Itchikan: Itchikan, #1

By Bin Userkaf

She Runs... Towards The Fire

She has to steal her own gold blood from the confines of The Emblem's labs.
She is ruthlessly hunted by many assailants sent by Queen Jakura that have one agenda: To Kill Her.
She is Aurora Harris of Navajo City, and she is seventeen years of age.

Navajo City is led by the wicked and merciless Queen Jakura. Aurora has never liked the aspect of Jakura in leadership, but she rarely thinks twice about it – that is, until the Queen decides to carry out an experiment that could be the death of the world.

Tired of sitting on the sidelines and eager for an adventure, Aurora and two of her friends carry out a plan to stop Jakura from going through with her experiment. It doesn't work out how they expected and they have to flee to Itchikan City under the comfort of a generous stranger – unaware that the Queen will stop at nothing to get them back so she can deal with them properly. Alliances form and so do foes, and soon Aurora finds herself on the verge of discovering the real reason why the Queen is trying to hunt her down. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bin Userkaf
• Release date: Aug 19, 2015
• ISBN: 9798201163495

Bin Userkaf

Bin Userkaf is a guy who loves God, to read, write, game, edit and direct movies and videos. Positivity is the name of his game and by the Grace of God it's going to stay that way! A Detroit native, Bin has been writing his entire life and as of right now has written two full books and is working publishing the second book in the Itchikan Trilogy. He has been running a Booktube channel since 2015 where he screams about his favorite books and ques us in on his own writing experience too! If you have any questions he would be glad to answer them!

Book preview

ITCHIKAN

by PositiveWriter

PART ONE

Itchikan

Chapter 1

Chapter I – 1

The sun scorched my dark chocolate skin as I clutched my Level 1 Glow Sword with my right hand. Glow swords were what we used for battle and training. Most societies used guns, but the three cities that I grew up learning about – including our own, Navajo City-State – decided a long time ago that swords were a more practical weapon.

I personally don’t agree with this decision, given the fact that you

can shoot someone from a long distance depending on what kind of gun you had, but you have to get up close to even injure someone with a sword – let alone kill them.

But who am I to say something?

I practiced my swings, over and over again, just to pass the time until Kimiko got there and helped me. Kimiko was my best friend, my partner, my mentor, and a lot of other things I’m sure she would forgive me for forgetting. We were the same age – 17 – and we did almost everything together. She was always helping me and I was always helping her.

As I sat down to rest for the first time since I had arrived at Kimiko’s house, the gold fence door opened, and in walked Kimiko. She was dressed in a gold tank top with straps for sleeves, yellow jeans, and black combat boots. Her hair was pulled to the back in a low ponytail, like mine.

How have you been? She asked as she sat her sword bag down on one of the benches. She reached into it and brought out her Level 2 glow sword.

Fine. Nothing better, nothing worse. I shrugged. My life wasn’t very exciting. Training with Kimiko had to be the most adventurous thing I’d ever done, and we train in her backyard!

So, in the middle? Kimiko looked up from examining her glow sword and smiled at me. The sun’s light reflected on her amber eyes. I nodded slowly and stood up from my slouched position. Kimiko once told me that slouching wouldn’t make you a better fighter, but when I’m tired, I forget about that entirely.

She walked towards me, sword in hand, and ready to start training.

Just follow along. She gave me one last glance before focusing on her sword, bringing it back, and thrusting it forward. I could almost see the air we breathe being pierced, or maybe that was just my imagination.

Now you try Aurora. She said as she could read my thoughts. I picked up my Glow Sword.

Don't you fail me. I whispered to it before swinging it everywhere trying to imitate Kimiko. I could feel the sweat running down my face then to my back and on to the ground. At first it was hard, but with every thrust, I grew more and more accustomed to it, and soon it was over, and I was ready to ask why there wasn't more.

How did I do? I asked, curious.

