The Guardian Host-Resurrection-Book one of The Guardian Host Series
Volaxion

If I’m going to figure out what this thing is and how it works, I’m going to need some supplies.

I was in my element. I loved figuring out new things, and it was definitely a new thing.

In my mind, I’d be drawing graphs, charts, and even diagrams as I studied it. I was nervous and excited at the same time. I was excited because I wanted to know how it worked, but nervous because if it went wrong, it could kill me.

I grabbed a journal, a pen, and a magnifying glass and headed to the desk in the study. I felt like a detective about to get to the bottom of a giant case he was working on.

I’m on the verge of the most significant discovery of humankind, and if I replace out how it works, I still can’t share it with anybody.

Not that I would, anyway.

I placed all my supplies on the desk and prepared to start my investigation. I sat down at the desk and turned on the lamp.

Immediately, the egg reflected the light off its shiny surface. It was remarkable how clear the reflection was.

Now, that’s a fantastic specimen.

I reveled in its beauty and noticed that the writing that had been on it before was no longer visible.

That’s peculiar. Where did the symbols go? I’ve got to make a list of tests to do on this thing before I begin.

Planning makes perfect.

I took a few minutes to jot down some simple things to try out, hoping to unlock its deep, dark secrets. I took a deep breath and read the first thing on the list.

Temperature.

I touched the egg to feel its temperature. It was still cold, like it’d been in the snow for days. Not surprising since it’d been the same temperature for days, even when it was in my pocket.

I wrote that down in my journal like a proper analyst. I wanted to refer to my notes if anything changed later.

The next thing on my list was appearance. Were there any dents or scratches on it?

Let’s replace out, shall we?

I picked it up and carefully examined the entire surface with a magnifying glass, ensuring I didn’t miss a detail. It’s not surprising that I found zero dents or blemishes.

I was sure there could be a scratch on it from scraping against my keys as it sat in my pocket. I wrote down ‘perfect’ next to number two.

I moved on to the next test.

How does it react to water?

I wanted to see how it would respond to water if submerged.

It'd be interesting if it turned the water into ice.

I went to the kitchen, filled a glass with water, and returned it to the study.

I gently picked up the egg with my index finger and thumb and held it over the glass of water. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly before releasing it, allowing it to fall into the glass.

The most amazing thing happened. When I dropped it in, it didn’t even splash or disturb the water. It just slid into the water and stood up on end.

That’s impossible!

I had to ensure I didn’t miss something or my mind played tricks on me.

I fished the egg from the water and held it over the glass again. That’s when I noticed that the egg wasn’t even wet. I made a mental note of that.

Waterproof.

I made sure I was focused entirely before dropping it this time. To my surprise, I got the same result.

I guess I’m not crazy after all.

I jotted down the word ‘waterproof’ next to the list.

As I was preparing to fish the egg out of the glass again, I noticed the symbols that had been on it the night of the crash were visible again.

That’s how it reacts to water.

I rotated the glass and drew all the symbols that I could see.

Once I noted all the symbols, I pulled the object out of the glass and ran my fingers over it. I couldn’t feel the writing at all. It was as if the symbols were below the surface.

Then, I noticed a diamond-shaped mark near the round portion of the egg. It looked different from the rest of them, making it stand out from all the others. I noted all the symbols on the egg, including the diamond-shaped one.

Next on the list was gravity.

How does it react to gravity? I still couldn’t get over how light it was. I couldn’t feel it if I closed my eyes and held it in my palm because it was nearly weightless.

I knew it was there because I felt the coldness of it against my palm.

I need to test the effects of gravity on this thing.

I stood up and tossed it about three feet in the air. The most astonishing thing happened. It fell into my hand a lot slower than it should have. It was as if I watched it fall into my palm in slow motion.

Wow! That’s the most incredible thing I’ve seen so far.

Whatever this thing is, it defies the laws of physics. I wrote down my replaceings and, just for my entertainment, tossed it in the air again.

I could grab it from the air on the second throw without moving fast. It was like watching a silk handkerchief descend after being tossed into the air.

