~~5000th post: Fanfiction~~

[DarkestLight]

Heyla.

I um... decided to do something kinda cool for my 5000th post. That is to post a very VERY old piece of Fanfiction I wrote years ago, and re-update it, and well, it's never moved any farther than like chapter 6 because I'm NEVER happy with it.

Anyway, feel free to read it, and if ya really wanted, you could comment. But like in that other topic, I'm guilty of being a read only person myself. No harm, I just never really feel I have the right to say something about a fanfiction.

Umm well let me post this up and well, we'll see how it goes.

Prologue: Oct 12, 1999

The sky was nothing more than a blanket of blue, slightly obscured by fluffs of white under which he walked. Tilted head would allow those short stalks of natural growth to fall upon his ears, so vision wasn't obscured. He stared up for a moment, before turning his attention back to the area around him, and the natural loudness that came with living in such a city. People were everywhere, running back and forth to go in and leave every store here, or to go to work –finishing their breaks from the nearby coffee shops. Even so, there were crowds that seemingly ate away portions of the sidewalks, making it that much more treacherous to the less savvy tourists.


Somewhere within that crowd, there was someone doing some sort of street performance, or selling third-hand merchandise. A few peddlers tried to elicit his attention with phrases meant to entice curiosity. No, not today. He was unmoved by their swift speech, as hands stayed in his pockets listening to the abrasive language that came from the drivers every now and then. Aside from the brashness of the drivers, and the crowded populous that littered the concrete jungle, this was his home. You could never get mad about your home. He sighed, and turned his head toward a kid who was looking around frantically at a large rack of Rollerblades.

“Oh Mom... please let me get those RollerBlades.. those joints are hot!! I need some new ones anyway…please!!”

These were but a few of the thousands of stories that were heard from left to right, as Will walked around 34th Street and 7th avenue. His old black jeans clung to his legs uncomfortably, as he stopped to straighten them out. Tilting his head to look at the ground, he continued walking on, hands deep in pockets. Today seemed like a completely routine day, complete with avoiding foot traffic, dashing and jaywalking across streets and seeing a momentary flash of green. Will stopped, and stared at it intently. Walking toward it, he wondering if it was another dollar on the street. He happened to find one last week, and well, far be it for him to not claim another from some sloppy tourist that didn't close their fanny pack fast enough. It suddenly floated away with the shift of the wind, revealing it to be a leaf. Will shrugged, and walked on, particularly disapproving of the fact it was not of any monetary value. Hands skittered out of his pockets and began messing with his green button-down shirt.

“Aww man…I don’t believe they sold out of Virtua Fighter 3tb!” he complained as he walked away from Software Etc. “I was real anxious to play that today too. Oh well. There will be another day, or another store. But I don’t feel like going back uptown right now.”


Huffing again, he would look up at the semi cloudy sky, noticing some dark clouds on the horizon. They seemed to be the type of clouds that brewed from the burning of a building, but there were no sirens to be heard-they could be heard even in this loud part of New York City. He looked up, and quietly pondered where they were brewing from, as they started to roll toward him, over the surrounding area. A generic hiss at the clouds was uttered before he kept walking. He turned to cross the busy street, some people already pulling out umbrellas.

“Oh man… don’t tell me it’s going to rain! I don’t need this …I don’t even have my fisherman hat today!!”

He began to walk a bit faster, acting as if the people in his way were people he had to dodge-which was more truth than fiction. His movement got a bit faster, as he began to spin to avoid people. He began performing fancy moves to weave through the crowd. A small smirk on his face appeared as he jumped on the sidewalk, hands clasped together.

“I could be a ninja, because that was perfect!”

He smirked, and turned to walk inside the train terminal. A moment's notice told him to step away from the stairwell. Will backed away, hearing a strange rumbling that was growing with each second. All of a sudden, a flood of people ran out of the terminal screaming. In that moment of time, Will turned around, to see people stopping in their tracks. Some people had not heard the screams, and were still minding their own. But it was sure to spread, as all 4 entrances to the 34th street underground terminal were spilling people out in a hurry. There did not seem to be a reasonable explanation, until the manhole covers in the street began to rattle. It was subtle at first, but Will noticed it because there was one only a few feet away from him. As the people began to scatter, and others now standing in the street and sidewalks wondering what was going on, the manhole covers flew up, scaring people into a riot like panic. The fires that followed the exploded manholes up were, for lack of better wording, shocking.

"What the hell..." Will muttered as he watched all of this unfurl in less than 5 minutes.

A small child was on one of those manholes, and now was at least 60 feet in the air. Will watched in half amazement and half fear, as he saw the manholes spin in the air, people scattering to not get hit. As they fell back to Earth, Will snapped out of his daze, and backed up against the corner of a wall-watching to see if any were falling his way. He turned away as he saw a man run to push a woman out of the way of a Taxi trying to div his way through the now crowd laden street. Had he looked up, he may have tried to avoid the metallic disc speeding down upon his current location. There was nothing Will could do to block out the sound as the manhole fell on that unlucky soul. They fell with such loud ground-shaking thuds that he could do nothing but look down, and wonder what was underneath the street, as the fires continue to rage out of the underground subway system.

Will looked north and south now, seeing people running to hide under cars, or to try and catch the bus, even though traffic was stopped because of the manhole crashing and of the hundreds of people in the streets. Car roofs were crushed, and a few lives were lost. But, as the fires spewed out of the terminal, he could feel something in the air. A shiver ran over his skin, and a light, ominous wind made his shirt ripple intensely. Instinct washed over his body, telling Will to jump. While his first natural response was to run, Will threw his hands up, grabbing the grooves in the side of the building he had his back to, and pulled himself up, perching on the outward ledge. He looked down, peering over the edge, as a man seemed to slam himself on the spot where he was just standing. Will stared in confusion, not placing the fact that the deep pool of liquid oozing out from under the man's upper torso-and now spreading on the concrete was actually coming from him. Shaking his eyes free of the gruesome scene, eyes were glued to the sky now as those black clouds stayed over the area. People started to go into stores just to be safe. The mass of the crowd had cleared out of the streets, and those that were still outside made themselves as flat as possible against windows and walls, watching the streets. Will moved into a sitting position, letting his feet hang off the edge of the small shelf he climbed upon. Hands grabbed at his chest, and Will finally coughed out -allowing his lungs to breathe. Deep breaths were released, as he tried to place rationale on the events that just transpired.

Staring at the injured man with a distorted perception of everything right now, Will felt a splatter of wetness on the left side of his face. It was a warm liquid that blinded one eye, as he turned away to wipe it off. He first shrugged it off as water, not thinking anything of it. Seeing that his visual acuity was marred by that splash, he looked at the sleeve, noting its color. Red. He immediately looked down, to see a second male standing under him. There was a thin red spray barely spewing anymore from his neck. A long black object with a steel tip had embedded itself in the wall under where Will was perched, and that same man barely held onto it before falling to his knees. A second spear flew from above, and Will freaked, hopping back on the balcony. He looked down to see the now slumped over person. There was a spear in the center of his back, which had two extensions on the side of it. Those two extensions popped open in the man’s back, causing the second splash of blood.

Will looked around, wondering who threw a spear, when an ear splitting scream pierced his eardrums. He covered his ears and cringed, looking around with a look of anger.

“What the hell is going on!! Who the hell is sniping people with old ass spears like this is Rwanda!”

As if to answer his inquiry, the sky thundered with life, causing the remaining people to run for shelter. At first, it seemed it was just lightning of an odd anomaly, striking the building, and breaking pieces off. But as the cold wind began to blow through this eight block radius, buildings began to deteriorate by these falling streaks of light. As they stopped motion, it was revealed that they were spears. Will could only watch as people dove for shelter in the stores, some people being trampled by the mass panic that had ensued. Some sought safety in cars, or even under, while someone thought it wise to immediately start driving-right into the thick of people! No matter what-the spears kept raining down, before the armada fell from the sky. Will stood at his position, looking left and right. Running left would cause him to fall off the ledge and take his chances with the street. Right would lead him up toward a raised ladder, which he would have to jump to in order to get to the roof.

“Time to split. I'm not dying here, no way, no how.”

Stuffing his wallet into his pants, Will glanced up at the sky again to catch two glints of light heading his way. He immediately dove right, avoiding meeting the pointy ends of those spears, as they found their way through the building a bit, shattering that window. People in the store began screaming and moving back as there was now access in that building. Will didn’t care, as he kept his body accelerating. He smirked, because he liked running away from anything. In this state of mind, nothing could catch him, even if it was more deadly than he would give it credit for. He reached the raised end of the ledge, and kicked off the gargoyle, allowing himself to fly up as high as possible. Outstretched arms would reach for the rung of the ladder…and miss.

“..NO…!!”


He spun in the air slightly, as his apex was achieved past the ladder. Left hand was extended, and his fingertips slid against the steel rung of that ladder. He stretched his hand out as far as possible, his fingers now being able to barely grip it. He pulled as hard as possible, to cancel his forward leap. As his forward motion was stopped by that slight yank, he reached at it again with his right hand, acquiring a stronger grip. Swinging backwards would yield him a dodge from another spear.

“That was aimed at me!”

He did not like that idea, as his right hand grabbed the next bar up now, pulling himself up hastily. As one foot now reached that bottom rung, Will kicked off that rung, reaching for a higher one, closer to the actual fire escape. But the ladder creaked, and immediately fell from under him, sliding free of the hooked latches. Not knowing what to do, Will grabbed onto the rungs that were currently in easiest proximity, and lunged for the edge of the fire escape, hoping he could grab it and not deal with the crowds below.