You learn fast. Kimiko said. I grinned at her then shot up and sliced my sword in her direction. She sprung into action. Kimiko grabbed her sword off the wooden bench and sliced it back at me. I raised my eyebrow and gave her an evil grin, then I lowered my body and started slicing towards her legs. When she realized what I was doing, she quickly moved back and sliced towards my head. I was getting ready to say something, but I was stopped by an angry stomping sound that was coming our way.

What are you girls doing? Trying to kill each other?! Kimiko's mom, Alyssa Keno, asked. We stopped what we were doing and laughed in her face.

What is so funny?! Her face was turning redder than I had ever seen it before.

We were just trying to test our skills, mom! Kimiko snickered.

Well, it's time for dinner. She said.

I gotta go Aurora, see you later. Kimiko said.

See you later... I walked home with my head hung low. Why do parents mess everything up? I asked myself as I walked up the stairs of my porch. I extended my arm out to open the door, but before I could touch the knob, the door flew open. My mom was standing there with a scared look on her face. She had amber eyes, dark-tan skin, and dark frosted brown hair that was in a tousled bun. She was dressed in a yellow long sleeve T-shirt with black skinny jeans and worn brown sneakers.

Come in. You need to see something. I frowned. Her voice sounded frantic.

The second I was sure that I was inside of my house, I closed the door back and walked into the living room.

There was a video being displayed on the wall. It looked like it came from a projector, but we didn’t own one, so how did it get on our wall?

My thoughts were interrupted by Queen Jakura’s voice.

Hello, citizens of Navajo City-State. I would like to make an announcement that will probably only benefit half of the population. She began. I glanced anxiously at mom. By the end of this year, I plan to have carried out an experiment I have wanted to try out ever since I was a little girl.

Queen Jakura was a tyrant who pretty much ran Navajo City-State. She decided what came in, what went out, and everything in between. She has an army of people called the 'Hatsumi’s' following blindly behind her. They are almost as ruthless as she is, only they don’t have the power to do what she does.

My favorite part of the experiment is to deprive everyone living here the privilege of having electricity. She smirked into whatever machine was projecting her face on our wall. The next part is a bit more disappointing than the last. I intend to warp everyone’s minds into feeling hate for everyone they come in contact with, whether you love them or not.

Those words sent a chill down my spine. Whether you love them or not. That means that if she were to carry out her experiment, I’d betray my family, the people I’ve lived with my whole life.

I couldn’t say anything. I could only think about how the world would be without light, and without goodness.

This had to stop.

And I was determined to be the person to stop it.

Chapter 2

Chapter II – 2

I barely slept that night.

I felt like the information displayed on the projector screen had settled into my blood and kept me from sleep. I woke up the next morning feeling like I’d been awake for a week.

How could someone do something like that? Why would someone want to warp people’s minds into thinking their best friend was their enemy?

Why?

Why?

In an attempt to shut the thoughts out for the time being, I forced myself out of bed and put on some clothes suitable for what I was planning to do today.

Today, I will go to Queen Jakura’s palace and try to find more information about why she would want to do such a thing. I went over the plan over and over again, carving it into my brain.

And I will do it at night.

Right then, the door to my bedroom was pushed open slightly.

Good morning Aurora.Miyuki – my twelve year old sister's – voice.

Good morning. I hoped she hinted the sarcasm in that statement. I pulled my shirt down over my head and undershirt the rest of the way and put my arms in the straps. The shirt was more like a tank top, and it was gold with black straps. There was something I liked about tank tops, but I couldn’t put my finger on exactly what it was.

Miyuki nodded and closed the door back. It barely made any noise.

Just as I was putting my right leg into my black capris, a knock was heard on the other side of my door.

I’m getting dressed! I yelled, my annoyance evident in my tone. Wasn’t it obvious that I was doing something that required privacy if my door was closed?

When you get done come in the kitchen. We’re having a small meeting. My dad’s voice. I didn’t need to ask what we were going to discuss, because I already knew. The video projected on our wall last night was too important to simply forget.

