Waywards

By Albert H. S.

"Welcome to the Metropolis. The place called home by all of humanity. After a second Pangaea united all nations of the world, a global organization known as the New Order Society brought the whole of mankind together into what is supposedly a new age of peace.

All wars have been brought to an end. Social divides such as race, r

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ukiyoto Publishing
• Release date: Jan 16, 2023
• ISBN: 9789360498016

Book preview

Introduction

W

elcome to the New Order Society. A new Pangea has formed among the many nations as all wars ceased and many world problems have been resolved by the newly formed global union of the many governments and their world leaders who have sought a better future than their predecessors. Technology has become greatly advanced and the many differences among people in terms of race, gender, and social class, among many others no longer hinder the majority of society.

However, there is one problem that still remains prevalent in this global union.

Waywards.

They are a group of individuals who are known for their superhuman abilities and unpredictable behavior. These individuals have been involved with the majority of remaining conflicts that the NOS are faced with. Unfortunately, while the NOS have prepared their countermeasures to address this issue, incidents involving Wayward activity still remain rampant throughout the Metropolis.

The following excerpts are the stories of what had taken place over a recent period of events.

Please maintain a rational and objective point of view when exploring the archive. 

Compromise

"N

oah! Noah, come in!"

Yeah, I hear you, Claire, what’s going on?

Horus has been compromised! He’s currently on the run and has been severely injured!

What?!!

The NOS sent people after him, and they’re not just the run-of-the-mill cops!

Any idea what kind of personnel did they send?

No, not at the moment. But they mean business.

This is bad. Really bad. Horus sent us a distress signal and the coordinates to a black box.

"A black box?!! Do you mean to say that he’s trying to-

Yes, he’s leaving a message in case outrunning the NOS in their pursuit won’t work. And what’s worse, these coordinates are located in Sinai.

That’s his home base!

Exactly! Now look, I sent Ares and Hanzo to go pick it up. I’ll give you a heads-up later, but I need you to contact Solomon to see what’s going on. See if he has any leads.

Alright, I’ll keep in touch. Stay safe Claire.

You too, Noah.

After ending the sudden call and leaning back from the monitors all lined up on the table in front of him, Noah exhaled as he began to anticipate the next course of action that will need to be taken.

One of their most powerful Waywards is in danger and isn’t likely to make it out alive – not only that, his base of operation has been discovered; which puts them at risk as it means that they now have one less safehouse to seek refuge in. The worst part is, with Horus currently being hunted down and not expecting to outrun his pursuers, it meant that they are also facing an enemy different from the usual law enforcers and peacemakers often sent by the NOS. It’s one thing for Claire to contact him out of the blue, but hearing her request to urgently call up Solomon meant the situation is bound to get worse.

With Sinai lost, there is a high risk that the NOS are close to sniffing out the Ark. Many Waywards have flocked to this place since it serves as an ultimate sanctuary of sorts. If the Ark goes down, then all that’s left is the Hestia Foundation – and even they have their hands full with all the risks they are taking as well as the constant backlash of openly housing Waywards; the very people that the NOS have pointed fingers at as the only ones to be unwelcome in their society.

For now, all he could do is wait for Claire to update him on Hanzo and Ares finding the black box along with its contents.

The Black Box

T

hrough the long and narrow alleys, two individuals cautiously proceed to arrive at their destination point. Waywards. Each one was on high alert as they scanned their surroundings while they walked. Soon they found a stairwell on the side of a building and began to climb.

As they reached the rooftop, they began their conversation.

Hey, Ares, why did Claire send us out to go check up on Horus? Did she get a bad omen or something?

No, she said it was something really serious. I mean, sure, she’s Clairvoyant, but this doesn’t seem like her looking ahead and telling us to prepare in advance. With how frantic she is, something must have happened and we’re the ones that need to report on the aftermath.

Okay, how serious is it?

Serious enough for her to ask Noah for Solomon’s help.

Avicebron? You’ve gotta be kidding me.

I kid you not. Her asking for Solomon’s help means that shit is really hitting the fan. She asked us to check out the distress signal because she thinks that it might be pretty dangerous.

Yeah, and what was all that about when she mentioned a black box for us to pick up?