The ladder fell past him, almost hooking his foot. But his left hand grabbed the very edge of the fire escape, albeit uncomfortably. Not stopping, for fear that he would fall from such a small grasp; his right hand acquired a better grab on one of the poles of the railing. Swinging once, he flipped himself up onto the platform, left leg getting hooked on the railing. “Who would have thought I’d have to use that gym move? But damn yo, what’s going on?” He looked down, now 3 stories up from his last position. He could only see carnage now, as people were actually becoming scarce. They had-for the most part-fled into buildings. Will looked around, his gaze locked on everyone he could see, as he was frozen in fear. Looking onto the street, he spied a man run out of his van, seconds before two very long spears pierced it through, the second going right through the windshield, right where the man was sitting. Will jumped back at this sight, and looked up, seeing a sparkle. Instinct kicked in, and he jumped to the left, as a spear hammered into the metal landing, bending the metal up until there was a sizeable hole. The trajectory of the spear would now be extended into the concrete mortar that made up the side of the building.

Will, breathing heavily now, tore open his shirt and began rubbing his neck. The shirt felt so restricting, and his body was reaching a feverish temperature. Feeling to see if he had been cut, his mind would try and come up with any explanation as to what was happening. He glanced to his chest and to the wife beater he wore under the shirt, since the spear would have hit him across the left side. As there was no sign of bleeding, he sighed, and began to run up the metallic stairs. A few people had adopted his idea, and began climbing the fire escape as well, to try to get to the roof. As they continued to run up, Will stopped to see just how high this thing went. It seemed to be a long run, which bothered him since he could not make a pace with how slow everyone else was moving.

“Man, why couldn’t they pick a different staircase!”

He waited in place, seeing and hearing the feet of the other people run up, and get softer and softer, until suddenly, one set of feet turned around. Will watched, and leaned over the railing to get a better view.

“What? What just happened?”

There was a loud sound created as something landed on the top of the roof. There were seven more thuds to accompany it, as the first sound dissipated. Once the steam rolled off of the mass completely, it unfurled into a roughly humanoid shape. The seven counterparts also rose, each holding some deadly weapon of choice. Looking around, there seemed to be a direct correlation to these forms, and the spears that were now stopping their fall from the sky. Dressed in green armor, the soldiers would begin to intensify the level of carnage, as 5 of them jumped off the roof of the building, landing on the street to meet the people down there. The two that stayed on the roof each tended to different matters, one heading to the fire escape. As it walked over, one woman suddenly appeared from the base of the ladder, looking over on the roof. She only saw “freedom” for a moment, before her vision blurred, and she was yanked by what she thought was her hair. Her eyes began to close, the pain growing with every minute, and by the time she hit the actual roof, she was dead. The other people that were following her saw her swift departure from the ladder, and all began to head back down. They were screaming something about a monster, before a second lady disappeared, from what looked like to be a hook nailing her back, and yanking her backwards. Will froze in fear, before a man pushed him out of the way in his hurry to get to the street level.

“H-hey..HEY! Wai--!”

Will’s words came too little too late now, as the man made it to the lowest level he could go. Will looked over the railing, to see him looking around frantically, as the sidewalk was now littered in these green soldiers-who were running into buildings, causing people to run back outside again, scared for their lives.


Attention averted upward for a moment, as the sound of something falling caught his ears. He looked up only to look down again, as another soldier fell from the vast dark cloud above them all. It landed in the midst of the chaos, its landing cracking the concrete. Instantly, it would begin to add to the terror that these forms seemed so adept to, leaving Will with a pained feeling in himself.

“I gotta get out of here! Maybe the roof…”

Will looked back up, not hearing anything as he now silently climbed the stairs, crouching lower as he got higher up. Hands would begin to touch the metal, as he reached the last flight of the fire escape, that last landing leading to a ladder that he would have to climb in order to reach the roof. He shook the image of the woman falling backwards out of his mind, as he began to climb the ladder slowly, hoping no one was up there to hear his footsteps. The screams below were ear splitting, even at this height, and he stopped to look back down, a clear 12 stories from ground level. While people still looked like people, there weren’t many. The soldiers had taken many of their lives, and fled toward the higher numbered streets, possibly to return to their place of origin? He didn’t know, and right now, he didn’t care. He was just angry, at how he couldn’t do anything. He kept staring down, watching people flee into buildings, only to run out because soldiers had invaded there as well. Eyes stared at those bodies that now littered the streets, unable to move because of their injuries, taken away before their time was rightfully up. He began to climb again, hands stopping at the second to last rung. Breath was held, and he wiped his face on his sleeve, to shake away the sweat and the tears that were both forming. A good minute would pass before he felt he had enough confidence that nothing was up there. A lunge, and he jumped onto the roof’s edge, hands grabbing the edge tightly, should he had missed and begun to fall backwards. There was a small sigh of relief there, before anger filled eyes looked around the roof, and stared in disbelief.


Smoke rose from the roof level, rising back up into the clouds from whence the armor clad soldiers came. There was an odd sight to greet him, as he stepped onto the roof, and began to walk around, carefully. There were soldiers strewn all over the roof, their armor giving off an odd black smoke. Taking his time, Will carefully approached the nearest armor- and kicked it. Sure enough, there was no sign of movement, and the armor was still warm. Unfortunately, there was a red streak where Will had touched, signifying that someone’s blood was splattered on its chest plate. Holding back the queasiness with some effort, Will extended a foot to kick off the helmet, to reveal nothing. No face, no head, no part of a corpse. It was as if the armor was brought to life on its own.

Will fell to his knees.

“H-H-How! How can armor have no wearer!! What kind of freaky mumbo jumbo is this! Shit!!!”

Will looked around in amazement at them. There was no clear-cut explanation for what was happening right now, as he stood up. He ran to another armor, and removed the helmet witnessing the same phenomenon. Still not satisfied, he would do it to another armor, and another, until all of the armors in the vicinity were removed of their helmets. Not a single one had a body or a head, leaving Will speechless. He began to walk backwards toward the eastern end of the roof, when a breeze passed him by. Looking behind him, Will saw another figure staring directly at him. This man was scraggly looking, hair covering his face in dreads. A tattered trench coat hung loosely on his shoulders, and he dragged a bag alongside his right side. In his left hand was a long stick, with a large clublike mass on the end of it. Caught off guard by what he would have considered a bum, Will cautiously stepped toward him. There was no offensive smell coming from this man, and Will thought it safe enough to try some form of communication.

Caution got the better of him, and he stopped a few feet away, far enough so that staff could have no undesired effect on his body..

“Hey-you over there...did you see what happened to these men..err soldiers.. what ever they are?”

The man gave no answer...but he did turn around. “Well?!? Did you! Come on, don’t just tell me you stood there!” Unbeknownst to Will, the man turned and smiled, his eyes glowing a deep azure. All of a sudden Will lost his anger for the moment, and stared at the hobo. There was a brief moment of silence, causing Will to squint slightly. But his focus was not on the man, but what he was hearing around him. There was a set footsteps behind him. Footsteps that emanated with weight and power upon the land. As Will turned to see what was causing those footsteps, they ended, a slamming sound being the last he would hear. Will snapped out of his intense focus, and he would see the armors of a few more soldiers had fallen onto the roof. The hobo raised his staff, and pointed it at the soldiers, whom raised their varied weapons. Will dove for cover, sliding behind an exhaust duct as two very loud sounds were heard. Will peered out from aside the duct. He turned back to look at this old nappy haired magician, innately curious.

“Ok…what did I just witness…or not witness? I don't even know..what did you do!!”

All that was left was a slew of green armor lying around once more.

Will just watched the man for a second, balling his left hand into a fist. The man reached in his bag he was dragging and pulled out a box. He threw out the box at Will, before finally speaking.

“You are pure of heart. You will know what to do with these when it is time.”

And with that, the hobo jumped off the roof. Will ran to the roof edge..and saw nothing. No old hobosplatter, no hobo climbing down the side of the building...nothing. Stunned, Will could only hold the box as he walked back to the western side of the roof to find his own way back home. Will did take a moment to actually look at the gift he was given. There did not seem to be any more soldiers around, and the screams and mayhem seemed to stop. Cops had come into the area now, leaving very little in terms of escape. Will sighed, at least there were no helicopters yet. Speaking of which, as he snapped his neck to look up, the sky was clear again, albeit a gray cloud that truly meant a thunderstorm.

“This all happened so fast…I have no idea what the hell is going on, but let me go ho--”

Thought process stopped when he took a good look at what was in the box.

There were 5 round orbs…each glowing a different color. Each orb had a symbol, seemingly embossed on the side that Will could see. Looking at the symbols, Will tried to make sense of them, but only wound up giving himself a headache. He kept looking up, making sure no helicopters were around yet. He knew he had to get out of here fast, or risk being questioned about the whole thing. He closed the box, and ran to the fire escape ladder, hopping over it and sliding down slightly, until feet found a suitable rung for him to begin his descent.

“Oh man wait till F.O.U.P hears about this. Now if I can get home alive…”


Will scaled down the ladder, and slowly make his way down the fire escape, until he reached the lowest level. He looked at the ledge that was a good jump down, only to see the foolish man who tried to go down-what, hours before? Minutes? He did not have a clue about time at the moment either, and the darkening of the sky due to the true incoming thunderstorm did not aid one bit. His body was pinned to the ledge now via a spear. Sticking the case in his pocket now, and patting it so it did not restrict his leg movement, Will flung his body through the air, and reached for the ledge. The staff end of the spear was grabbed, and used as a fulcrum to hoist him up on the ledge. He crouched just then, as two officers came to the window above the ledge and looked out, not seeing anything out of the ordinary. There seemed to be few survivors, as Will crept along, jumping down onto the street as he reached the western end of the ledge. As he landed, he felt the box almost fall out of his pocket. Swift hands would grab the case, and he would stand up, oblivious to the fact that he was in the open now. He began walking uptown, looking to see if anyone noticed him. However, the enforcement seemed to all run by him and check on the wounded and dying, leaving him alone. At one point, an officer ran in front of him, as if he didn’t even exist. Will watched as the man ran by to help a lady that was being carried out of a building, and kept walking, looking back at the area with a hurtful glare.