I knew it was coming. You don’t have to go. I told myself. If you go, you might be forced to share what you are going to do, and you don’t want that, do you? I mulled it over and came to the conclusion that no matter how hard my parents and sister tried to pry the information out of me, I wouldn’t tell them about what I was doing tonight.

I walked out of my room feeling relieved, like one of the things that were weighing me down had been lifted off of my shoulders.

<(^)>

I sat down at my kitchen table beside Miyuki, and across from my middle-aged mom. My dad sat next to her, across from Miyuki. I didn’t know why I was so busy paying attention to where we sat at my dining room table, when I knew that what I said at this meeting most likely determined my future.

We all saw what the Queen said last night. My dad began. And I am sure that none of us agree with it.

Don’t tell them anything don’t tell them anything don’t tell them anything.

My mother clasped her hands in front of her. But we are asking you to not take part in any drastic actions that might result in someone losing their lives to try and stop it from happening.

It didn’t make any sense. If we didn’t make a move to stop it, who would? Who knows how many people saw that projection besides us. What if we were the only ones? What if it’s our job to stop it?

What if she wanted the message targeted to us?

And if you have any ideas on how to stop this from happening that will not put us in danger, please state it now.

My idea flashed before my eyes like a light that could have blinded me.

Did my idea put us in danger?

We had to go to the Queen’s palace and, either have a meeting and interrogate her, or we had to eavesdrop on a meeting she was having to get the information.

And if someone caught us…

Yes, my idea did put us in danger, so therefore, I wasn’t going to mention it.

Even if it didn’t put us in danger I wouldn’t tell them about it.

I think we should just see what happens. She could be bluffing. There’s no real way to tell. Miyuki was starting to sound more and more like me each day.

Only she wasn’t me.

I could tell by the nonchalant way she said it that she didn’t have many secrets.

She wasn’t me.

That’s something to take into consideration. My dad’s eyes shifted from Miyuki to me, and I knew what was coming. Do you have any ideas Aurora?

He looked like he was about to rip me open and yank out my idea.

Are you okay Aurora? My mother asked. I must have been showing my resistance on my face. I made a mental note to keep my emotions inside of me from now on.

Yes, I’m fine. I was sure that the statement didn’t travel to my face or my demeanor. I’m just trying to come up with an idea. I felt sick to my stomach. I didn’t deceive my family often. There usually weren’t any things to lie about. But now there was something worth concealing, and I was determined to keep it locked up inside of me.

We think that the best thing to do is simply wait and see what comes of it, because it’s pointless trying to confront her with our opinion on her experiment. Meeting dismiss- My voice cut off my dad mid-sentence. No longer could I sit back and watch as my family suggested doing nothing to stop this horrific experiment that could very well wipe the whole world out. I had to say something.

I had to go against what I had been thinking for the last fifteen minutes and tell them what I thought about all of this.

I think we should try to get her out of a position of power. She won’t be able to do much if she’s just another citizen like us. I blurted quickly, still trying to withhold the whole idea.

Only, they had already heard too much.

"Aurora, you do realize that that could get us all killed, right?" My dad was still trying to convince us that being nonviolent was the best option.

I wasn’t going to fall for it.

Yes, I realize that it could get us all killed, but we could also come out as victors. We have to take the risk. My voice’s volume level went up and up with every word that came out of my mouth.

I was determined to make them see that doing nothing was not the answer; that we had to do something to stop this.

Aurora, I’m sorry, but I can’t support this, and I trust you enough that you won’t do it anyway. This is an act of foolishness and stupidity. You’re young, and young people have weird imaginations, but I’m afraid this one is too risky. I was about to ask the rest of my family what they thought about it, but the way dad looked at them showed that they would simply agree with him.

That meant that if I was going to do this, I was going to have to do it alone.

A few minutes after I leaked my idea to my family, I went to Jordan’s house to tell her about my plan. Jordan was one of my friends who I’d known about as long as Kimiko.