It means that Horus isn’t expecting to get away from whoever’s after him.

No way! He’s one of the best. The NOS were never able to catch him before, so what would make now any different?

That’s what we need to find out. Now let’s get this over with. The longer we stay out in the open, the more chances we have to run into trouble, remember that Hanzo.

Got it.

With that, the two peered over the ledge to scan their surroundings and make sure that the coast was clear. They were just a couple of buildings away from Sinai, which was supposed to be a bureaucratic office but had been abandoned midway through its construction – however - it ended up being a base of operation for Horus once the NOS decided to stop funding it for whatever reason. It didn’t take long for Ares to curse just as he saw a group of armed individuals leaving through the front entrance.

Shit.

Those guys aren’t NOS. Who the hell are they?

Iscariots.

The mercenary group?

Yeah. Those guys. Loyal to the highest bidder.

But why are they here?

We’ll know soon enough. But for now, let’s wait until they leave. They don’t seem to be searching for anything there; either they have no clue, or they’re more focused on getting Horus – he does have a bounty on his head after all.

Wait. There’s more people over there.

As they were whispering their exchange, a pair of armed individuals dressed in uniform walked out of the entrance and began speaking with the other personnel.

Those uniforms look different. Are they from the Iscariots or the NOS?

Now that I do not know. Guess this really means that something is going on. NOS deploying a new military unit might mean some really bad news.

I thought they disbanded most of the military, why would they make another unit then? The NOS stopped most of the wars from several years ago and only kept the police and a minimal amount of military personnel because they wanted to keep Waywards in check. How badly do they want to get rid of us if they decided to go against their old ideals just to have one more military unit?

"There’s no point in finding their justification. What we need to do now is-

The conversation was cut short as the two Waywards soon noticed more armed personnel left the building with a body bag.

"No. No, those fuckers couldn’t have-

Shit, I guess they really did get him.

The body was then loaded onto a truck and the armed individuals all shuffled onto the vehicle in order to call it a day.

Guess that means we now have our chance. Let’s just wait until that vehicle is out of sight. We’ll make our move afterwards.

Once they were certain that the vehicle was already far enough for them to sneak in without being noticed, Hanzo walked towards a nearby window while Ares stood in position by the front entrance with a gun at the ready.

Peering in, Hanzo did not find any sign of life in the lobby – but one could never be too sure.

On my signal.

Ares nodded in anticipation.

One…two…three!

Ares quickly rounded the corner with his gun aimed right into the room before scanning the area to confirm that it was indeed safe to enter. He signaled to Hanzo for the both of them to make their way in. Whilst clearing the room, Ares observed as Hanzo cautiously approached the doorways that each led to two different rooms and peered in from the sides – all without making a single sound from any of his motions.

Hanzo then drew a pair of throwing daggers and nodded at Ares after deciding on which room to proceed to. After repeating the tedious process several times as they searched through the rooms, the two Waywards paused as they came across a blood trail. The two quickly agreed to follow it until they found where the blood stops. Soon the trail led to an open door and Ares took the lead as he cautiously leaned by the doorway with his gun at the ready while Hanzo stood some little ways behind him and faced the other direction in order to watch their backs.

After taking a deep breath, Ares quickly swiveled to enter the room with his gun taking aim and at the ready.

Thankfully, the room was empty and the two heaved a sigh of relief as they entered the room. The interior looked as if all hell had broken loose throughout the place. As they began to search the surroundings, they both gathered in one spot when Hanzo managed to find a certain jacket.

It belonged to Horus.

A navy blue weatherproof jacket with a stylized Eye of Horus emblazoned on the back. It was stained with blood that surrounded several bullet holes in the chest and shoulder area. For whatever reason that Horus decided to leave it, the two Waywards were still unsure about the meaning of him doing so.

As they looked up from the discarded item, Ares noticed another blood trail leading out the window before Hanzo remarked that they ought to continue searching as the jacket did not have the black box they were looking for. Soon the both of them noticed a desk with drawers not far from where they stood. After Hanzo spent a few minutes lock-picking one of the drawers, they found a little black case that is slightly concealed by a stack of notes that kept it hidden all the way in the back. It also had a little note that appeared