{"id":460,"date":"2016-01-13T14:59:24","date_gmt":"2016-01-13T22:59:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hidden-shelf.com\/?p=460"},"modified":"2016-01-13T14:59:24","modified_gmt":"2016-01-13T22:59:24","slug":"destiny-ch-01","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hidden-shelf.com\/?p=460","title":{"rendered":"Destiny Ch. 01"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Sometimes I write other things. \u00a0This is a story based off of the Destiny video game. \u00a0Probably won’t make much sense if you aren’t familiar with the game.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

It’s been twelve days since the last time I died.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

My fingers touch the back of my neck while my ghost shifts slightly, as if in sympathy to the phantom pain. \u00a0It doesn’t hurt. \u00a0Not really. \u00a0I just feel<\/span><\/strong><\/em>\u00a0like it should. \u00a0I always feel like it should still hurt afterwards but, eventually it fades. \u00a0Until the next time.<\/p>\n

The stiff, dark grass next to my outstretched leg stirs. \u00a0The sky is wide and blue and beautiful above me. \u00a0Far below my rocky vantage point lies a rusted ruin. \u00a0A grave of tanks, crawlers, transports and other unknown machinery cover the landscape from the titanic launchpads of the cosmodrome to the nearby sea. \u00a0I can taste the salt in the air, even up here.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

My sniper rifle, all flat black with flecks of tan, is already set up and waiting. \u00a0I have time still. \u00a0A little time. \u00a0My finger traces the line of my neck and I can feel each small hair. \u00a0Unbroken, perfect skin. \u00a0Not the ruin of flesh and bone and brains from twelve days ago.<\/p>\n

Jace was pissed. \u00a0I can remember opening my eyes to his face. \u00a0Grim. \u00a0Bloodied. \u00a0My<\/span><\/strong><\/em>\u00a0blood and fragments of bone covering him. \u00a0I don’t know how long I was out but the Fallen were all dead.<\/p>\n

—–<\/p>\n

“What the hell was the point of that?” Jace had growled. \u00a0He was angry but also worried. \u00a0We’ve been running missions together a long time and were a close team. \u00a0Tsuni sat quietly on the side, cleaning his rifle but still listening. \u00a0His armband glowed brightly. \u00a0Probably running a simulation of the fight to look for ways to improve efficiency. \u00a0We’d hear about it later that night.<\/p>\n

I’d shrugged at the time. \u00a0“I saw the sniper. \u00a0I tried to shove you out of the way but you’re too damn heavy. \u00a0I took the shot instead, I guess.” \u00a0I thought I could almost feel it even though I knew the death was instant. \u00a0Goosebumps rippled down my arms. \u00a0I hated dying.<\/p>\n

“My. \u00a0Ass,” Jace said, teeth grinding together. \u00a0“You’re always like this! \u00a0Every single time! \u00a0You’ve died more than the rest of us. \u00a0It doesn’t matter if it’d hit me. \u00a0If I’d died, I’d come back. \u00a0You know that. \u00a0You think your life-“<\/p>\n

“Leave over, Jace,” Tsuni said slowly. \u00a0“We have to keep moving before they miss the patrol and come looking for us.”<\/p>\n

—–<\/p>\n

And now, twelve days later, here I am. \u00a0Sitting atop a crest overlooking a small patch of the ancient launch site. \u00a0I smell like sweat and oil and the nearby sea but that’s fine; I blend in better that way. \u00a0Some of the Eliksni can track through smell. \u00a0Still, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss a good hot shower. \u00a0Or, a bath. \u00a0God. \u00a0Baths. \u00a0I can remember them from before. \u00a0Before my ghost found me. \u00a0It’s a game I play sometimes. \u00a0A gruesome game where I check to make sure I’m still me. \u00a0That my memories are still there. \u00a0That all the times I’ve died haven’t been chipping away at who I am. \u00a0Sometimes I wake up at nights, panicking because I can’t remember my own name or my face. \u00a0I always hear Cayde’s voice when that happens.<\/p>\n

—–<\/p>\n

Eight Hunters all facing down range at painted targets. \u00a0Eight veterans of an old war re-training in a new world where all of the rules had changed. \u00a0Cayde stood behind us, pacing back and forth.<\/p>\n

