Ancient Awakening: The Scars of Atlantis Chronicle by M.C. Rogan

Author:M.C. Rogan [Rogan, M.C.]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: M.C. Rogan
Published: 2024-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 22

The Soldier

A leather clad soldier opened the door and ushered Josh inside. He found himself in an entryway with weapons and armor hanging from the walls. Several soldiers sat behind desks reading through scrolls, while others hurried through the room. A sign was hung from the ceiling that read “For the Empire,” and under it “Pride, Fellowship, Conquest.”

The soldier led Josh beyond the organized chaos of the entryway to a smaller chamber that had passages leading out to the arena built next to the fortress.

Given the appearance and discipline of the soldiers, Josh had expected the staging area to be filled with neat racks of polished weapons and armor. While these things existed, they were covered by torn burlap sacks, stray pieces of metal and leather, and crude sketches.

Josh walked over to a piece of paper and studied it. He recognized the design as a kettlebell—a weighted piece of metal that had become popular in strength training in his world. Another thing that doesn’t belong here, Josh thought, remembering the intricately designed armor Prometheus had forged.

“Knees out!” a voice shouted from an adjacent room. Coach? Josh thought. The command sounded almost identical to the instructions Josh’s football coach would shout while the team was training.

Josh followed the soldier into the next room. A red-faced young man stood inside a wooden structure. He had a wooden yoke on his back, with sandbags attached to both sides. The young man dipped down in a squat and then came back to a standing position.

“I said knees out, damn it! You’re never going to get stronger if you have bad form.” Josh looked at the speaker. A broad-shouldered man stood next to the equipment. He ran a hand through his dirty-blonde hair and shook his head. “Come on, give me one more and mean it this time!”

“Kyle?” Josh asked in disbelief, staring blankly at his friend.

“Josh?” Kyle turned away from the young man he had been coaching. “Ha! This dream gets better and better!” Kyle bounded across the room, leaving the poor man shaking under the weight. Seeing he could finally stop, the young man placed the yoke on the wooden rack and slumped to the ground.

Josh couldn’t believe it. It had been months since he had arrived in this place. He had seen combat, death, majek, and even godlike beings. But Kyle?

Josh’s friend was here, standing right in front of him, and Josh couldn’t seem to put together any sort of coherent response. He had been alone in this world for so long, barely avoiding disaster. But Kyle was here, and Josh wouldn’t have to face this by himself anymore.

Out of all the emotions flooding Josh’s mind, one finally stuck. Hope. Now there was hope. Josh wasn’t sure if he could survive this place by himself, but Kyle looked stronger than ever and in good spirits. Together, they could make it home.

“Kyle, what are you doing here?” Josh asked. He winced at the stupidity of the question, but he didn’t know what else to say.

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