Jordan and I befriended each other a few months after I met Kimiko, and she has proved to be just as great a friend. She's never lied to me, and has always supported me in whatever I was doing, which was one of the reasons why I trusted her to help me carry out this plan.

After Jordan’s house, I went to Kimiko’s. Before I could finish telling her exactly what I planned to do, she agreed. I thanked her for her enthusiasm.

I told them both that I planned to leave at 1:41 A.M. They both agreed that it was a good time.

So it was settled: They were going to accompany me on my trip to Queen Jakura's palace.

Now, all that was left to do was wait.

Chapter 3

Chapter III – 3

1:41 A.M.... My bed side clock read.

It was time.

I sat on my bed in my mustard colored shirt, my black denim jeans and my black and yellow combat boots. My caramel brown hair was pulled back into one low ponytail. The cool night breeze knocked on my window, as if it wanted to come in. I could feel the chilly air that seeped in through the small cracks in my window's frame as I waited for Kimiko and Jordan to get there. Just then, I heard several knocks on my window, and they didn't sound like they came from the wind. I moved the Venetian Blinds out the way and saw my friends' confident faces and smiled. I walked over to the window, opened it, and climbed out.

Kimiko's hair was down over her shoulders. She was dressed in a gold and black sleeveless shirt, skinny jeans that were a deep gold, and gold and black combat boots. Jordan was dressed in her golden long-sleeved shirt, black flared jeans, and yellow and black combat boots. Her hair was short, so it was in two mini-buns at the top of her head.

As we made our way to the palace, we kept a low profile. We walked behind buildings, we hid in alleys and took shortcuts, and soon, we were staring at the palace.

Are we going in, or are we gonna attack from the outside? Kimiko said.

I glanced up.

Up there. I pointed to the roof.

"Are you saying we're gonna have to climb it?" Jordan asked nervously. She always got jittery when it came to heights or climbing.

You are welcome to stay down here and stand watch. I said, trying to give her another option that would not involve heights.

Yeah, good idea. She nodded and stood with her back against the wall that was next to the door, her Candle-Light sword glimmering in the half-moon's light.

You have a problem with climbing? I asked Kimiko.

No. She answered coldly.

Then let's scale a building. Without another word, I backed up, and took off toward the wall. I felt for a loose brick that I could use for a crevice. The second I felt it, I tested my weight on it and pushed up off of the ground. The other ones came easier. I just had to feel around for them. I sneaked a look down at Kimiko. She was looking uncertain at the brick I'd used for my first crevice. I could almost tell what she was thinking. What if it's not sturdy anymore? I would probably be thinking the same thing if she would have gone first.

Only, she hadn't. I had, and now, if she was coming, she was going to have to trust the fact that it hadn't fallen to the ground yet.

I turned my head back to the sky and focused on getting myself to the top of this massive structure. As I was feeling for the next crevice, I started to hear footsteps and voices. I stopped what I was doing and listened. Unable to make out exactly what they were saying, I did register a few laughs and grunts. As soon as they died down, I continued the climb.

I was inches away from the sloped roof when a guard walked past the edge. He seemed a little too close, if you ask me. Once he passed by, I pushed up on the top of the roof and pushed myself up. The second I was sure that I was secure on top of the building, I looked down. Kimiko was well on her way, but her face showed pure dread for having to climb something this high.

Once she was kneeling on the roof next to me, we stood up and silently agreed to take out all of the Hatsumis guarding the roof.

I went to the right, and she went to the left. I made sure I was out of sight before jumping out at the first guard I saw. She had a ponytail in the back of her head that went down to her shoulder blades. Her skin was medium-brown and she looked nonchalant and bored, like nothing ever happened.

That was about to change.

I grabbed her shirt and was about to throw her right off of the roof when she yelled, Stop!

I had no choice but to drop her.

Who are you?! She exclaimed, sounding more dumbfounded than ever.