“Breathe deep, Guardians,” he’d said. \u00a0His voice, always ready to crack a joke, was serious for once. \u00a0“Smell the world around you. \u00a0Bring it all in and taste it all. \u00a0We’re hunters. \u00a0We hunt. \u00a0And, for that, we need to be a part of the world. \u00a0The Traveller gave you these gifts. \u00a0Use them. \u00a0Taste the water in the air and adjust for it. \u00a0Feel the way the wind flows over and around you and adjust for it. \u00a0Feel your heartbeat, if you have one, strong and sure in your chest. \u00a0Breathe out. \u00a0In between one beat and the next, the world stops around you. \u00a0The warlocks may have their fancy computers taking care of everything for them, telling them what to do and when but not us hunters. \u00a0No. \u00a0We are one with the world and everything else is our prey. \u00a0You don’t need a fancy calculator to tell you when to do your job. \u00a0It’s in your blood. \u00a0In that brief moment between heartbeats, you show your teeth and your prey cowers<\/span><\/strong><\/em>\u00a0before you. \u00a0Show ’em your teeth, Hunters.”<\/p>\n

—–<\/p>\n

I remember Cayde’s voice every time the panic hits me. \u00a0I remember his voice and I breathe. \u00a0Slowly. \u00a0In and out. \u00a0Feeling my heartbeat, strong and sure. \u00a0It works as it always does. \u00a0The tension drains from my body and I visualize it as if pushing it all out from my chest to my fingers and toes and ears. \u00a0And then out.<\/p>\n

Ghost clicks quietly\u00a0beside me, three times. \u00a0My signal. \u00a0I lean forward, laying myself flat to look through my scope. \u00a0Ghost feeds data directly to my gun and I move it, following the line he’s drawing for me. \u00a0The data he’s picking up from innumerous sensors and satellites show him exactly where I need to look.<\/p>\n

Rocks shift silently in the view of my scope. \u00a0My breathing slows. \u00a0Sounds fade around me as I focus. \u00a0More rocks and dirt move. \u00a0A clawed hand reaches through. \u00a0And a second. \u00a0The target pulls itself through the ground, just like we thought it would. \u00a0My Omolon scope gives me distance to the target, wind speed and direction and so much more. \u00a0My eyes flick to each corner to take the data in, storing is subconsciously. \u00a0I adjust.<\/p>\n

The creature emerges fully from the ground. \u00a0I’ve killed so many of them that I can read the panic on it’s inhuman face. \u00a0Bloodied. \u00a0One of its four arms hangs limp. \u00a0It looks around, orienting itself. \u00a0Looking for its exit.<\/p>\n

My rifle’s scope is full of raw data but my hands move of their own accord. \u00a0I don’t know how many shots I’ve taken over the years. \u00a0How many times I’ve killed these things. \u00a0I couldn’t count them all but their deaths are engraved into my body. \u00a0Into my soul.<\/p>\n

I breathe. \u00a0My heart beats. \u00a0I breath again. \u00a0My finger touches the trigger. \u00a0My heart beats and I breathe out. \u00a0The rifle cracks, popping in my hands and I watch the creature’s head explode into a bloody red mist. \u00a0My heart beats again.<\/p>\n

“Nice shot,” Ghost quips quietly. \u00a0As talkative as he can be, he knows I like silence when we’re hunting. \u00a0But, the target is down and dead and we’re done for the moment. \u00a0“Do you suppose we should check on him?”<\/p>\n

“No,” I tell him. \u00a0I’m already breaking down my rifle to store it with the rest of my gear. \u00a0I try to run light. \u00a0“His brains are leaking out all over the ground. \u00a0No intel on this one, remember? \u00a0Just supposed to make sure he doesn’t make it out to spread the word. \u00a0Tsuni will get whatever he can out of their cell’s data. \u00a0If they even have any.”<\/p>\n

We’ve been in the field for six months. \u00a0Tsuni thought there was a pattern to their movement. \u00a0He said he felt it at the edges of his data field. \u00a0Says he could see it as heavy white dots weighing the fabric of probability. \u00a0I think. \u00a0Something like that. \u00a0He told me once that my focus is inversely proportionate to his excitement. \u00a0I punched him for it but he’s right. \u00a0I can sit outside for hours and hours and just stare off, enjoying the world around me. \u00a0Tsuni would rather argue with his ghost over whatever new piece of data he was chewing on. \u00a0He’d argued with Ikora for hours before they agreed to our assignment.<\/p>\n