I wish I’d had a baseball like that as a kid. I would’ve been a better outfielder.

I placed it on the desk and wrote that down as well.

What’s next on the list? Aha, structural soundness.

Can it be dented or destroyed in any way? That was the test I was most nervous about. The reason is apparent. What if I hit it with something, break it, or destroy it? Then I’m out of whatever would make me live forever.

Should I do it or not? I wouldn’t be a good investigator if I didn’t.

I grabbed a hammer out of my desk drawer.

This should do.

I held firm to the belief that Avlandrix wouldn’t give me something this special, knowing a hammer could destroy it. Besides, I’m sure he would’ve said I shouldn’t hit it with a hammer and ruin everything, right?

I hope so.

I held the egg firmly against the desk with one hand. Once I had a firm grip, I swung the hammer down as hard as possible.

It slipped off to the side when it hit the egg and struck the desk instead.

What a relief.

I was happy as well as perplexed with the result. I started questioning myself.

Did I hit it, or did I miss it altogether?

I’ve always struggled with hitting things with a hammer or any object, for that matter.

I missed it.

Not that I wanted to, but I had to try again. I steadied my hand and focused this time.

I swung the hammer and paid close attention to the results. It slipped off, hitting the desk with a loud bang.

I saw it that time.

I tried to hit it several more times to make sure. No matter how many times I tried, I couldn’t hit it. It was the most perplexing thing I’d ever seen.

All I managed to do was put several dents on the desk. Not that I particularly cared for the desk in the first place. I wrote down my replaceings.

I deemed it indestructible. I picked up the egg from the desk, and a question formed in my mind as I looked at it.

What are you?

I ran through some more minor tests, and each one had astonishing results. I came to an obvious conclusion.

It’s not from this planet.

It wouldn’t take a genius to figure that out. After all, I did get it from an alien.

Before I knew it, I’d been sitting at the desk for more than four hours, and I was starting to get tired. I decided to call it a night and continue the examination in the morning when my mind was fresh and alert.

That night, as I slept, I kept hearing a light whisper in my ear, but I couldn’t make out what it was saying. It was so vivid that I heard it in my dreams.

I woke up the following day to the sound of a loud whisper next to my right ear. Sweat covered my body, and my sheets and pillow were drenched.

Was that whisper real? Why am I sweating and breathing so hard?

My breathing was labored as if I’d been working out all night. I threw the covers off me and looked around the room for the source of the whisper but found nothing.

I know I heard it. I may have been up too late last night.

Maybe my mind was playing tricks on me. I shook it off and chalked it up to an overly active imagination.

I went to the bathroom and splashed cold water on my face to clear my mind. I looked at my tired face in the mirror as water droplets dripped into the sink from my chin. I smiled at my reflection as I thought about how crazy I was acting.

As I was making a joke about my messy blonde hair, I heard the whisper again. This time, it was coming from behind me.

I jumped at the sound and immediately turned around with my hands in a fighting stance.

Okay, I heard it that time. Not my imagination.

“Who’s there?”

My voice was quivering and raspy.

I expected someone to jump out at me but found no one. I walked into the study, sat in the desk chair, and held my head to calm myself.

Let’s be rational about this. Maybe I was still hearing something from my dreams. Hold on a second, I said rational. Does that sound rational to you?

I took a deep breath and glanced at the egg on the desk while arguing about how crazy I sounded.

Surprisingly, I saw the egg standing upright with the pointed end on the desk. It was slowly rotating like a top. I sat up straight and stared at it. My eyes widened with astonishment. Okay, I thought I was crazy before.

This is a whole new level of craziness.

I heard what sounded like a very faint whisper coming from the direction of the egg. That’s when I knew it had to be the source of the whispering.

I must be losing it if inanimate objects are talking to me.

I slowly leaned my face closer to the object. I feared the slightest bump on the desk would cause it to fall over. I pointed my ear in its direction.

Yep, I hear it whispering.

I sat up in the chair.

Is this supposed to happen?

In my mind, I cursed Avlandrix for not explaining things to me the other night.

Thanks for nothing, pal.