Someone who you might not get a chance to get to know, considering the fact that you work for this horrible tyrant. I knew that she knew who I was talking about. A grunt following a scream was heard from the other side of the roof.

What the heck are you doing here, and why are you trying to throw me off of a roof? She said.

You're a guard who works for the Queen. I don't understand why someone would devote their life to working for such a ruthless person, but nonetheless, that's your problem. The anger I felt was in my face now, infecting it with hatred. I was sure that I didn't look very pleasant to her.

Look, if you tell me what you're trying to do, I might be able to help you.

I wasn't expecting her to say that.

I dragged her behind the chimney and threw her down. She grunted slightly but not loud enough for anyone besides me to hear, I hoped.

We want to give everyone here what they deserve. You are literally going to be a part of an experiment to turn the world dark and not give it another thought? If you're anything like them, you might as well jump off of the roof, if you don't want me to throw you, because there is no way I'm letting any of you off easy. I was straight and to the point. If they were going to play a part in it, they were also going to play a part in their deaths.

I heard about that experiment. I don't approve of it, but I can't tell them that. You know what would happen to me if I let them know that I didn't approve of their plans? I'd get executed.

I did not feel any sympathy for her.

"Maybe you should be executed. After all, it was you who decided to work for her." I needed to make her understand that it was her fault she was about to get thrown off of a building, not anyone else's. No one forced her to work for Queen Jakura. She chose to do it, and now she had to face the consequences.

Look, maybe I should be executed for working for her, but I'm telling you, I don't approve of half the stuff they do. I'll help you raid the palace if you take me with you after we're done. I could hear the sincerity in her voice, but still, I had to think about it. I wasn't even supposed to be out here. I was supposed to be at home, sleeping in my fluffy bed, only, I was on top of Queen Jakura's palace's roof trying to make a deal with a Hatsumi.

A lot can change in a few hours.

I'll take you with me, but don't try any funny business. It won't end well. I helped her up and decided mentally that I'd have to test her trust.

But I was going to have to do that later, because a Hatsumi had spotted us, and he was running towards us.

I'm Lyza. She said, sounding carefree. But when she saw the guard running, she took off in the other direction.

I took off after her after shoving the guard that was – just a second ago – advancing on us, off of the roof.

Eventually, we met up with Kimiko. She was fighting a guard that looked a lot more in shape than she was. Her leg was spewing yellow goo, indicating that she had been cut. I hoped that it didn't affect her ability to fight.

It did.

The guard kept swinging his glow sword in the direction of her injured leg, and each time, she had to move closer to the edge of the roof to avoid getting cut even more. I tried to jump in and help her, but she kept yelling, Stop! This is my fight.

The third time she said it, was the time that it happened.

She stepped back too far and her foot missed the edge of the roof. I reached down to grab her, but the Hatsumi she was fighting grabbed my arms and held me back.

Those ruthless Hatsumis.

I had to kill them all.

Every single one of them.

I thrashed against the Hatsumi, but it didn't make Kimiko fall any slower. The second I heard the sound of dissolving flesh, I knew she had hit the ground, and I knew she was dead.

Dead.

Gone.

Just like that.

I had to kill all of the Hatsumis.

I raised my sword and brought it down. It pierced the guy's leg, causing him to cry out and let me go.

Good for me, bad for him.

I grabbed the collar of his uniform and kicked him off of the roof.

The others were coming, fast.

The second they were close enough to Lyza, she pulled out a Level 2 glow sword and stabbed him. He dissolved right in front of her, making way for the next one.

They were lining up for their own deaths.

I felt a twinge of sympathy for them all.

But I still had to kill them.

I ran around Lyza and the particles that were once a Hatsumi and sliced my sword in the oncoming guard's directions, the way Kimiko had taught me at our training session we had right before I found out about the experiment.

I cringed at the thought of Kimiko.

And then someone I knew all too well pushed himself onto the roof.