And, Jace. \u00a0Jace never relaxes. \u00a0He barely sleeps. \u00a0He worries about me and Tsuni and the world. \u00a0It’s too much for him but he holds it all on his shoulders. \u00a0So, I do what I can. \u00a0My ghost and I conspire with Jace’s ghost to make sure he’s eating. \u00a0I’d try to drug his food to get him to sleep more but I’m pretty sure his body would just filter it all out. \u00a0We’re none of us exactly human anymore.<\/p>\n

I stand and stare at the world for a moment. \u00a0The wind ripples around me, stirring my cloak and I close my eyes and breathe deep. \u00a0Drinking it in. \u00a0I’m alive. \u00a0I’m still me. \u00a0Images flash through my mind. \u00a0Old wars from before. \u00a0The Traveler whole and pure in the sky. \u00a0Desperate fighting with my unit. \u00a0Losing battle after battle until we held on with our fingertips.<\/p>\n

Then, death. \u00a0And nothing else. \u00a0Nothing else until I woke cold and stiff to stare at this same blue sky and rusted landscape. \u00a0The first time I saw Ghost. \u00a0Confused and lost but he felt so familiar. \u00a0We fought our way back to the Tower and I learned the way of the new world. \u00a0Everything had changed.<\/p>\n

I had changed.<\/p>\n

“Let’s go, Ghost,” I say. \u00a0Without waiting, I begin making my way down. \u00a0I already know where I’m going next and it’s not too far. \u00a0My slung scout rifle taps rhythmically against my hips with each step.<\/p>\n

\nI spend the night hidden away, wrapped in my cloak. \u00a0Fighting nightmares. \u00a0Fighting my past. \u00a0I’m awake long before Ghost chimes a gentle reminder to start the day. \u00a0We talk along the way. \u00a0About everything. \u00a0The past (which he is always interested in hearing), battles that I missed while dead and thoughts about the future. \u00a0I think we’ll be sent out soon. \u00a0We won an incredible battle not too long ago but gossip around the Tower is that we’re only just starting. \u00a0That Oryx, dead and lost, was the harbinger. \u00a0Cabal signals have intensified and we’re still trying to crack those lines. \u00a0Either they’re planning on moving against us or something else is riling them up.<\/p>\n

It’s nearly noon, local time, when the small settlement comes into view. \u00a0A makeshift wooden fence, nothing more than sticks, really, lines their perimeter. \u00a0Small tents are arrayed around a few larger ones. \u00a0Their… sentry… notices me too late. \u00a0I could’ve killed everyone there before he raised the alarm. \u00a0I stop and raise my hand, pulling back my hood so they can see my face. \u00a0Adults pull children away. \u00a0A few men gather, faces hard.<\/p>\n

“I’m looking for a bit of food,” I call out. \u00a0“I have glimmer for trade. \u00a0If you have any ammo drops, I’m willing to pay for those, too.” \u00a0Sometimes scavengers will find drops. \u00a0Caches left behind or delivered but never picked up. \u00a0I could call for supplies but I’d rather trade for what they won’t ever use.<\/p>\n

The men stare for a while until one takes a half step forward.<\/p>\n

“We got some of both,” the old man says. \u00a0“You’re welcome to them if you can pay. \u00a0We don’t want trouble.”<\/p>\n

“Good,” I answer. \u00a0“I don’t want any trouble, either. \u00a0Just making a stop and then I’ll be on my way.”<\/p>\n

The old man nods and beckons. \u00a0I follow to one of the larger tents. \u00a0Dozens of hungry, scared hidden eyes follow my every step. \u00a0Two hulking men follow at a distance behind me. \u00a0Ghost turns to watch them, chirping and clicking in frustrated amusement. \u00a0I can hear them whispering about me.<\/p>\n

The inside of the tent is full of wooden crates. \u00a0Although I want to do my part to help, I’m no fool and we bargain for about an hour. \u00a0I come away with five days worth of food and ammunition for my rifle. \u00a0They make off with twice what I’d pay elsewhere.<\/p>\n

“Why are you out here,” I ask. \u00a0“You know none of this area is secure, right? \u00a0I could call for an escort from the Tower and-“<\/p>\n

