Soulcore Volume 2: Mythology

By Gary Lumpp

Having tapped into the power known as the soulcore, Nathan Claymore has developed superhuman abilities that enabled him to defeat an inter-dimensional threat. But it wasn't enough: the monolithic corporate group known as the Conglomerate, led by their CEO John Deacon, have successfully taken over the world thanks in part to the presence of the Permians. The Permians have also learned how to tap into their soulcores, and their military training might make them stronger than Nathan and his teammates.

But how did the Conglomerate do the impossible by taking over every government and company on the planet? The key may lie with the mysterious Trimian Texts, a collection of three books that portend to hold the key to unknown and incredible powers - including the way to access the soulcore. Deacon has the first Trimian Text, but Nathan learns that there are two additional books hidden somewhere in the world. Nathan and the Soulcore team take off after the books, but the Permians are on the trail as well - leading to a massive clash between super-powered beings, and the discovery that there's far more to our existence than we've ever known.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gary Lumpp
• Release date: Sep 14, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301236961

Gary Lumpp

Award-winning screenwriter with scripts that include the international feature "Serbian Scars" starring Michael Madsen and the independently produced and directed "When Heaven Comes Down."

Book preview

SOULCORE VOLUME 2:

MYTHOLOGY

by

Gary Lumpp

For Mom and Dad

Copyright 2012, Gary Lumpp, All Rights Reserved

Smashwords Edition

THE STORY SO FAR…

Nathan Claymore wanted nothing more than to live a normal life. Unfortunately that wasn’t meant to be, as only hours after being born both of his parents and everyone else in the hospital were killed in a tragic explosion. Only Nathan survived, and eventually he went to live with who he believed to be his grandfather, Gramp, and his caretaker Tina. What Nathan didn’t know was his destiny. Nathan Claymore would be the person who destroyed the world.

Gramp taught Nathan how to be a good person and Tina trained him how to fight. Nathan seemed to have escaped the cursed life he seemed destined to live. With the help of his friends Diz and Marty, Nathan was on his way to graduating high school with honors and heading off into a world filled with challenges. It would be a world where a collective of corporations known as the Conglomerate was quickly establishing itself as the only choice for products and services, due mainly in part to their mysterious discovery of a new source of energy.

The arrival of a new substitute teacher named Trent Nocen rocked Nathan’s world. Trent took a shine to young Nathan, but not just because of his potential as a student. The substitute believed that Nathan had an amazing power dwelling inside him, and with Trent’s help he could unleash it. That energy source? The human soul, also known as the soulcore. Everyone has a fire burning deep down inside, the difference between life and death; some call it a soul, others a life force. While every living creature has this Soulcore, there are some whose fire burns brighter and hotter than others. Someone who has survived a deadly accident like Nathan did as an infant may have unknowingly absorbed the soulcore of the deceased around them. That energy builds up inside a person, and with the proper training it can be released.

After discovering that the soul itself was a kind of energy, one more powerful than a nuclear reactor, the Conglomerate used it as an alternative power source that had helped them take over half of the planet. Instead of relying on fossil fuels the Conglomerate offered what they claimed was a safe, clean, green type of energy for a fraction of the cost. What they kept secret was the number of people whose life forces were literally being drained in order to power entire continents.

Trent introduced an oblivious Nathan not only to the concept of the Soulcore, but to other people who Trent had helped to unleash the fire. Ryder, a student from Nathan’s school, could bend steel with his bare hands while bullets bounced off his flesh. The Englishman known as Saint had a way with fire. The earth itself could be made to move at the hands of a girl named Ivy. Young Noah could do the same with water. And the pretty blond who caught Nathan’s eye, Ella, could break a bone with a single touch – and heal it just as easily. They were called the SoulCore, a group of young people with amazing powers that they were still learning how to use under the guidance of Trent and his assistant, the beautiful and secretive Mora.

There was a need for people like the members of the SoulCore. Over in The Great East, the land once known as China and India, another group of people with unnatural super powers known as the Permians had just taken over all of Africa – with only six people. Working with the Conglomerate, the Permians had also discovered the means by which to unleash their soulcores – turning them into gods among men. Much like the SoulCore these individuals could manipulate matter and soar through the air due to their command of their own soulcores. And they weren’t done yet: a masked man known as Anarchy, thought to be one of the Permians, was wreaking havoc on Nathan’s home town of Chicago - city that was powerless to stop a super-powered being.

With some unorthodox – and some might say unethical – training practices Trent was able to help Nathan unleash his own soulcore. Thanks to some help from Gramp and the unique pen set he gave Nathan, the teenager was able to create a massive claymore sword in his hand with a single thought. While the others like Noah and Ivy seemed to be restricted to being able to manipulate existing materials, Nathan created his solely with the fire burning inside him.

When Nathan had his powers under control he went to stop Anarchy and discover the Permian’s true identity. He was shocked to see the person under the mask: Ella. The girl who had stolen his heart was causing the mass destruction downtown, but Nathan would soon learn that she wasn’t in control of herself at the time. Nathan learned Mora’s true ability: controlling the mind of anyone she had ever touched. Mora sent the other SoulCore members to attack Nathan. Doing his best not to harm his fellow teammates Nathan was able to break her spell, only to learn the ultimate truth.