Eyes shot toward the sky, as the wind blew softly. It was a warm breeze, quite odd to feel after such an event. But as Will looked up, he swore he saw a face in the clouds. A metallic face? No, More like a mask...even. Watching that section of the sky, he was frozen in place. The mind began to turn, generating questions about the whole scenario.

“What was that? Was it even there?”

He would force himself to start running, hoping that was not an omen for worse things to come. Darting by a subway station, he considered taking the expedient way home. However, he figured that would be too packed with police activity to be working at the moment. It was going to be a long run home-but he didn’t care. Fixing his stained shirt, Will wiped the sweat from his brow again.

“Now how am I going to explain THIS one?”

He just kept the box gripped on one hand, as he began to run the whole way home, a full four and a half miles. He just hoped that nothing else random happened to him as he headed uptown.




...and yeah..that's it..for now :O

[MeLoVeGhOsTs]

SPACES PLEASE! I can't read that!

(I'm going to get back on this later)

[DarkestLight]

Ch 1: A Touch...of Destiny.

A cool wind swept over the upper part of New York City. The phantom attack that had left 185 people dead was on the front cover of the Daily News as two males were walking up the long avenue blocks toward school. Both were black, and one was face deep in a newspaper-glasses fixed upon his face from sliding.

Kasib, the taller of the two, stopped to fix his white sweatpants while reading the sports section. Geron was listening to his Walkman, humming the song that was playing on it to himself. He put the Walkman in his Raiders sport jacket pocket, and looked toward Kasib.

“Yo nigga…lemme see my horoscope real quick. You taking foreva wit the paper.”

“Don’t read it G...its bullshit.” he responded, not batting an eye away from the page.

"How you know?" G retorted trying to reach for the paper, only to be slapped away by Kasib's arm.

"We have the same sign, jackass. Its bullshit." Kasib replied, re straightening the page so he cold read it again.

As Geron turned away, sucking his teeth at his friend’s response, Kasib noted a sparkle falling onto the concrete, directly in front of him. With no sudden sounds, Kasib swung his book bag around and opened it, pulling out a small umbrella. Opening his umbrella with but a flick of his wrist, he let out a sigh, and then turned to Geron. Geron was staring upward, apparently not pleased with this development. As the pit pat of raindrops could be heard hitting against the vinyl that made up the protective hemisphere of his umbrella, he’d extend a finger toward Geron and laughed. Geron looked up, and was hit in the face by 2 raindrops. They rolled down the same path on his face, as he looked toward Kasib.

“Why didn’t I bring my umbrella?”

“Ha ha nigga. No one told you to not bring your umbrella! That’s why you standing out here looking stupid now!!”

“Come on Silkk, share a little…”

“NO!! I’m grimy!! I don’t know the meaning of the word “share!!”

Geron put his hat on and looked up at the darkening sky.

“AWW man it’s only like 8 in the morning…why it getting so dark now!”

Kasib peered up as well, before taking a full scope of the thunderstorm clouds that littered the sky. Something was wrong about this storm, as he kept walking.

“Yo dawgs… Do rain clouds cover up the sun until it gets pitch black... no right?”

Geron nodded in agreement, and then looked to the newspaper that Kasib was holding. He still wanted to know his horoscope....but right now, the front page picture had him thinking. The sky looked kinda funny in it...

“Yo, lets get to school son, I wanna read about that attack joint.”

Kasib agreed, and fixed his bag on his back. Geron turned off his Walkman, and zip up the pocket it was contained in. The head phones were placed around his neck and he began running down the Avenue they were currently on-that being 1st Ave. Kasib followed suit, looking to his right, while Geron looked to his left, and then both bolted across the street, as the rain started to get a bit harder. Their quick sprint lead them to Pleasant Ave, and to their school.

Their school loomed over the whole block like an old church that had been renovated 100 years ago. Large stone pillars were at the front, making the school seem as if it was of Greek architectural design. But Geron and Kasib did not run up to the pillars, which were in front of the main entrance. They ran past the front, and headed for the back of the school, which lead into the cafeteria...unknowing of the danger they were putting themselves into.

As the both of then ran through the back gate, and head for the cafeteria entrance, they both passed a small enclosure, blocked off for maintenance. If one of them happened to look at the small spot of land, they would have noticed that a spear was embedded in the ground there.

Jumping down the small set of stairs that led to the cafeteria entrance, Geron grabbed the door and yanked it open. A clockwise spin would rotate his body around the opening door so he could walk in. Kasib followed, pushing him in and then turning around to shake out his umbrella. He closed it, and then caught up to Geron, as they waited behind a few people. Showing their ID’s to the security guard, the two of them would then hastily move into the cafeteria, and sit at their usual table.

At the table however, was a Puerto Rican, who was staring outside at the rain outside, which had now seemed to darken the whole area. He was of average height and build, and had a North Face jacket on his back.

“Yo what up Ryan?” Kasib said as he stood near the end of the table, shuffling around in his book bag for something.

Ryan, wearing khakis and a yellow plaid shirt, kept his focus on the outside while acknowledging them both with a response.

“Yo what’s up with the weather? I never seen it get dark like this..ever!!”

“Ayo Ryan…wait, lemme check this…” Geron said, as he snatched the paper from Kasib. Kasib went to grab it back but Geron ran across the table to stop him from retrieving it.

He opened up to the feature article, and splayed it out in front of them all, pointing at the headline. He then pointed to the street that it occurred on, and then resumed with his question.

“Son, Will called me before this went down, he was coming to stop by and wall out a bit. Have you heard from Will since he went to 34th Street yesterday? I hope he did not get stabbed to death out there.”

“Nigga!” Kasib shouted. He smacked Geron upside the head with the nearest thing he could find, this time being a spork.

“It’s Will…he’s crazy. He probably was out there killing people too! He lived… end of story. Now shut up!”

Geron stayed quiet for the moment, turning his gaze to Ryan. That development seemed to have shocked the boy, as his gaze was now transfixed on both of them-and then to the paper.

“Ok umm where is Bobby… it’s 8:23.” Geron stated, grumbling about the thought of having to be at school.

Ryan was intently looking at the article, and read the first part aloud, knowing that those two had not read it.

“Yo check it. It says that ‘Around 5:30pm, the metropolitan area of 34th street was taken under siege by a most horrific occurrence. All valid reports say the same thing-that soldiers and spears fell out of the sky. There has been no information released by the police at this time on the occurrence....’ I’m not reading all of this right now; I’m going upstairs…we out?”

Kasib and Geron nodded to the new plan and walked with Ryan to the staircase that would lead the trio right in front of their lockers on the 3rd floor.


The third floor of the school was already active with the talk of girls that carried through the whole hallways. Mornings were a time of gossip spreading, and today was no different, as allegations of people that “lived” through the attack were heard, and disproved by the latter person.

“That aint cool, I haven’t heard from Will at all.” Ryan said as he stopped in front of his locker, leaning against it.

Geron opened his locker, and then banged his head against his locker door.

“Aww shit I forgot the damn homework for Eco. Damn it Bobby…Get up here!” he shouted.

As if on cue; a person’s voice shouted from the base of the stairs.

“YO!! How the hell you knew I was coming up? You saw me?”

A turn of the gaze by both Kasib and Ryan would yield to them the newcomer that had joined them on this floor. Bobby, a Puerto Rican as well, took off his cap and shook it a few times as he reached the top of the stairs. He was shorter than everyone else, and kept his hair just as short.

Standing there at the head of the stairs, he tossed his book bag and now soaked coat under his locker. He shook out his white polo shirt, and then patted his windbreakers.

“I’m sure glad I decided to wear these, or I would have been assed out."

Ryan was swift to give him the middle finger, since his own khakis were wet at the ankles. Kasib would not laugh, as his sweats were now rolled up to the ankles, for fear of them getting dirtier than they should.

“OK so the only one of us not here is Will...I wonder what happened to him?” Geron said.

Ryan nodded to that statement, and reopened the newspaper, now reading that article, Kasib looking over his shoulder to read as well. The two of them would fall silent, as Bobby looked around real fast. Going to his locker and throwing his stuff in, he would stare at Ryan and Kasib, and then look to Geron.

“What you talking about Geron? Will’s always around!”

Geron shook his head, as he threw his book bag over his shoulder, and then opened up Kasib’s locker. Kasib handed Geron his coat and book bag, not taking his eyes off the paper.

“Naa son. Remember Will said that he had to go downtown to go buy a game for his Dreamcast, the new system he bought? Well if you read the newspaper…”

He pointed to Ryan and Kasib, who both wore expressions of shock and worry. Bobby walked over to those two, and looked at the cover of the paper, Ryan holding it up so he could read it with ease.

“Chill son… he probably lived...its Will…the quiet storm nigga that be fighting crime!”

“Word…” Ryan added; continuing on with the joke. “He probably did some Batman type shit, swinging around the buildings, acting like he got a cape on ...”

Kasib and Geron both let out a laugh at that.

“Yeah, Will is the crazy type to do that, but yo, the closer you are to danger, the farther you are from harm.”

“G-shut up! Where did you steal that from? Corny ass.”

The group banter seemed to calm their worries bout their missing cohort and about the predicament their friend may have been in yesterday. They begin to laugh and started talking about what they were going to do for lunch today.