“We been to the City,” the old man says. \u00a0“They turned us away. \u00a0No room, no room. \u00a0No food for us. \u00a0Not unless we separate and go where they says. \u00a0Live like they says. \u00a0Work like they says. \u00a0No. \u00a0No, we says. \u00a0We lived together until now. We stay together. \u00a0It’s all we have.”<\/p>\n

I’m not surprised. \u00a0It’s the same almost every time. \u00a0A few go but most have lived together so long out in the rough that they can’t imagine a life elsewhere. \u00a0And the City is run like a machine. \u00a0They’d be assigned jobs and lives without much regard for who they used to be.<\/p>\n

Just like me.<\/p>\n

I want to tell them. \u00a0I almost do, even though I’m not allowed. \u00a0The area is full Eliksni living in caves and underground. \u00a0If they don’t move, they won’t live another month. \u00a0But, if they do move, scouts are likely to wonder why and I’m not supposed to change any… variable… in our mission. \u00a0Tsuni and Ikora were clear. \u00a0Touch nothing. \u00a0Disturb nothing. \u00a0Not where it can be seen. \u00a0Let no rumor spread of our intentions. \u00a0These people won’t move without a threat and I can’t give away what I’m doing.<\/p>\n

So, I thank them and then leave. \u00a0I’m nearly to the entrance of their little camp when I spy a small girl crouched with her back to me. \u00a0A woman hisses to the side and the little girl looks up at me with huge eyes. \u00a0She bolts to her mother with a small cry.<\/p>\n

There’s a small bowl of water where she was crouched. \u00a0A piece of wood floats within and, on top of that, a tiny lit candle rocks and flickers.<\/p>\n

Ghost chirrups. \u00a0It’s his version of a sigh. \u00a0I look over at him, floating over my left shoulder and his single lense focuses on me. \u00a0His shell rotates in exasperation.<\/p>\n

“It’s a tchelk<\/span><\/em>,” he says. \u00a0“My first time seeing it in person but I’ve heard of it.”<\/p>\n

“Okay,” I answer. I crouch in front of it like the girl had. \u00a0“What’s it mean?”<\/p>\n

When I don’t get an answer, I turn back to stare at Ghost. \u00a0He clicks and chirrups again.<\/p>\n

“It’s,” he pauses. \u00a0“It’s symbolic. \u00a0They’re… look, it really doesn’t matter.”<\/p>\n

“Ghost?” \u00a0I ask, my voice firm.<\/p>\n

“I- you aren’t going to give up, are you? \u00a0I know that voice.”<\/p>\n

“No. \u00a0What is it?”<\/p>\n

“Fine. \u00a0It’s a light to guide you on to the afterlife. \u00a0The belief among lesser- among people that live outside the City is that Guardians are dead. \u00a0Not alive. \u00a0This is a small prayer for you that you find a way to move on. \u00a0It’s all superstitious nonsense, really.”<\/p>\n

I crouch there, staring at the tiny flickering light. \u00a0I feel the weight of my pack and my rifle. \u00a0I can hear every conversation around me. \u00a0I can smell all of them. \u00a0When Ghost found me and woke me, I was changed. \u00a0My first death. \u00a0I can run for miles and miles in my gear without tiring. \u00a0I can make a headshot from over 3 kilometers in a storm. \u00a0I once broke an iron bar that had pierced Jace’s side. \u00a0We were making an escape but the ceiling collapsed on us, blocking our way and trapping an unconscious Jace. \u00a0Tsuni and I moved blocks of cement and I broke the bar that held him in place. \u00a0The bar and four of my fingers with the effort of it.<\/p>\n

I am alive. \u00a0I know I am. \u00a0And, yet, I watch the little flickering flame and a piece of me is terrified that it will suddenly go out and I’ll die along with it. \u00a0And another part of me wishes it could happen. \u00a0I stand and turn back to the settlement.<\/p>\n

“You need to move your camp,” I tell them. \u00a0“I know you don’t want to give up your freedom for the City but you are surrounded by Eliksni and they are hunting for something.”<\/p>\n

“Tsss-” Ghost hisses.<\/p>\n

“There is an encampment not one kilometer away and they will kill you and eat you without blinking. \u00a0Even your children. \u00a0And that’s just the closest one. \u00a0You have<\/span><\/strong><\/em>\u00a0to leave.”<\/p>\n