I slowly reached for it with my right hand, mesmerized by the unusual sight of what I witnessed. I used my index finger to touch it, expecting it to topple over, but it didn’t.

The egg continued to rotate as my finger slid across the surface of it. I applied more pressure, but it continued to turn as it leaned slightly due to my finger pushing it.

I wish I’d seen this last night when I was performing tests.

“Unbelievable,” I said as I pulled my hand away, causing it to spring back upright.

What would happen if I put it in my hand? Let’s replace out.

I gently grabbed the shiny egg as it rotated slowly between my fingers.

This definitely defies the laws of physics.

It was so smooth that my fingers couldn’t stop it from spinning. Then I saw something new. The diamond shape came around as it rotated, and I noticed that the outline of the diamond was glowing yellow.

It stopped rotating once the diamond faced me.

Okay, why did it stop spinning?

I wondered why the outline of the diamond was glowing. I brought it closer to my face for further inspection. Everything is the same except for the yellow light.

I wonder what it feels like.

I lowered the object to about chest level and rubbed my thumb over the diamond to see if the light was warm. For an instant, I could feel that the light was warm.

That was before the unexpected happened.

As soon as I placed my thumb on the diamond, my thumb sank into it as if it were a gelatinous material.

Oops, I didn’t mean to do that.

My thumb felt warm as the egg encased it.

This is going to be pretty messy.

I became agitated at the thought of cleaning up runny, metallic material off my hand and anything else it dripped on.

Thanks again, Avlandrix.

I grabbed what looked like the only solid part of the egg and pulled on it to get my thumb out. There was a problem. My thumb started to sink into the object even more, so I panicked. I pulled harder, but it resisted me with more strength than I had.

I’ve got to get this thing off me!

I started flailing my arm violently in an attempt to shake it off. I was yelling and cursing as I shook my arm harder.

My logical side kicked in When I realized it didn’t hurt.

Calm down, Vincent. It’s not hurting you. Let’s figure this thing out.

I brought the object up to face level to get a more accurate view of what was happening.

It’ll come off if I handle it the right way.

It got worse.

As soon as I started to calm down, it started melting and running all over my hand, covering it like a shiny metal glove. My logical side went out the window.

It’s time to get barbaric.

“Get off me! Get off,” I screamed as I shook my hand wildly back and forth.

I knocked the lamp off the desk due to my brutal rage. All my notes were strewn across the floor because my arm swiped them off the desk. My heart was racing faster than it had ever raced before.

Why won’t this thing come off?

I had to see what was happening to my hand.

I steadied my hand and looked down at it. I watched in horror as the metallic substance soaked into my skin and disappeared.

My eyes were so wide that I thought they’d pop out of my skull. Right before I screamed out that I would die, I became weak and stumbled across the room, trying to stay awake.

I fell over the desk chair and landed face down on the floor.

It knocked the wind out of me as I hit my chest on the hardwood floor. The last thing I remember was looking at the desk lamp rocking back and forth on the floor.

My vision went blurry just before everything slowly went dark.

”Vincent. Vincent, wake up,” a deep and calming voice said.

I was dreaming. My mother was waking me up for school in my dream.

Come on, Mom, I don’t want to go to school. Give me five more minutes to sleep.

"Vincent, you need to wake up,” the voice said again.

There’s something wrong with her voice. It sounds like a man’s voice. Kind of like it was underwater. Besides, my mom’s been dead for over fifteen years now.

What’s happening?

"Vincent.”

I opened my eyes to see the lamp lying on the floor. Okay, so it wasn’t a dream.

“What,” I said as I tried to remember what was happening.

I got on all fours and put my right hand on the desk to help me to my feet. The only light in the room was from the lamp lying on the floor.

I could’ve sworn I heard a voice. Is my mind playing tricks on me again, or did I hear it?

I stumbled towards the lamp and picked it up off the floor. I set it on the desk as I glanced out the study window.

It’s dark outside? How long have I been out?

The clock on the wall read 8:00.