While Mora controlled the team like they were her puppets, Trent was the real mastermind behind the arrival and torment of Anarchy. Together they recruited the members of the SoulCore, helped them release the energies within, then without their knowledge used those powers to terrorize the city of Chicago to the point where they had to turn to the Conglomerate for help. It worked. The city was under the control of the Conglomerate’s Security Defense Force.

Trent may have betrayed the trust of his recruits, but he didn’t stop there. After seeing firsthand the kind of power Nathan had inside him, Trent believed that the destiny of the worldkiller was true. He knew that Nathan’s soul fire would consume the world, killing everything and everyone. But instead of living in a world ruled by the Conglomerate until the time came that Nathan lost control, Trent decided he would be the one to bring about the end of the world. Trent tried to sacrifice himself in an effort to force Nathan to burn the world to ashes, but he failed…thanks to a kiss from Ella.

Chicago was safe from the reign of Anarchy, the Conglomerate-controlled media assuring the public that they would be safe thanks to their new security forces protecting the city. Ryder, Saint, and Ivy even went to work for the Conglomerate, believing the group had noble intentions. The corporate giant purchased the Willis Tower and made it their Mid-west headquarters under the guidance of Executive Board Member Mr. Lo and his assistant Miss Darling.

But things wouldn’t remain calm for long. A tear in the very fabric of existence ripped open on the shore of Lake Michigan at the place where Nathan nearly lost control of his soulcore while battling Trent. A behemoth, a thirty-story tall monstrosity, tried to pass from another dimension into our world, bringing death and destruction in its wake. With the help of the other SoulCore members, as well as some unexpected guidance from the soul of Trent that now resided within him, Nathan was able to destroy the creature and close the dimensional rift…for now.

After the giant monster nearly leveled the city the Conglomerate Security Defense Force wanted to interrogate Nathan and the SoulCore, and possibly pin the blame on them. With some help from repentant Mora they were able to escape. Mora informed Nathan that there was much more to his story that he never knew, and his connection to the Neverworld where the behemoth and other incredible sources of evil resided. Nathan’s soulcore was filled with the souls of numerous people – in fact anyone who had died even within a few blocks of the young man would be channeled within him. One soul now living within Nathan was Trent’s, who appeared to Nathan within his mind’s eye to offer criticism and unwanted advice. But Mora knew of someone else whose soul was inside Nathan: his father. And his father had been to the Neverworld. Nathan and the rest of the SoulCore would have to go into hiding – wanted by the Security Defense Force, wanted by Mr. Lo and the CEO of the Conglomerate, and feared by the citizens of Chicago for his abilities, Nathan had to figure out his role in the coming apocalypse as well as who his family really was…and why he was still destined to be the Worldkiller.

Chapter Zero Point One: FIVE YEARS EARLIER

The skies over the town of Sagara, India, looked ready to burst. It was monsoon season, but that wasn’t stopping the group of workers digging near the base of the plunge waterfall known as Jog Falls. Through the mists and thick foliage a collection of men in hard hats carrying picks and shovels scurried about in the jungle, the ever-present threat of the clouds above ripping open and dropping a deluge over the cliffs above.

A well-worn path along the jungle floor led to a hole dug deep into the face of the rock wall. The archeologists working around the clock all wore the same tan jumpsuits, the logo of a company named Deacon Enterprises inside of a triangle clearly displayed on patches on their arms and hard hats. They were from all corners of the globe, driven to find something under the Falls. By now the workers had reached deep into the bowels of the earth to reach whatever it was they were looking for – and the excited yells echoing from the darkness indicated they had found it.

Trent Nocen, a handsome man in his late twenties wearing protective goggles with his wavy brown hair peeking out from under his hard hat, looked up from the crude maps the crew was using at the sound of the excitement. Several men, locals from India who had come looking for work, raced out of the mouth of the man-made cavern. Their faces were a mixture of delight and amazement. The leader of the crew, an Indian man named Ajay, covered in dirt and dust, made his way to Trent.

Mr. Trent, we have found something, Ajay said as he tried to catch his breath.

Trent smiled.

John Deacon, son of billionaire entrepreneur James Deacon, had hand-selected Trent to oversee the secretive dig in the heart of India. Now Trent was about to find out exactly why he was at the bottom of this waterfall, and if the secrets inside truly could mean a change in the world as he knew it.

Deep inside the hole Trent, Ajay, and a half dozen other workers carrying lanterns and tools approached the discovery. The tunnel they crafted was crude but effective, carved out of rock, supported by steel beams along the trail. But the group had reached something completely out of the ordinary a half mile below the surface. They had made their way to a massive wall, perfectly flat, crafted out of alabaster. Unusual symbols were chiseled into the surface, alongside images recognizable as a man, a book, and a circle.

The words, Ajay started, What do they say?

I’m not sure, but I think they’re Sumerian, answered Trent as he ran his fingers along the etchings. I’m a little rusty, but if I’d have to guess I’d say it’s a warning not to enter unless the end is near.

What does it mean?

I don’t know, Trent replied. But we’re going to find out. In my tent, under my cot, are plastic explosives and a detonator. Bring them to me.

Ajay’s eyes went wide. But Mr. Trent, we can’t destroy a discovery such as this –

We’re not here for the wall, Trent said, we’re here for what’s on the other side.

Ajay shrugged, then motioned for the men to do as they were ordered.

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