Not one of them spoke. Their whispers died when I raised my voice and now they bowed their heads silently. \u00a0I grind my teeth and almost continue but it’s useless. \u00a0They’ll die out here. \u00a0I look for the little girl but she’s gone. \u00a0Hiding from me.<\/p>\n

“Fools,” I whisper. \u00a0And then I leave.<\/p>\n

Jace and Tsuni should be waiting for me already. \u00a0I took longer than I should have while arguing over food. \u00a0Jace won’t be happy. \u00a0Again.<\/p>\n

I was less than two hundred meters away when I felt something stir along my spine. \u00a0Ghost whirs behind me and half a second later, I hear the first scream.<\/p>\n

“Don’t!” Ghost said instantly. \u00a0“You know our orders! \u00a0You- you have to leave them!”<\/p>\n

I run and the landscape streams past me.<\/p>\n

There were so many of them. \u00a0Already two small fires blazed in the back and people were rushing about, pulling terrified children behind them. \u00a0Trying to escape. \u00a0There had to be at least a hundred of them. \u00a0The creatures. \u00a0And, behind them, two Captains. \u00a0Driving them onward. \u00a0That meant they’d have scouts up and watching. \u00a0Which means I was ruining everything. \u00a0My scout rifle was in my hands instantly and two Dregs fell, the gun coughing with both shots.<\/p>\n

Too many. \u00a0Too many to shoot.<\/p>\n

I drop my rifle. \u00a0It takes a moment to concentrate. \u00a0To find my center. \u00a0To work through the exercises I’d learned since awaking. \u00a0I smell a faint scent of burnt hair and then close my right hand into a fist. \u00a0Before my hand closes completely, a large glowing knife bursts into existence. \u00a0The air shimmers around me and lightning crackles up and down my right arm.<\/p>\n

The world slows. \u00a0Dregs are pointing at me. \u00a0One Captain is slowly raising a rifle to his shoulder. \u00a0Refugees seem frozen in place. \u00a0The young girl from earlier is trying to free herself from a Dreg. \u00a0She’s holding her mother’s hand. \u00a0Her dead mother’s hand.<\/p>\n

I move and I’m a blur. \u00a0The Dreg holding the girl is dead before it realizes. \u00a0My knife slices through the armor covering it’s throat and face without resistance and I can almost count the drops of blood as they slowly spurt into the air. \u00a0But, I’m already moving again.<\/p>\n

My knife slices another Dreg from crotch to throat and I step aside as a round from a Vandal’s wire rifle passes through where I stood. \u00a0The Vandal dies next. \u00a0My blade cuts through his fingers, the butt of his rifle and most of his face before I dance away, on to the next one.<\/p>\n

And it is<\/span><\/strong><\/em>\u00a0a dance. \u00a0My partners move slowly around me and I follow their lead. \u00a0The Light fills me near to bursting and the burning blade pulses with it. \u00a0Stepping and twirling and ducking with each of them. \u00a0A round clips my shoulder but I feel nothing other than the Light.<\/p>\n

When I reach the back of the camp, the first Dreg I killed finally hits the ground.<\/p>\n

\nThe horde is before me. \u00a0One of the Captains is pointing at me with a sword, screaming in their harsh language. \u00a0The other is aiming for me and I watch his finger flex on the trigger of a small pistol. \u00a0It bucks but I’m already gone, standing in front of him. \u00a0I snarl at the Captain, left hand pushing its chin up and away as my knife flickers. \u00a0Lightning arcs out, tracing along its body as I slice, severing its spine. \u00a0The creature flails all four arms spasmodically as its head falls to the ground.<\/p>\n

I’m going to die here. \u00a0I can’t hold the Light much longer. \u00a0The blade flickers and sputters in my hand. \u00a0I can only pray I hold the Fallen’s attention long enough that some of the refugees can escape. \u00a0And that Ghost makes it away in time.<\/p>\n

I think of that little makeshift boat with the candle and I wonder if this will be the last time.<\/p>\n

Small hairs stand on the back of my arms. \u00a0The sharp scent of ozone fills the air. \u00a0One-by-one the Dregs all look up, over my shoulders. \u00a0One of them drops their knife and turns to run. \u00a0The second Captain is running towards me, two swords raised.<\/p>\n