Eight o’clock? It was much earlier than that when…

“Where is it? Where’s the egg? It has to be here somewhere,” I said as I kicked papers around on the floor looking for it. Now I remember what happened to it.

Oh God!

The memory of it soaking into my hand came back to me.

I was overwhelmed with anxiety just thinking about what happened. I picked up the chair, pulled it to the desk, and sat down. I had to get a hold of myself, or I’d lose it.

What happens now?

I closed my eyes and rested for a second or two to decide what to do next. Then it hit me.

The egg is gone. It’s not lost in the house. It’s completely gone.

The dreadful feeling of failure consumed my entire body as I thought about everything I’d lost.

“Great! Now, what am I going to do? I lost everything,” I said under my breath.

I sat there sulking with my eyes closed. Then something else happened.

"Nothing is lost, Vincent. I am still here.”

I jumped as the words filled my head.

I swung around in the chair to see who was in the room behind me. I jumped out of the chair and looked toward the door, expecting to see someone standing there.

There was nobody there.

I know I heard a voice that time.

“Who said that?”

I chuckled and walked back to my chair, and sat down. I knew I was there alone. I must’ve been hallucinating.

Come on, Vincent, there’s nobody there. You hit your head, and now things are just a little bit screwy, that’s all.

“I must’ve hit my head harder than I thought. Now I’m hearing voices,” I whispered.

"You are not suffering from mental hallucinations.”

The voice filled my head again.

I jumped from the chair and almost tripped as I headed for the door. My right shoulder slammed into the wall, but barely felt the impact.

I looked down the hallway into the kitchen but didn’t see anyone. Someone’s playing tricks on me or something.

I turned around as fast as I could to catch whoever it was by surprise before they could hide from me.

Nobody there.

I started to feel my heart racing, and my breathing became labored.

I yelled into the room.

“Where are you!”

The voice filled my head again.

“The correct terminology would be, where are WE.”

It was a calm male voice, sounding weird, like someone talking underwater, but very clear. I pressed my back against the wall and looked around to see if someone was hiding in a corner.

Whatever it is knows my name. Time to probe for answers.

Then I realized that telepathy is how Avlandrix communicated to me. Maybe it was his ghost.

“Are you the ghost of Avlandrix,” I asked tremblingly.

"No, Vincent, I am not the apparition from the recently departed Avlandrix. Although in some worlds, I am considered a spirit because of my true physical appearance.”

I stepped towards the desk, keeping my back against the wall. I didn’t want anyone jumping out at me and catching me by surprise.

I looked around frantically, trying to see where the voice came from. I made it to the desk and slinked my way into the chair. I slowly turned it around to face the rest of the room.

I can replace him if I look hard enough.

“Where are you?”

“I am inside your body. We now share the same conscious mind. Your thoughts are mine, and my thoughts are yours as well. We share a lot of physical attributes as well.”

I started to relax a little bit and sat back in the chair, releasing the tension in my body.

Well, at least I’m not crazy, and this is happening.

I let out a sigh of relief at that bit of good news. I thought back to the events that led up to this point. I had to replace some answers.

“Were you inside the egg?”

“That is accurate, with a slight correction. I WAS the egg, not inside it, and now I have merged with your body and mind. You have been unconscious for nearly twelve hours so that I could complete the merging process. I must admit that this body is stronger than that of Avlandrix. Although it is weaker mentally, I shall greatly enjoy this one.”

I found that last statement insulting.

I’d always considered myself more intelligent than the average person. I was smart enough for Avlandrix to see that I was the perfect choice. I’m sure I was brighter than whoever was inside my head, too.

There were still a lot of things I needed to know. Since he couldn’t go anywhere, we had plenty of time to discuss it.

I should get comfortable. This may take a while.

I exited the chair and walked into the kitchen to get a glass of water. I grabbed a glass out of the cupboard with a shaky hand.

“Since we’re stuck together, why don’t you tell me your name?”

As I filled the glass, I heard the voice again.

"My name is Volaxion.”

“Nice name. It had to start with a ‘V,’ didn’t it? Vincent Vandraken and Volaxion.”

"That is quite an entertaining observation, Vincent.”

I laughed a little.