The calm that was trying to grow would soon fade, as the paper was closed, and handed to Bobby. Ryan looked out the window really fast to assess the situation, before organizing his books and tossing the stuff he did not need yet into his own locker. Closing his locker door, a bolt of pink lightning struck the window down the hall from where the guys were standing. The pink flash illuminated the hallway completely for a full minute before dissipating. In that time as everyone in that hallway was temporarily blinded-Ryan, Bobby, Kasib and Geron would feel the presence of someone...something.. walk past them all. The presence gave them an unnerving feeling, and each stood up against the nearest wall, slightly put off by what they had felt.

Each boy would squint, and then wait for the light to pass, before discussing it. But they could hear the questions and comments of much a kid already pondering its existence.

“Yo I never had seen pink lightning? What the fuck is going on?” Kasib said as the rain finally stopped.

It was a loud occurrence as well, since the rain had been near deafening, even inside the walls of the school. With the silence that followed, the four of them would walk toward the window and look outside, not seeing anything. But that was the problem, as Geron pointed out.

“Is it just me.. Or does anyone else realize it’s pitch black outside?”

Sure enough...it was dark as night on Pleasant Ave. The streetlamp was invisible in this darkness-since it was programmed only to be on at night. The passing of a car provided the only illumination at the moment. It seemed to get lighter towards the farther avenues, and it seemed the western side of Harlem was not affected, as a hint of blue could be seen very far down, near the horizon point.

“Yo I am about to go home...I don’t trust this at all,” Kasib said. Everyone nodded. As they went to get their coats…a scream was heard from down the hall. Geron and Kasib immediately ran to go see what was going on, as Bobby folded the paper up and put it in his bag, Ryan waiting. They would then run to the lockers, to grab their coats, only to see Geron and Kasib back up.

“What! What! What happened yo!!”


====////====

Swift footsteps could be heard, paired with a haphazard breathing rhythm. A small green light rocked back and forth in a slower pulse than the footsteps, and to anyone living on !st Avenue, it would seem that there was a firefly jut speeding along. However, in this darkness, Will thought it best to turn on the indi-glo feature on his Guess watch-to provide what little illumination it could.

Will was running to school, with the box he had received from the old man in his pocket. He seemed to have a one track mind, currently, his only focus was on getting to the school. His shirt was still bloody and his left arm seemed to have suffered some sort of bruising. His mind exploded into thought the instant he stopped and looked at Pleasant Ave-or..what he could see. Even with holding his arm out, he could barely see more than maybe 2 feet in front of him. Slowingto a walk, his breaths filled the area with the only sound-something that bothered Will very much.

"Let me get this straight....I gotta remember what I can-so they don't think I'm telling a lie. I saw the paper as I ran here, the attack was covered. That's covered. I ran up the blocks, and..then the clouds..the sky getting dark again, and then..."

He stopped thinking to himself as he reached the gate that went around the entirety of the school. Following this, he could go behind the school and enter the cafeteria. Again ,he kept one hand out so he could see what was in front of him, using the school's wall as an aid in his path. The last thing he needed was to sprain his ankle taking any sort of awkward step. But...he changed his mind. His eyes caught sight of a bright light that illuminated a few meters away. Changing direction, Will cautiously walked toward the light, using the gate as a guide.

To his surprise, the front entrance of the school was open. This was peculiar, especially with the weird anomoly currently happening. Will climbed up the steps when he reached them and quietly walked into the front lobby of his school. He took short steps, walking on the balls of his feet to make as little sounds as possible. After 9 steps, and seeing not a single soul, Will rested completly on his feet and turned to look around him. Outside under the cover of the dark clouds, anyone looking down toward here would probably get it an eerie feeling, almost a warning to stay away.

His sneakers dripping wet from running in puddles of rain and blood, Will began to ponder the obvious out loud.

“I wonder who left it open…” he said as he continued to walk around the lobby. Will went to close the door and managed to only partially close it before it gave him some strong resistance. Stopping his shoving, Will looked up at the top hinge, and saw metal sticking out from between the door frame and the door.

"This door was jammed open and forced to stay open by a blade. I don't like how this is going." Will dashed inside the school now, heading toward the staircase. Had he looked at the door carefully, he would have noticed the large circle of blood on the door-at about head level.

It seemed so quiet in the school as Will came to a stop, for he was usually here in the morning, and by now he would see kids walking around, getting ready for 1st period. He kept walking deeper into the lobby, until he got to the intersection that connected the Lobby to the East and West wings of the 1st floor of the school. The next step made a wet sound, causing Will to forget his current cautiousness, and stare down at what he stepped in. The first reaction was that he was looking at himself in a small puddle of blood. The second reaction was the fat that it was blood!!

Akin to the one he felt while outside yesterday afternoon-Will now felt dread and adrenaline swell up inside of him. He looked to the entranceway, seeing nothing, the lobby was spotless aside from his wet tracks. The Auditorium entrance was clean and closed, and the ceiling was devoid of anything that could leave such a stain. “Ok I know that is not from my shirt, the blood is dry on it. I better keep quiet, tell my peoples to get out, and be out with them. But where did the blood come from? “He looked to the right, and then headed backwards, to head to the small alcove in the middle of the lobby that had a staircase in it. That would lead him to the staircase close to his locker-and his friends as well.


But his apparent motion would stop when he looked toward the winged intersection. There was a sound emanating from the hallway that he did not hear before. He quietly went to the East Wing…making sure not to make any loud footsteps. He even stretched his arms and legs out so they did not snap at the joints like they were prone to doing. He heard clatter upstairs...so he ran to the staircase that he was going to run up in the first place. He silently walked up the stairs and looked around the wall-seeing nothing. Exiting that stairwell, he would creep, staying near the wall. One hand tried to grab the smooth surface as he peered out into the second floor intersection. There on the second floor, two soldiers would be standing in front of the staircase that was connected to the West wing, and two would be connected to the ones in the East wing. He then looked farther down the hallway, seeing that there was a small force of these soldiers at the very ends of the hallways on both ends, as if waiting for something. Seeing that they were facing away from him, Will decided to not be stupid and just walk behind them. So, he tiptoed away, and at a safe distance, increased his speed to run back to the staircase and darted up now to the lockers. Mimicking his friends before, he reached the 3rd floor, but the sight up here as not what he was expecting to see. For starters, the walls were splayed with blood. Not a pleasant sign.

“Damn yo, its only 8:35, where are they all?”

[DarkestLight]

Ch 1 cont...

Will reached the top floor of the school, seeing no one out in the hallways. Nervousness till enveloped him as he peeked his head out of the stairwell. Unlike the floor below him, there were no soldiers guarding these doors. He quietly closed the stairwell behind him and pressed his back against the door. At the ends of the hallways, he could see green figures each keeping guard at those stairwell exits. He took a deep breath and jumped forward, extending his left leg as far as it could reach, he rocketed his body as hard as he could, and dove into the middle of the main hall on the third floor. He slid over to a wall and pressed himself against it, listening to see if he had been heard.

Nothing. No loud footsteps, no ominous hum. Maybe they were facing away from him? He didn't know.

"Glasses. Must get them fixed after this. Tired of being blind." He said to himself as he walked forward, a hurried peed accelerating him. He would not get far when he walked down the West wing, heading toward the door to a classroom. Upon reaching it, he spied that it was empty. Taking a moment to turn around, there was still no sign of life in the halls. It was such an eerie feeling, being in the school in the morning and not seeing a soul that one recognized. Satisfied that no one was coming upstairs, he ran into the room and looked out the window…

The sight that he witnessed was within the flashes of pink lightning that seemed to be heading closer to the windows deliberately, making him back away as shards of glass broke in front of him. Arms crossed to protect his eyes and his body, and Will backed away from the windows. His ears now picked up on the screams of other people, and he realized they were inside the classrooms! No wonder he had not seen anyone. He hissed in anger as he stared at the windows because the school- like so many around the city, put up metal netted window guards that need a special key to be removed.

"This is a perfect time to prove that WE DON'T NEED THESE WINDOW GUARDS!" Will hissed through his teeth.

He heard kids in adjoining rooms banging on the window guards, and now footsteps began to erupt behind him. Folks spilled out in the hallways, crying and screaming. Keeping calm Will continued to watch

Will waited until the crashing sounds outside ended, before looking out the window. The sight of tons of green armor-wearing soldiers falling out of the sky laid siege to his vision again, but this time, they were quiet. They landed with efficiency, and they moved out fast. People whom were out on the street-a fair more than what he spotted this morning, were the first victims, murdered in cold blood. Screams bagan to fill the air, and the soldiers numbers grew. They began to storm apartments in the area, storefronts were broken and ripped apart, along with their owners. As all this chaos erupted, Will noted one important objective.

They did not swarm the school.

Not a single soldier headed toward the school. They used it as a landing point to move out away from the school. The darkness aided them as well, as now through the flashes, he could see people running and people dying again, as the soldiers continued laying siege to the buildings in the immediate vicinity. Some of the storeowners would fight back, gunshots now heard in the air, as Will backed away, not sure what to do now.

“Oh shit!! This is mad serious!” Will thought as he stuffed the box in his pocket. He looked to the chalkboard, but his ears caught onto anew...more threatening sound.

A high pitched-blood curdling yell not more than 20 feet away. The soldiers inside were on the move. He went to run out the classroom, but his ears were able to catch onto a growing sound he knew all too well. There was a set of footsteps heading toward the open door, and Will looked around frantically. Spying the teachers desk, a large wooden construction probably made in 1849-knowing this damned school-he went for it.