The blade flickers once in my hand. \u00a0Twice. \u00a0And then, the Light leaves me. \u00a0Time begins to flow again and I fall to my knees, exhausted. \u00a0I watch the Captain coming while I pant, one hand on the ground to hold myself up.<\/p>\n

Show ’em your teeth, Hunters<\/em>,<\/span>\u00a0Cayde’s voice echoes in my head.<\/p>\n

“Fuck. \u00a0You. \u00a0Cayde.” \u00a0I growl, rocking back to my toes, ready to throw myself at the Captain.<\/p>\n

A high pitched whistling fills the air. \u00a0A line of molten fire, almost too painful to look at, races towards the Captain and then impacts, throwing the huge creature back. \u00a0I watch it crash into a group of Dregs. \u00a0The Captain and five Dregs have a huge hole burned through their chest.<\/p>\n

Lightning crackles in the air, nearly masking the screams of the retreating Fallen. \u00a0Tsuni floats past me and I feel arcs of pure Light caress me as he passes. \u00a0That same Light then cracks out, the storm breaking over the retreating mass. \u00a0Fire and lightning follows. \u00a0Jace and Tsuni burning them all before they flee.<\/p>\n

I stumble back to the camp to make sure there are no hidden stragglers but all I can see are the dead I left behind. \u00a0And the humans the Eliskni killed. \u00a0So, instead, I find a solid looking crate and sit back against it to catch my breath.<\/p>\n

Ghost is by my side in an instant. \u00a0Before he can check on me, Jace rushes up. \u00a0I can see Tsuni far behind him, still clearing out a few Dregs that thought they could hide.<\/p>\n

“Are you hurt?” Jace demands.<\/p>\n

“No,” I croak. \u00a0“Just… the Knife always wears me down.”<\/p>\n

“Come on,” Jace growls, putting his arm out for me to grab. \u00a0“We have to find their scouts before they report back. \u00a0We can still catch them-“<\/p>\n

Beside me, Ghost screams. \u00a0I can feel its pain as sharp spikes along my spine. \u00a0It’s body rotates frantically and then it freezes, staring into the distance. \u00a0Jace’s ghost turns to the same direction. \u00a0Both begin speaking at the same time and in the same voice. \u00a0It’s Russian. \u00a0Old Russian. \u00a0I never bothered to learn. \u00a0They speak as one and then collapse. \u00a0I catch Ghost before he hits the ground.<\/p>\n

“Did you-” Jace starts.<\/p>\n

Tsuni rushes over, gasping, his brow filled with sweat. \u00a0“That was Rasputin!”<\/p>\n

“The- \u00a0Rasputin?” I ask, stupidly. \u00a0“I thought he was a rumor?”<\/p>\n

“No,” Tsuni says. \u00a0“No, he’s real. \u00a0I’ve seen the data. \u00a0The council tries to hide him away but they can’t hide everything. \u00a0Jace. \u00a0He’s calling for us. \u00a0The three of us specifically.”<\/p>\n

“What the hell did he do to Ghost?” I demand. \u00a0He’s still immobile and I’ve never seen him like this. \u00a0There’s a faint light behind the lense but nothing else. \u00a0My chest aches and there’s a headache blooming behind my eyes. \u00a0It’s only then that I notice Tsuni and Jacen cradling their own ghosts.<\/p>\n

Jace turns to look towards the path the Eliksni were moving and then towards the coast where Ghost had faced. \u00a0Tsuni and I watch him silently. \u00a0After an eternity, he looks at us both.<\/p>\n

“We have to go to him,” Jace says. \u00a0“We have to find Rasputin.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sometimes I write other things. \u00a0This is a story based off of the Destiny video game. \u00a0Probably won’t make much sense if you aren’t familiar with the game. It’s been twelve days since the last time I died. My fingers Continue reading Destiny Ch. 01<\/span>→<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[334,336,112,76,39,335,92],"class_list":["post-460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-story","tag-destiny","tag-non-erotic","tag-sci-fi","tag-science-fiction","tag-sfw","tag-video-game","tag-violent"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p42NMN-7q","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hidden-shelf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hidden-shelf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hidden-shelf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hidden-shelf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hidden-shelf.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=460"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.hidden-shelf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":461,"href":"https:\/\/www.hidden-shelf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460\/revisions\/461"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hidden-shelf.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hidden-shelf.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hidden-shelf.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}