A Warrior's Destiny by Azriel Johnson
Chapter Two - George Saint
Gerstung smiled, "That's a good name. From where do you hail, George Saint?"
"I am from a small town called Meton."
Gerstung wrote down the name of the town, "I know of it. I will first ask if you realize what you will be getting yourself into. There is a distinct possibility you might be killed in the Army."
George replied, "Yes, I understand."
John Ross paused looking at papers as if looking for his next question, without looking up he shot the question, "In Greek Mythology, who is the god of speed, agility and messengers?"
"Hermes," George answered instantly.
"Why do cattle usually face downwind?"
"To scent predators coming."
"What is 75,551 minus 3,205?"
"72,346."
"What is the most vulnerable place on a Dragon's body?"
Only a slight pause, "His... eyes."
Gerstung smiled, "Well done. I'm especially impressed by the math."
George nodded.
Gerstung said, "Tomorrow be back here and you plus the rest of the new recruits will be highly scrutinized physically by the rest of the regiment and myself. You are going to be pushed to your max, so I hope you have been training."
George replied with a smile, "I certainly have."
* * *
JR Gerstung loved to go to his uncles houses in Bellato every summer. In Bellato, JR was able to play with all of his cousins, older and younger, and he didn't have to deal with the bullies from the village. This summer would be a little different.
JR was naturally an early riser as a little one. This pleased his uncles because they intended to give him the basics that would later lead to his training. They knew that he would be able to handle the training even as rigorous as it would be.
John Ross and six of his seven cousins (Max Junior was not quite a walker) would have races in the morning. John Ross never won these races. Usually the two oldest Alana and Ajax would win. JR never stopped trying though, and that impressed his uncles.
Roughhousing was a tradition in the Gerstung households. Max taught the children grappling, Oli specialized in striking and Zack held a wooden stick to teach the children the rare art of sword play he had learned. It was a war zone at the three uncles homes, every child had to be on their guard against attacks. The only rule was no attacks in the house.
Since Alana was the oldest at age 10, she was often the target. All of the younger children would try to take her down either one by one, or all at once. Usually she was able to defend herself. The only cousin that was able to get the better of her was Ajax since he was nine.
JR tried his hand and surprising his cousins. He didn't have the benefit of year round training however, so even attacking three year old Buck gave him some problems.
The Gerstung family was closely knit. That happens when you have your cousins to keep you on your toes. If ever met with an opposing force, the Gerstungs backed each other up, no questions asked.
Once an older boy tried to pick on Ajax with his cousins around. The boy hit Ajax in the eye, as Ajax was about to jump on him, Alana returned the punch to the boy with a few kicks and a headbutt that staggered the teenager as he ran away crying. John Ross saw this and wished he could take his cousins home with him to help him with the Bollin Ballers.
At night, when John Ross slept, he was the topic of much conversation with his uncles and their wives Laura (Max), Linda (Oli) and Bridget (Zack). The adults knew that he was different due to his parentage. John Ross could have limitless potential, but for the moment, he was just a cute little boy who had to deal with too much at his young age. They would also discuss the uncles father and his own trials.
* * *
John Ross Gerstung, the elder, was headed to New York City when it was destroyed by Dragons in 1956. He was 21 years old. He had no idea what had happened in Marcinelle, Belgium two months before, he was simply told New York City was an amazing place to be and the people there were interesting.
He hitchhiked and walked most of the way from his original home next to Lake Erie. Gerstung decided to stop about half a day's walk away from New York City. It was midnight on October 8th, 1956. Gerstung lay in his sleeping bag. The weather was beautiful for late summer, but he felt something sinister in the air that he couldn't explain.
Gerstung woke the next morning to the sight of smoke in the air from the direction of New York City. He walked tentatively to the city and as he got closer he saw more and more of the destruction. The "Welcome to New York City" sign was mostly decimated. Buildings were crumbling. People lay dead in the streets. Gerstung walked through out the city trying to find anyone that may have survived, but the longer he looked the more he only found death and destruction. The largest buildings had collapsed and destroyed.
John Ross Gerstung had no idea what had happened. He saw no traces of a bomb or explosions. There were no witnesses to tell him what had occurred. He saw a newspaper floating in the wind. He grabbed it out of the air and read the headline: "BULLETIN: WE ARE UNDER ATTACK!"
The article read:
October 8th, 1956. Creatures fell upon New York City at twelve noon in a furious wave of fire, ice, smoke with molten rocks, lightning, acid and boiling water. Eye witnesses have reported these creatures looked like Dragons. The target for the Dragons seemed to be the United Nations gathering. Most of the world's leaders had gathered in various hotels around the city and had met to declare war on the Dragons who had become a problem for Europe.
If you are reading this article, get out while you still can.
Gerstung folded up the newspaper and put it into his backpack. He knew he would find no survivors.
* * *
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