Peering out from under the desk, Will watched as a soldier’s form walked in the room. Will immediately bobbed his head back down to the floor and crawled under the teacher’s desk. In that small space, he stayed crouched, eyes halfway closed with a tired quiet rage. But he kept his mind calm, as he waited for the guard to come closer. The guard did not see him. It looked outside...then walked out the room. When the danger was finally averted, Will rolled out from under the desk. He sighed, but knew he could not let his guard down for even a second.

Now was the time to think of an escape route. He rolled into a standing position, and listened outside, as he still heard people screaming on this floor. A new sound however began to drown that out. It wasn't human-but animatronic sounding. It grated on his eardrums, but Will felt as if that sound-by itself, gave him more fear then he'd ever have to hold onto his the rest of his life.

“ The First period bell!!”

End of Ch 1.

[DarkestLight]

Ch 2: Sheltered Fear

The enigmatic armored guards that were standing post at the stairwell doors now came to life, waiting for that bell to sound. Starting from the third floor, each pair would open the stairwell door and prop it so it did not swing shut. They pointed their weapon down toward the stairs, barring any one from getting through if they made it to the door. On the second floor, archers piled into the stairwells, and aimed down the flight, waiting for any and every person that came to run up the stairs.

Students started to walk up the stairs, most reluctant to start school now on Friday morning. A girl had reached the top of the first stairwell, and saw the soldier, standing still. She did not take the time to look up to the top of the flight in front of her, or she would have seen the line of soldiers with arrows, all aimed at anyone who came up the stairs. She snickered, and touched the armor.

“Hey Sam, come look at this. What kinda freaky stuff is th-“

The armor moved, its arm slamming into her neck, almost crushing her windpipe. The girl fell, hardly able to relieve herself of the shock of the attack. Reaching up, her hand tried to grasp the metallic arm guard of the soldier, eyes bleeding with a pleading gaze. The soldier picked her up by her hair, and sent her flying into the wall, which was no more than a few inches from where he stood. The result was a smashed forehead, the echo ringing down the stairs.

Unfortunately, a group of girls was coming up the stairs, and the splattering blood hit one of the girls. They all stop their talking, and see the body slide to its knees, then tilt to the left. The body rolled down the stairs, her eyes lifeless yet open, screaming for help. All the girls were stunned, until the one with the blood on her blouse looked down to see what hit her. She touched her face, the substance in ready supply as well. She could not pull away from the head, smashed in, and immediately screamed. Other students run to the stairwell, wondering what the scream was for.

It was like ringing a dinner bell. Soldiers then appeared from behind the corners of the basement, behind the doors of the cafeteria and from behind the vending machine, and begin to maliciously attack, herding the ones that did not die up to the third floor. A huge panic erupted, as kids ran up the stairs now. The archers began to thin the swarm of children, creating a large mess of bodies in the stairwell. All the kids and teachers now were in a panic. As the stairwell filled with crippled and dead bodies, the kids that did make it past he archers and the guards blocking the doors fanned out. Some headed to the stairwell that was toward the West Wing. There the same fate awaited them, and now kids were scattering everywhere. At the very ends of the Wings was another intersection, branching off into two more paths-each with their own set of stairs, which kids ran to. These staircases were clear of soldiers, and some kids ran all the way to the third floor, some to the second and some stayed hidden in the stairwell. On the first floor, there were exits from the building, but they were all sealed shut, yielding no escape from this controlled carnage. Any kid who made it past the arrows was driven to the point of no return, as the second and third floors had even worse surprises.

On the second floor those that did not make it to the unguarded empty stairwells were greeted by more soldiers. Carnage ensued, and it reached a point that kids were keeping the door to the stairwell shut so no one else could enter-preserving their own life instead of risking a slaughterhouse in their only safe haven.

The kids that got to the 3rd floor, and through the starwells-whether guarded or not, still had to run. Armed soldiers were up there too, killing people left and right. But unlike the second floor, where there was an armada waiting for anyone that ran up, the third floor was a free-for-all, as if the soldiers could not get to this floor fast enough for a successful pre-emptive strike. Will noted this layout when he came up the stairs before, and concluded that the bulk of this invasion was concentrated on the second floor...which didn't make any sense to him at all.

None of that mattered now. He kept his head low and peeked out of the window in the doorway of the classroom he was still hiding in. Solderis ran by, chasing kids, some throwing all kinds of weapons to cut folks down in their escape. A splash of blood splayed across the window, tinting Will's view. Will ducked back down, and kept in his scream, fearful he might be heard. His mind began to race, he had to be able to do something...but what?


---///---

Bobby, Ryan, Geron and Kasib were all hiding in room 327.

“Yo what is the deal.. if I get stabbed.. I’m killing them” Sib said defiantly, as he flipped a desk over and hid behind it.

He said it low, as they all stayed silent, in the back corner of the room so they could not be seen at all. They had built a fort out of the lightweight metal desks the school had been given, and were now peeking out from behind it every now and then.

Geron peered out the window, seeing more soldiers coming out of the sky, not knowing what to make of this.

“Yo son, these last 10 minutes have been nuts. I’m upset they were hiding in the classrooms! But how we gonna get out?” Geron said, wiping the sweat from his brow.

Ryan tied up his boots, before crawling out from behind their fort to see if there was a clear shot toward the stairwell that was right across the hall. But he saw a soldier there, beating someone down with a large blunt weapon.

“Yo this is like Death 101. I’m upset this is happening, this only happens in War epics man!” Bobby said, as he stood up, wondering what Ryan was doing. Figuring Ryan was about to Bolt, bobby slid over to where Ryan was sitting behind the fort, and tapped the others, pointing. They watched with bated breath as Ryan saw a opening. People were running around still so he could just act like he was scared-well, that was no act. But he could jump down the stairs, and hope to make an escape. A deep breath was inhaled, and Ryan opened the door...

...to have a girl run in, shirt halfway torn off. She was bleeding bad, and threw herself in for safety. She began to cry out, as her pants were shredded as well.

“Help! They’re Everywhere! Help!”

Ryan freaked, and ran back to the fort, diving over it and knocking down some of the desks they had used for cover. They all scrambled to regroup and re situate their only defense. However, all four of them stopped moving when they heard a heavy metallic footstep enter.

Her isolated screams enticed a soldier, whom burst in through the second door in the back of the classroom. The fort was high enough to block his view of the 4 males hiding there. She screamed and backed away, toward the front door. She turned to open it and felt a new sensation along her spine. Nothing seemed to work, not even her voice, and she flopped over with a spear to the base of her neck.

Ryan stood up now, as the soldier approached the body. That meant the stairwell was clear, and he could make it. But his first step tripped him over a leg of the lower desk-causing the whole thing to crumble and the four males to be exposed. Ryan and Bobby dove to the right and backed away, as Geron and Kasib stared in fright at the soldier. All eyes were on that spear in tow. The soldier would spy the four forms, and immediately swing it toward the closest one, that being Kasib. Kasib dodged the spear and lashed out, already upset at this situation. His hand went straight for the faceplate, but it fell low and punched the soldier in the chest. The soldier took a step back, not because the force of the punch hurt, but because this person actually tried to go toe-to-toe with him! Kasib backed away, as Geron tried to remove the metal gate that blocked them from leaving through the windows, to no avail.

“Yo ain’t this a fire hazard!” Geron exclaimed as he looked toward the soldier and Kasib.

Kasib backed up, feeling intense pain in his hand, as it hit the soldiers’ breastplate.

“OWW shit...time to run!!”

With that… he ran to the right side of the room. The soldier, seeing he had the four teenagers on the run, slowly advanced toward them, a weird laugh coming from its helmet. Each step it took sounded like a sheet of metal hitting the wooden floor, shaking up dust. The table and chairs that were in the way were thrown across the room, making it easier for him to reach one of the 4.

Bobby then spoke as they kept throwing desks and other things in front of them to keep the soldier at bay-while watching the door to make sure they were not surprise attacked.

“Yo guys listen! If one of you can get him to swing his spear at you for a little… I can nail him in his grill with a good kick!”

“I was wondering if this was ample reason for you to use all that Martial art BULLSHIT you be talking about “ Ryan said, as he winced at the sound of the tables begin thrown with ease.

“Yo this nigga' is BACKED UP!” Kasib said as he began sliding toward the right.

Geron nodded. “I got you son, I got you!” Geron hesitated for a second, watching the soldier, then with a quick reflex action, ran near the soldier.

The soldier watched with a bemused gaze at their idea, and now focused on Geron. Geron would pick up a desk and throw it at him. The desk flew a bit over the soldiers’ head, hitting the doorframe, before hitting the floor. Geron huffed a bit, and began to make space, since that desk was the last one separating them from it. Ryan and Kasib were now near the front of the classroom, edging ever so close to the door now. The soldier turned to face Geron as the boy moved to try and make space. They wanted to fight, and he would gladly accept. He knew it would be futile for them. As he turned, he spun his staff behind his back, catching the staff in his left hand, as it came from over his shoulder. The spear gleamed in the fluorescent light, a undertone of red covering the blade. Suddenly, a light thud was heard and Ryan looked at the desk Geron threw. The spear had sliced through the desk cleanly, and the desk lied now in two pieces.

Without warning again, Geron picked up a chair, and threw it at the soldier. The soldier rose his spear, and swiftly brought it down. The chair was sliced in half by its spear, metal rail and all.

“Yo anytime son! If he turns a bit we can all run out, but I dun want to turn my back to him!” Geron looked to his left and grabbed another chair now and threw it again. The soldier followed through with the same action, slicing it in two before it struck him. At the second swipe, Bobby ran at the soldier. The second chair fell in two pieces, as the soldier pierced it. Bobby leapt up; kicking off the left half of the desk that was sliced in two, and kicked him using a spinning split kick. The move made Bobby hit the floor hard… and left the soldier unmarked. Bobby held his leg, as it stung from kicking metal so hard.