Hadrian.

Behind him, close to ten guards pushed themselves up also.

We were done for.

Chapter 4

Chapter IV – 4

Lyza and I swung our legs over the edge of the roof and felt frantically for loose bricks.

Hadrian worked alongside Queen Jakura, except, he did most of her dirty work. I had a strange feeling that that was going to change over time, but I decided to ignore it.

The Hatsumis and Hadrian were on our tails. They threw ropes I didn't know they had off of the building and slid down them. Once they were on the ground, they looked up at us, watching, waiting for us to come down so they could arrest us.

Lyza and I kept climbing down and found that the loose bricks that were there when we had climbed up were growing even scarcer.

Busted.

We tried to make sure our hands were secured onto a brick before pressing our weight down on it, but sometimes, we weren't successful, and we nearly slipped. I glanced at the ground. It was approaching every time I put my weight in the hands of a brick. And soon, we were inches away from the ground.

Lyza grabbed onto the first loose brick we'd grabbed onto when we had climbed up and two of the guards grabbed her.

I knew I was next.

And I knew I couldn't let them grab me.

I took a deep breath and jumped back and onto one of the guards. He fell on his back, cushioning my fall. I quickly stood up and slashed my sword in Hadrian's direction. I forgot it was there, but the adrenaline that filled my body when my life was potentially endanger made me remember. Hadrian moved back and my sword missed his knee by a few inches. I quickly threw my fist at his face.

He didn't see it coming.

My fist collided with his face, causing his head to whip back. I took this opportunity to knock him down. I brought my foot up to my chest and pushed it out. Once it met his chest, he flew back and his butt hit the ground with a thud.

The other guards retreated and let go of Lyza. But the camera didn't miss us. The alarms went off and I knew it was time to run. Lyza and I took off, running farther and farther away from the palace. Jordan joined up with us when she spotted us a few seconds later.

We ran down the sidewalk and we didn't stop. Not once.

We turned a corner and suddenly, a car pulled up to the side of the road. The driver rolled down the passenger window and peered out.

Get in! Hurry! He yelled at us. Was I really going to trust this random driver who'd just pulled up? It was the only escape that we had besides running back home, and since the Queen monitors who lives in each house, it would be easy to find us, and even if we kept hopping from house to house, they'd eventually find us, and we'd most likely be killed for giving them such a hard time.

I had to trust the driver.

One by one, we jumped into the backseat of the van just as the door was sliding shut.

Chapter 5

Chapter V – 5

My friends and I sat in the back of the van that was our refuge, wondering why this person who we didn’t even know would stop on the side of the rode to help us.

Or maybe he wasn’t helping us… I thought to myself. Maybe he wanted us three for his own reasons.

I shuddered as I went through all of the other reasons why this driver would pick us up at the side of the road in the middle of the night.

If you’re wondering who I am, my name is Andre Tarver, and I was born in Itchikan City-State 16 years ago. I did not intend to pick you guys up at a time like this, but I saw you running and I had no choice but to let you in. The boy said. I made a mental note to remember his name.

But what if we were criminals running from the police? I asked, testing him without making it obvious.

If I were you, and what you just said was true, I would jump out of this car as of now. He smirked a bit and looked back at us. Where we’re going, you don’t want to be a criminal. They will throw you in jail faster than you can go to sleep.

I just hoped that whoever they were didn’t think we were criminals for what we had just done.

Where are we going, exactly?

Itchikan City-State, of course.

I wasn't expecting what I saw when we pulled into a parking lot in Itchikan City-State. Everything was red – the buildings, the people's clothes; everything. We got out of the van and for the first time, I noticed that it was red also.

You're lucky I was visiting, or I wouldn't have seen you. Andre said. Also, for the first time, I saw how he actually looked. His hair was an auburn color and went a little past his ears, his skin was light-brown, his eyes were dark-brown.

His features made him look striking, and I wondered if that was actually his personality.

He