I walked into the living room and plopped myself into the recliner. I sat back and put my glass down on the end table.

I expected the night to be going differently than this. Hearing a voice in my head wasn’t even on the list.

“So, tell me about yourself and your world. Is it like this one?”

“My world is very different from yours. I could experience all your memories while merging with your physical and mental form. I can show you and tell you about myself and my world.”

My whole body jerked as if an electrical shock hit it. I gripped the chair’s armrests as my body tensed briefly with my eyes closed. In a flash, I could see his world’s memories.

Talk about a mental download.

I was standing at the top of a set of bright red marble-type steps that led to an enormous blue building made from the same material as the steps. It was beautiful.

So, their world is pretty colorful, different from mine.

The shapes of the buildings were like our skyscrapers in the big cities, except they were shiny marble material.

The sky was orange and yellow. I didn’t see the sun, but the atmosphere was well-lit. As I turned away from the building, I saw various buildings constructed of the same type of material in multiple colors.

No structures were more prominent than this one.

I could see beings that looked like Avlandrix hovering around the city on the floating boards with which I saw Avlandrix come out of the ship.

The city stretched as far as the eye could see. Various types of space crafts flew around the city like cars in traffic on Earth.

"This is my world. This is Volistan. You can see what a great race we were. This blue building we are in front of is where I always stayed to guard this planet. I was a great guardian who oversaw defending my race against any enemy that threatened us. Eight other guardians were under my command who helped me protect the planet. I am an Elder Guardian. I am much older than other guardians. That is why I was in command.”

The faces of the other guardians flashed in front of me. They’re pretty ugly compared to a human. I’m a fashion model compared to the faces I just looked at.

“There are two types of alien species that live on this planet. The first and foremost species are the Volistians. We are an apparition-type species that originated from this world.

Although we have a superior intellect, we need the solid body of another being to survive. The other type of species is “The Grey Ones”. They provide a body for us to occupy for us to survive. In return, we offer them immortality and special abilities.

Once a Volistian merges with another being, they cannot separate themselves except by the free will of the other being. Once separated, the Volistians return to the shiny pod you called the egg. It is then the responsibility of the being that we just left to replace a willing being to merge with us.”

I saw the picture of Avlandrix holding the silver pod in his palm, offering it to me.

“If we cannot replace a host, then we die slowly over thirteen Earth days. We can still survive, even if merged with a host at the last second.”

The image of the silver pod slowly losing its shine filled my mind.

I still have a lot of questions to ask. This should fill in some of the gaps.

My mind went back to what he said before. Since I pay attention to detail, I had to ask the question.

“You said that you were a great race. What happened?”

“We thrived for millions of years, and our race flourished. There were no wars, greed, or crime. That all started to unravel when we were visited by an unfamiliar race called the Dondravens.”

I saw an alien race that looked deformed. They had light brown skin, and its texture looked lumpy, like brown clay. They had a tall head that made it appear as if they had a large forehead.

They were completely hairless, and their eyes weren’t positioned evenly like ours. The right eye was slightly larger and higher on the face. The left eye was smaller, and it sat lower. Their eye color was utterly black, like an abyss.

They’re hideous if you ask me. It reminds me of a turd or a lump of clay formed into a body.

Their nose was a small hole shaped like the nasal cavity that we would see on a skull. Their mouth was about our size but without defined lips.

Their body was bigger than a human and had well-defined, lumpy muscles. Looking at them, I could immediately see they were intelligent beings.

Ugly but brilliant. Great combination.

“You are correct in assuming the Dondravens are intelligent. I have realized that although millions of different races are in the stars, each possesses a specific skill. The Dondravens are skilled in the knowledge of technology.

They could produce any machine they desired by applying their knowledge in unison. Even though they don’t share the same mind, when they gathered to construct any technology, they worked in unison to complete it.”

I saw a hundred or more Dondravens working together to build a machine, and it was like they worked as one body. When they completed the device, I saw them present it to the Volistians.

At least they shared what they made. Nothing bad so far.