“Oh shit...we're screwed!” Bobby said as the soldier raised the spear up. He turned toward the downed teenager, and made ready to stab him through to slice him half. Bobby’s eyes opened in fear, as he felt no muscle in his body for a few seconds. His terrified eyes watched as that green mass tat towered over him went to stab him...and then began to tilt, ad lean, and ultimately fall toward the right.

The soldier was taken down as the combined effort of Kasib and Ryan tackling it caused it to reel backward and into the mess of desks and chairs. Quickly getting up, Ryan and Kasib backed away, Ryan helping Bobby up as Geron was already at the door, making sure no one saw them, even though soldiers were everywhere and people were still fleeing.

“OK try that again you metal freak!” Kasib shouted, as if he was ready to do it again. The soldier got up almost instantly and swung the base of its spear out. It was long enough to crack Ryan in the side of the head, almost knocking him out cold. Ryan wobbled to his feet, holding his head.

“Oww that hurt…shit these guys are real! Never turning my back on these suckers again.” Bobby finally snapped out of his stupor and helped Ryan to back up as the soldier began to attack again, pointing the spear at their chest level. But Geron’s back would bump Bobby’s as the boy was backing away from the door hastily.

“Shit yo, we’re in a real mess now!” Three more soldiers came in and surrounded all four of them, as they all stood backs against each other. “Any smart ideas anyone?” Bobby said as the three arrivals all had spears as well, two which were covered with not only blood, but ragged pieces of cloth and hair.

“Kasib?” Geron said, as he waited for one of them to move.

“Nope. Fresh out. No tables either, shit.” Kasib replied as the four of them awaited anything to happen now.

---///---


Will exited the classroom quietly, as two soldiers ran by, chasing a few people down. There was still people running about, but the problem was that it was getting sparse. The number of soldiers were beginning to outnumber the amount of living people on this floor. People were slain everywhere, leaving Will feeling sick, as he kept moving with the way people were running. He began bobbing and weaving as well, to make it seem he was being herded in the same direction as a lot of the scared people. It took a moment, before Will looked around, realizing that there were teachers he knew, friends of his, albeit not very good ones, and a mess of other people he’d never get the chance to meet.

“Oh no..what about….” He sprinted ahead, to avoid being targeted by a soldier with a scythe. Will dove right and landed in a pool of blood, but he'd rather have that than be decapitated by the scythe swinger like the two people in front of him. Scrambling up before he was spotted, Will kept running, now hoping to find out if his core groups of friends were alive.

He reached the middle of the hallway…and became a witness to more horrific sights. The first act of carnage he witness was to his left, down a wing. A soldier was wielding two swords…and brought them down on to the ground, cleaving a poor victims arms right off at the shoulder. The arms landed on the ground with a thud. The person fainted from the shock. Will knew he was dead from the way the rest of the body slumped over. But his action of watching left Will wide open, as the soldier then looked up and attacked. Will only had a full second to react, but his legs felt weak. But he regained composure and ducked fast to avoid being hit by the blades.

The soldier then jumped at Will. Will swiftly lied on the floor and then rolled to one side, hearing the swords land where he was originally. He looked at the swords, to see that they were embedded in the linoleum. That made Will get up, and sprint down to the stairwell. The soldier pulled his swords out effortlessly, and followed, cutting through the wall as he ran, leaving a deep groove behind it. Will flew down the stairs…hoping to gain enough speed. He ran down two staircases, leaving him on the second floor landing. He saw that there were archers there, but they were already down the stairway halfway with their backs to him, so his idea would not be spoiled. Instead of going down the next flight, he ran to the other side of the second floor stairwell, and ran up the other flight of stairs that led back up to the 3rd floor; while the soldier kept running down the stairs. He smirked, and hustled up the stairs, making sure no more soldiers were lying in wait. In a few seconds, he was back to the 3rd floor carnage.

Knowing he only had seconds before another soldier would note him, he kept moving, but a epiphany struck him “Hey wait, what about all the classrooms?”

He realized that a lot of people would have hid in classrooms like he did, but most of the doors were still closed. That was awkward, and strange, to say the least. So he set off to the first classroom he could see. Opening the door, he spotted around 40 people crammed in the classroom, on their hands and knees, and 6 soldiers guarding them. Will cursed his luck and quickly slammed the door as a spear embedded itself in the wood, almost taking out Will's knee. He sprinted in a bobbing fashion as a soldier burst through the back door, intent on herding him as well. But the boy was quick, already 50 yards away by the time the soldier got out the room. It was not worth the effort.

Will ran down to the end of the hallway, taking occasional glances in doorway windows as he did. In every closed door room, there were people all on the ground, being shackled by their hands and feet. There were survivors, but for how long? Will kept moving, until he reached the end of the hall, and noted one room he completely forgot about. No soldier in sight, he dove into this room and shut the metal door. He pressed his back against it and slid to the floor, in shock over what he just endured.

His heart was pounding, and he ran to the nearest object-a garbage pail, before hurling his feelings into it. One that was finished, he crawled away from the door, and maneuvered around the metal sheets painted black for privacy. He crawled in between the farthest two in the room and hoisted himself up onto the toilet, slamming the seat lid down. Raising his feet up, he just wrapped his hands around his legs and buried his bloodied face in his knees, and cried.

He didn't know what to do. There was nowhere to go-and he just rocked in place. The screams continued, both outside and inside in head. Will just stayed put, crying out his fear in that cold bathroom stall.


....



The events that transpired within the school were but of a larger plan. The school was being encased in this seemingly pea-soup thick fog, and enveloping it into darkness. The windows showed nothing more than blackness, as it seems the school was a stepping-stone for something much larger. As the pea-soup like darkness began to rise, it seems that it broke off in the midst of rising. A plateau could be seen above this fog, as if it was a smoky box lid. The darkness it created seemed to expand above it-and be the driving force for pushing it down. The fog cover soon became so immense it would take weeks to fly through it using latest human technology. It seemed like there was some sort of mystical attachment to his fog, as it ate away all the light, and seemed to feed the solders, seemed to be the force that gave them life. Where this fog came from was unknown, but it was caused by those same dark clouds that covered and blotted the sun. The soldiers had quite an easy time maneuvering through this fog, but the humans they herded did not. To remedy this, torches were lit, so the humans had no choice but to walk through the alighted walkway. An exit was created, and the first of the living students were marched out-in a chain gang.

Their journey was short, across 4 avenues to Lexington, where there were still some remnants of sunlight. But there was a new darkness there, ambient and sentient in its own way. It swirled counterclockwise, but it did not have a suction attributed to it. It was a portal, its destination unknown. it was guarded by 4 soldiers, with armor very different from the ones everyone had been seeing before.

As the rumbling of a train past underground, the 4 warriors would wait silently, as the herds of people from all over the island made their way here. Their conquest, had only begun.

[Houndoom_Lover]

I hafta read through the whole thing, the sleepers are kicking in I think, but I love that you're writing. It warms me to the core. So far so good, yesh. I'm printing it so I can finish reading it :3 And a review of fullness you shall get

[DarkestLight]

Houndy: O god yer printing it out? Crazy ink costs.

But yeah I figured if I actually clean up this fic, I can write some other idea that popped up. I know its not the best grammatically, but I'm editing as I write it, so it may have wonky parts. Thanks for reading though .

Heck-thanks to anyone that's viewed the thread . Here's more of Ch 2.


---
2 hours later

Dead bodies spilled out on the street in a unceremonious fashion, creating excellent posts for the lanturns to be placed within. No regard for human dignity existed in these soldiers as they put carcasses together disrespectfully, before jabbing them through with their spears. One a acceptable sized wound was created, a shepherds pole was inserted and steadied -before a lanturn was placed atop the shepherds hook. The children could only look on with fear as the first of them was forced to walk between the lighted rows. Some began to cry and other tried to disobey, shouting all manner of explicative and venom laced speech. All it earned the dissenters was a swift punch to the gut or a stick in the head.

This treatment, this herding, continued for hours, with the rare free human looking on in fear from a window that had somehow been avoided. The streets were a deluge of mayhem, cars empty but overturned. Some folks didn't even have the luxury of escaping their vehicles before this started. These soldiers showed their power by moving vehicles as large as a truck by themselves with some strain on their form. As these obstacles were moved and thrown somewhere along the avenues, some of the lucky survivors would make a break for it, prompting a chase that usually ended in death.

As the unfortunate humans walked down these familiar, and yet distant streets, they would notice the desolation and demolition . Nothing seemed the same. Every building had blown out windows, fire hydrants were destroyed and all of them, all of them could see people be herded from every avenue, all headed toward an unknown fate. Among the herded were Ryan, Bobby, Geron and Kasib, who are all very upset at their predicament. Kasib was vocal about it however, and shouted as they passed a guard who served as the string leader on Second Avenue and 116th st.

“Get these chains off me now, before I get…”

The statement would not be finished. Kasib doubled over, forcing himself to walk in order to avoid being smashed in the back again by one of the guards behind him. Not to say that the spearbutt to the gut wasn't extremely painful. He coughed, and forced his lungs to inhale.

“What the hell was that for!” Ryan exclaimed as he helped Kasib take a few few steps. Kasib waved Ryan off of him, and continued on, leaving Ryan to follow back in line, behind Geron. Geron garnished Ryan's attention by asking the question that was on everyone's mind.

“Yo where are we going? I can barely even tell this is 116th street anymore man. Least its lighter!”

“That's because shit's on fire and people are being used as bases for lanturns, dick!" Ryan snapped back. He didn't find this situation grand or reasonable at all. They were all chained up and these shackles were pretty damn tight too. None of them could pick locks, least none that were here.

