they saw Collin as the man with blue skin and four arms spoke. "What is it kid, do you need something?"

  "Maybe the child wants to py," said the woman with dreadlocks and a unicorn horn. "You got gold?"

  "I do," he answered and pulled out a handful of gold coins. "But I don't wanna py cards I wanna arm wrestle."

  Everybody went silent before they burst into ughter.

  "kid, are you serious?" the winged man with the forked tongue grunted as he picked up his mug and BBQ trout on a stick.

  "I am," Collin reassured and fshed his best smile. "Whoever wins get 100 gold coins."

  "Poor child," the women with the unicorn horn nudged the werewolf woman who hadn't said anything. "He's going to get his arm snapped like a twig."

  When Collin sat down at the table his opponent was the man with dragon wings as they squeezed hands. There was a small mob as Helena and the guards observed from a distance.

  "Ready, set, go!" someone yelled.

  At first it was a stalemate as Collin and the man tried to overthrow one another. The crowd was getting riled up and started telling jokes. Collin saw the man's reptilian eyes twitch as the friends sneered. Nobody expected him to st this long because of his size and unassuming personality. Helena warned that if he wins they'll assume he cheated because this world has a lot of magical items.

  They could also think Collin is a hybrid, half human and half creature like his childhood friend. Either way he didn't need to be told twice since he unwillingly participated in a few fights in the past. That's when Collin noticed his grip, he was being overpowered little by little as the man smmed his hand against the wood.

  "Yeah!" the man cheered and raised his fists. "Don't run away kid, pay up."

  After doing what he promised he was a little disappointed as he left with Helena. He wouldn't be getting anyone quests tonight and thought about his progress. There were 6 ranks, E, D, C, B, A, and S. When a Maverick levels-up they get new techniques unlocked. Collin wanted to improve his sword skills and make his telekinesis stronger.

  "There you are!" someone hollered. Four guards came over with three people. Two wore tribal masks as several fox tails swayed behind them, and in the middle was a human teenage girl.

  Helena grinned and ran over to them. The two guards Collin was with quickly followed her, it took him a second to remember what Captain Irving said about the hierarchy. Protect and defend, royalty is important here, and Helena is a princess.

  "Nicoz and Zariah!" Helena hugged her friends. "I would like you to meet Collin Rex, he's 17 years-old and the House Of Jaeger's Maverick."

  The human girl finally cracked a smile.

  "You mean your childhood friend?" Nicoz didn't take off his tribal mask as he spoke. "The same childhood friend that mysteriously disappeared in the middle of the night?"

  Helena ignored this remark. "Collin, I would like you to meet Prince Nicoz and Princess Zariah EmberHeart of the Shigeru Kingdom. They're 15 years-old."

  "Excellent news," Zariah cpped. "Say, why don't we let our Mavericks have a joust?"

  "Collin doesn't know how to ride a horse and he's still learning about being a Maverick," his friend crified.

  "What a pity," Nicoz and Zariah answered at the same time.

  "Nice to meet a fellow Maverick," said the girl as they shook hands. "I'm Phoebe Johanssen and I'm 20 years-old."

  Collin greeted. "Nice to meet you, too. How long have you been a Maverick?

  "Two years," Phoebe admitted. "You?"

  "Umm," he stuttered. "Only two months."

  "Must be overwhelming, huh?" she crossed her arms. "If you have any questions or need advice you can ask me."

  Collin thought about it. "What are the other kingdoms like?"

  "Well," Phoebe gazed at the rune ring on her finger and expined. "The Arabelle Kingdom is ruled by Angels, the Etora Kingdom is ruled by Werebeasts, and the Terebinth Kingdom is ruled by Orcs. You'll meet the other Mavericks soon because your part of the council."