“This was the machine they presented to us after they gained our trust over many years. It was a teleportation device to travel to distant worlds without using a spacecraft. We applauded their ingenious technological advances, welcomed them with open arms, and considered them brothers.”

I saw the Dondravens standing with the Volistans as the Volistans applauded them for their achievements. It looked like a big, happy, and dysfunctional family to me.

“They became more curious about the workings of our race and thirsted for knowledge about how we lived and where we came from. They met with the elders of our race, and that is where they knew about our need for another being to survive.

They were intrigued by this, and like a child, they asked more and more questions. They found that the most powerful beings in all the billions of galaxies were the guardians of Volistan.

They knew of the many powers and abilities they gave their hosts. After they acquired this knowledge, the questions stopped, and they went on about their daily routines as they did before.”

I saw the Dondravens wandering about the cities of Volistan, almost as if they’d lived there since the beginning of time. I saw them helping the Volistians with their technological weaknesses and educating them on advancing further.

It was the perfect combination of beings on one planet. Then, I saw the skies turn from bright yellow and orange into a dark gray color.

I’m no genius, but I'm fairly certain that this is when things took a dark turn.

“After meeting with the elder Volistans, the Dondravens used teleportation to travel to their planet and apply their knowledge to create their technological masterpiece.

One day, thousands of Dondravens came to our planet through the teleportation device armed with new weapons. We had not noticed over the years that a few Volistians had been taken to the Dondraven planet to be used as test subjects.

They used the Volistians to create what they called “Splitters .“These are handheld devices the Dondravens used to separate the Volistians from their grey hosts with a blast of microscopic energy.”

I was shown images of Volistians running in panic as they were shot with the splitter devices. Once they were shot, the grey beings fell unconscious, and the silver pod fell to the ground.

I was shocked at the brutal nature of the Dondravens.

The grey beings were shot with what looked like a laser, killing them as they lay motionless on the ground. I watched the Volistan Guardians being unleashed onto the Dondravens.

Although they initially surprised them, the tide quickly favored the Dondravens.

“The Dondravens started splitting the guardians from their hosts. Once the pods fell to the ground, they were collected and placed in a storage device that separated the regular Volistians from the Volistian Guardians.

The Dondravens were hungry for power and domination of all worlds and galaxies. Their motivation for the attack on our planet was their unified goal of replaceing a way to become immortal. All their technological gifts assisted them in achieving all their goals except the ability to replace immortality.

Once they found that we had that ability, their focus was replaceing a way to take it for themselves. We had overlooked the other gift the Dondravens possessed. It was the gift of deceit. I was the last of the guardians to escape.

All the guardians under my command knew they were no match for the power of the splitter device. Knowing we were helpless to prevent the attack, we knew our only option was to leave the planet. Some Guardians escaped; others were unsuccessful and had fallen prey to the splitter devices.

I was able to escape Volistan. Avlandrix was determined to replace the youngest inhabited planet he could locate and separate himself from me to keep the Dondravens from possessing my abilities.

Avlandrix had programmed a ship that contained the bodies of three grey ones to follow him so that he could destroy himself once he had found a suitable host for me.

He transported the bodies in the other ship to mask that he was alone, in case the Dondravens intercepted him.”

I saw Avlandrix inside the spacecraft traveling to Earth. I saw him separate from Volaxion, and the silver pod appeared in his hand.

I felt the sadness of Volaxion but also the victory of the mission at the same time.

I saw the ships collide and smash into the dark hillside just as I had seen it from the back window of my car. That answered all of the questions that I was going to ask.

Volaxion summed it up nicely.

We’ll do great together since he seems like an alien who pays close attention to detail like me.

I had just a couple of questions remaining.

“Volaxion, you mentioned that you grant immortality when you merge with another being. Does that mean I’m immortal now?”

“Yes. I have suspended your aging process, and you will live as long as you wish.”

Talk about hitting the jackpot.

"Have you suspended my aging process so I’ll be twenty-five forever?"

That was a lot for me to process. However, only one more question remained.

“You also mentioned that you grant your host special abilities. Exactly what kind of abilities do I receive for hosting you?”

.