"I don’t know man." Bobby said, seeing how Ryan's mood had completely flipped. "But I don’t feel like getting hit by one of those spears again. Sib, you aaight?” Bobby said from the front, as Ryan kept looking around, falling behind slightly.

“Yeah man. This is ridiculous. I want some answers, now!” 'Sib shouted back, shuffling along behind a few other people. Up ahead, there was a bit of a commotion, and Kasib took that in with interest. Soldiers began walking toward the commotion on Third Avenue, and Kasib kept a careful eye, as the chain gang began to slightly lose its form..

“I can tell you what’s happening. Something really messed up. I bet you the leader of this joint is like some shriveled up old man who has no power whatsoever.” Geron laughed at his own statement...a strange sound to hear in this somber mood.

"Yo yo guys! I think all these people got the same idea I have! Yo let's get over there!" Kasib shouted, his "idea" being heard by everyone within a 3 foot radius. "I think people are fighting back, and we gotta outnumber them up there, since there's so many of us chained here! We gotta give it a try!"

People began to murmur, that what he was saying was true. Up on Third Avenue, a block from the portal entrance on Lexington-there was a huge commotion. Dying screams filled the air once more and everyone not on Lexington, started to run toward the avenue, ready to lend a hand and fight back against this invasive force. Some of the humans began grabbing chains and stacking them together, so that others could take spears from disarmed soldiers and try to break their bonds.

Most of the other folks that started the resistance all just jumped one soldier, and two had managed to get their chains around a soldier's neck. The soldier spun around wildly, trying to stab those two individuals, but the two men were able to bring the soldier to his knees and snap his neck-breaking it clean off the body. A strange greenish fog-like smoke floated out of the armor, and the group of people realized now

..these soldiers weren'tinvincible after all.

It didn't take long for the masses of humans to see that for now-they greatly outnumbered these invading forces. The losses now would most surely be in their favor if they chose to revolt here and now. Hundreds already were sucked into that portal, and all did not know where it led or what it would mean for them, but they definitively weren't going there willingly. Ergo, the insurgence started, with the four larger armored warriors taking a few steps back to let their forces try and quell the rebellion.

The soldiers ran into the angry mobs of people head on, skewering the front line. Some people died from the stabbing, while some people lucked out an had the bade go between their chains. Fighting against the blade, sometimes the chains would pop free, giving the people full mobility of their hands again. Once free the humans qwould wrap these chains around slders necks, while a mob of others would dive onto one to try and pin his arms. It was here and now that the camaraderie of humanity showed its true face-and it spread like a unchecked virus all through the area, to every single person. Kasib and the otehrs dashed up toward Third Ave to start the fight there with everyone from their school. The soldiers rushing up third to Lexington turned around to realize they had a much bigger problem on their hands-as their own plan backfired on them so suddenly. There were just too many people in this part of Manhattan. Who knew?

It was a freight train of anger that the soldiers faced now as swarms of people dove on them, trying to literally rip their heads off while freeing themselves. With the forces so disjointed, the humans seemed to stand a chance! Foggy smoke releases were starting to be seen all along this two block stretch, and the four overseers of this event had now moved to higher ground, that being the top of a 4 story building on the southeast corner of 116th and Lexington.

"Things are getting out of hand, wouldn't you say?" stated a warrior, with a deep green tint to his armor, more more crisp then the grayish green soldiers being used as grunts. 6 swords hung in two columns of three, one column on each side of his waist, connected by what seemed to be leather.

"Well, be that as it may, we have to get these fleshy souls back. We need them. With this much fire in their eyes, we may be able to complete our agenda ..early." responded another armor clad figure, his armor brown in color, with a single sword strapped along the back.

"I think the best option...would be to quell the backup force first. That way we can let our soldiers sweep in from the north, and put these fools to rest. The question is, which one of us is willing to deal with an angry mob of about a thousand?"

"I'll deal with them. I've been dying to see what kind of mettle these people have. We've had reports of them fighting back with everything they've got. Besides, this was my plan after all, and it worked in other regions, so I'm going to see it through." replied the fourth armor. He walked away from the others, his pinkish purplish armor starting to attain an aura around it.

"That's the spirit. Please dissolve their Illusion of success." the apparent leader of this outfit stated, his armor covered by a black shawl with a gold border. With only a nod, the purple clad warrior took four steps, before launching himself in the air....


---

"This is working! It's really working!" Boby yelled as he and 5 others that were linked to him all dove atop a soldier, while Ryan and Geron wrapped their chains around the soldiers neck. Kasib was pulled back because of Geron, but his left side was free thanks to an earlier barrage of spears that separated him from the person he was linked to. There still was a dangling arm connected to the other side of that chain that Sib was not too fond up, but it worked well as a swinging prop.

The soldier still had one arm free and reached out fr a broken spear tip. Bobby saw the opportunity and raised his feet up to use the chain to block. It worked like clockwork, as the soldier went to stab the first human he could reach, Bobby's chain was in the way-and the force was strong enough to pop half the chain. The rest was done as Geron and Ryan were able to twist its head off, effectively killing the soldier. Everyone piled backwards, and the group ran up to try and free themselves, as the solders that were left were all trying to aid their comrades.

"4..5...6..There's 15 of us still connected." Ryan said as she got up and took a head count of their group. The end girl ran up to help complete a circle and they all tried to see if they could pop the chains on them all in a variety of ways. As everyone huddled together and tried to work it out, Geron turned to look up at the sky. The fog still lingered here, but he felt something was not right. Like, as if something was coming, but he couldn't see what. He began to walk backwards, which made Kasib and Ryan look at him since they were inadvertently being tugged.

"What's wrong G?" Sib asked, wiping the blood from his face. He looked down at his sweats and growled, noting how damned caked with blood they were from that rogue arm. "Never wearing white sweats again."

Ryan walked back a step and a half, and Bobby followed, pulling the next boy with him. Some of the others wondered what Geron saw in that fog-unti there was a scream right next to their group. All of them ducked as something fell out of the sky and careened on the end girl. The mass was purple, a bigger armor than any of them had seen before. The girl at the end struggled to get the weight of that massve foot off of her, a foot clawed like a birds. The warrior looked down at her and stared into her blue eyes, before closing his foot on her chest. He squeezed her to the point where everyone heard her ribs break, then discarded her as if she was nothing more than feces under his feet.

“Whoa, let me find out we got some power Ranger type dudes coming to wreck havoc on us!” G said, as everyone backed up in a line to try and get as much space as possible. But the guy who was now the end of the row screamed, since his connection to the dead girl was now slowing him down, he was literally dragging her body with him.

The form that fell from the sky stood erect, eyeing the small group it was now going to use an an example.

"People of Manhattan!" Was all it shouted, a deep voice that had a strange wave of energy to it. The voice carried throughout the avenues, and was able to quell the noises of rebellion. Neither soldier nor human moved-though each were still locked in a death struggle. It turned to face up Lexington and shouted once more. "Stop your struggling, or you will all peri--"

The fighting commenced again, as Kasib and the rest of the group attacked first, all of them tackling the pink armor with no hesitation. From their struggle, chants of "Never surrender" began to be heard, and the fighting began anew!

Unlike the other soldiers they tackled, the same plan didn't work for Ryan and Geron. They as well as another pair of kids wrapped their chains around the neck of the soldier and began to twist. It started to choke, but this soldier did not waste any time in grabbing a bar off if its back. A series of scythes adorned the back of his armor, connected to a hand operated hook that allowed for all 6 to be utilized at once as a sort of clawpad.

This object , once grabbed, was swung in a circle, chopping the chains as they tried to choke him. When all the chains were broken, the four free teenagers stumbled forward, confused. Ryan was still connected to Bobby, and Kasib to Geron, but Ryan and Geron had full range of their arms. The other two kids were in a similar predicament, with the exception that one of them, Miguel, was the guy at the end of the row. The warrior didn't waste any time in turning his attention toward the "free" body.

"Look at that. So that's how you were able to release my men from their duty so easily. I commend you for your ingenuity, but that ends ..NOW!" At his last word he raised his weapon, and swung his arm down. The blades all extended out, and the pink warrior began to spin his body, the blades now in range to gut everyone. Kasib and Geron dove for cover, and Ryan followed suit. Bobby was struck in awe by the attack, even as he saw it rip through Miguel with no prejudice. Knowing what would happen if this didn't work out, Bobby jumped backwards-thanks to Ryan's pull and got his chain connecting his feet sliced clean through by that attack.

He also got his right leg sliced up by the following blade. Crying out, he landed face first, and grabbed his leg. Ryan grabbed him and pulled him as much as he could. The cut was long-as it had torn through Bobby's windbreakers, and left a nice gash along his thigh, all the way to his calf. Running was out of the question.

"Idiot, we gotta tie that up! Or you not gonna be able to walk!" Just then, a single blade crashed right next to Ryan and Bobby, and both rolled in opposite directions a second too late. They both realized it and looked at their bodies. No other cut was seen, and they could move their arms. The chain that linked them however, was free. Ryan jumped up, as did Bobby, realized that this solder had freed Bobby on purpose.

"Now then...." the soldier stated, as the other half of the chain group made a break for it. "I'll make your four the ones I need to make an example out of!" Ryan stood next to Bobby as Geron and Kasib watched from a few feet away. The people that were around fighting before had scattered, with soldiers now starting to come back into control. It seemed reinforcements had come, and the slaughters began-although with much more prejudice, as they were tossing any living soul into that portal now.

...


“Look you, soulscum. You don’t even have the smarts to think of the power my master has! You all are fools to challenge us…especially when you all are caught and are being dragged to your new life! You seem to have a lot of spirit, I wish to be entertained!!” The warrior then walked toward Kasib and Geron, that weapon shooting out and nailing its intended targets. The pair of males cowered and blocked, but it was their chains he was aiming for.

He then spun and without looking, was able to snap Ryan's and Bobby's chains off with but a single swing of that 6-scythed weapon. People began to watch...those that had not yet been dragged off. Soldiers gathered to take them away, but some of the relief effort stayed, creating a barrier so that the 4 of them could not escape. Kasib still heard the sounds of fighting up ahead, but now running was not an option. All he saw were buildings, all probably with locked lobby doors-so no running through back alleys.

“The hell are you doing?” Ryan said as he now stood there, free of the bonds on him. He did look behind him for a moment, seeing three guards point their weapons at him. No running away, as Ryan looked back to the others, surprised looks on their faces. Bobby meanwhile had tore his windbreakers off and tied them around his leg in two places, using a spear shard he grabbed nearby to tear his pants apart.He cut it so that he could still wear his pants, it just was missing a leg.

“Ok Boys.…I thought you all had more spunk than this! HAHAHAHAHA!” Ryan closed his fist and looked at the being, and took a good long look at his faceplate. As the form still laughed, Ryan then ran up on this Warlord and punched his faceplate in. Kasib backed him up and football rushed the being's midsection. Taking a step back, Ryan shook his hand out swiftly, as he could feel it already starting to swell from that hit.

“Let's just jump him! He can't beat all three of us!” Geron agreed and went to help Kasib, who was now unable to topple the soldier over. Geron went to try for a faceplate hit as well, but that scythed weapon was now brung into play. He just laughed and swung the base of his weapon, sending out the bladed stalks toward Ryan. Ryan crossed his arms, but by then it was too late, as the blades wound up slashing up his shirt and pants. Falling backwards from the speed and power that the blades hit him with, his gaze would soon be changed to a skyward view, or lack there for, as he only saw a blur of purple. The warrior jumped on Ryan’s chest and stomped hard…making Ryan immediately grit his teeth, and cough up blood. Kasib was carried along for the ride, and Geron looked back with a stupefied wonder. When the foe landed on Ryan, Kasib flew off and landed a few feet away. Getting up as fast as he could, Kasib spotted a chain-a chain of considerable length. He grabbed it, and turned around to see Ryan barely able to hold it together, being pinned like that girl was earlier.

“I thought you all were a worthy challenge! I guess I was wrong!” the warrior said, looking as the remaining three boys seemed to be struck with a fear that paralyzed their very core.

"Good. I want you too all know this feeling. Its the feeling of being powerless against our might. Now stand there in fear and watch your friend die!" His malicious laughter was followed by stomp after stomp, Ryan barely able to muster any defense to block. He couldn’t fight back, his body was too battered from those blades. Now, these stomps were taking him away from consciousness. Ryan barely glanced up to see the blades rise and closed his eyes, hoping the pain would end soon. Instead, he heard another cry, and then he saw that purple mass actually fall over him. Ryan gasped for air, as he knew the others had something to do with him not being dead. But the pain was overwhelming, and he passed out.....


***

His fingers were pale and sticky. His butt was cold and his eyes were tired of crying. Shivers finally quit running through his body and his feelings were all spent. There was nothing left inside to release, and the onset of hunger was loud enough to make Will stand up on the toilet and peer over the stall. Nothing. Nothing for what felt like days. No more screams. No more footsteps of metal where he would clasp his hands over his mouth and hope for it to go away. Nothing. Extending his legs down onto the ground took time, as a surge of pins and needles ran up and down his entire leg. He winced, but was careful not to make a single sound, just stand and shake out his legs until the pain subsided. Light steps were necessary until he reached the door, a door now marred with spear points.

Running fingers would finally clap around the handle, and Will leaned back as he pulled the door open. The metal door was heavier-or maybe he was just that much more tired. But the fear of being caught was starting to pump adrenaline into him, and his faux strength began to grow. Peering out into the hallway, there was nothing. No soldiers. No people...no life. even the dead bodies were gone.

Will took two steps out of the bathroom, holding the door open just in case something sprang out of a classroom, hell bent on killing him. But no such thing occured. He slowly closed the door, and wiped the sweat from his face-shaking his hands out and wiping them on his thighs to try and dry them.

"The-they're all gone. Where the hell are they?" He shook his head, positive he did not want an answer to that. For now, ironically, he was safe. But being safe was not good enough. Will wanted answers. Will wanted to escape everything he saw for the pat two days. But really, Will was hungry. With that, he ran for the nearest stairwell and made his way to the first floor of the school. His sprint led him to the main entrance of the school, where he slowed his pace and stood against a wall. Peering from behind the wall, down to the main entrance, he saw two soldiers...but something was off about them.

He garnished all the bravery he coud , and stepped out in full view-silently.

Nothing.

As he walked closer, the soldiers body seemed to be slumped, rather than relaxed, as if he was....

"Dead? These ones are dead? But how?"

Will reached out and tapped the lower one. Sure enough, no lifeless glow in the eyes. No body as well. Completely dead. Relieved that there was at least some way to attack these things, Will kept low and ran down and out the front entrance. He stopped when he realized the fog was incredibly bad. He would not be able to see in this at all...

"Oh wait. The orb! It should be able to lead me!" Will quickly pulled the box out of his pocket, and opened it up. Inside lied those 5 orbs, each one glowing slightly. The green orb was grasped again, and pulled out the box before closing and re-stuffing it back into his front pocket. Now, with a beacon of light, Will raised it up and was able to create a flashlight of sorts, much more powerful than the shining field of light he was able to use just a few hours ago.

"Huh. That's weird. I can control the light direction now. Well, that's good. Now, the corner store...." Will's mind led him straight for the store across teh street. With that light, the fg seemed to part partially, and gave Will a good 3 feet of slight in front of him. This didn't do much to calm Will's nerves, but after a bit of tripping and finagling-he was able to stumble into the store. In this enclosed space, Will saw the splatter on the walls and a soldiers body.

"Guns work on their heads. Good to know." Looking about, Will grabbed some chips, and some jerky. There was also plenty to drink, so he sat in the back of the store and began to eat. While he ate, he kept the orb nestled in his lap, where the light dimmed enough so he could see his food, and that's it. As quiet seemed to settle around him, and all he could hear was his own chewing, a distant noise began to chime in his ears. He stopped chewing when he heard it, and listened again. The sound threw him into a state of fear.

"Fighting. Someones alive, and they're fighting." Will huffed, and finsihed his apple juice, knowing he had to make tracks now. "They're probably doubling back. I gotta get out of here." He grabbed the orb before he stood up and grabbed a small bookbag. In it he threw pre-made sandwiches and juice and jerky and whatever else would fit without slowing him down. Satisfied with his haul, and his meal, Will stepped out the store, and pointed the orb to the east. The light emitted now extended for a meter or so. Will didn't seem to mind the light extending so much, as long as he could see his enemy before they saw him.

He noted a dim glow on 116th street, but he did not follow. Instead he ran toward 114th street, ending up in Jefferson Park-a large park next to his school that the school used as a sports training area. There was a public pool in the center of the park, an outdoor tracks as well as basketball and handball courts to the north. Further east were two baseball fields and a smaller set of basketball courts. 2 small child playgrounds were also situated, one of which was right near the western entrance Will ran through. Taking a moment to examine his relative area, Will noted that the sky was still darkened by the fog, which meant those clouds blocked out the sun for hundreds of meters.

“Man, I have no idea what to do. Maybe I should go home now-at least get out of these clothes. I should also find everyone and tell them about these orbs. Wait, damnit. How am I going to find ANYONE! They're all captured!” Stopping his progression, he turned and headed toward the track. Hopping over the gate, he began to walk down its left side, knowing there was an exit that would put him on 113th st and 1st avenue, a good three blocks away from hell.

"Funny, I just started running on you and now I need to run for my life; and here you are! Just lying here, waiting for me." Will continued to walk and spotted the entrance, but he knelt down and stayed next to the gate. He clasped both hands around the orb, canceling the light completely. He didn't have time for words as he knew they saw the light and were coming his way

A metallic sheen caught Will's eye, and he instinctively sprang up and hopped over the gate; avoiding a staff that was swung low at him. The gleaming eyes tipped him off to their position and Will began performing small tucked flips in order to evade the swipes. Having more than 3 meters distance between the soldier and him, Will pointed the orb forward, and somehow knew to make the beam of light as narrow as possible, but still light his way. With a clear path of the car laden street ahead, Will begin running again. He could hear four sets of footsteps now, and he sighed. “Aww man; time to sprint!” He ran into the street and bobbed and weaved through flipped over cars. Keeping low, he was sure the soldiers had not spotted him, so he dove into an open taxicab door and lied flat. Two sets of footprints were far to the east, headed north. That left two more. One he heard run by him, and he caught a glimpse of it as it ran onto the sidewalk and into the projects. A scream came from someone, and Will winced, realizing he may have just someone else's death. Will slowly slid out of the cab, and then froze. Where was the fourth guy?

He heard what seemed to be a whooshing sound over his head, as if a rogue breeze blew by. Looking upward to investigate as he ran forward, he spied the soldier over him.

“I knew it!! They jump too high!!” Then Will smiled. Though he knew the soldier was on his way, and that there was at least one soldier in that vicinity this was his best bet. He saw projects ahead.

“Oh ok! Come get me!” Waving his beacon up, as the soldier landed west of Wills position, Will took off like a cat. He ran into the first building he saw, knowing at least one soldier was following him. He ran to the fourth floor and opened the stairwell exit, but instead of running out, continued to go up to the 6th floor. The soldiers followed and saw the 4th exit door closing. Both ran for that door, and Will had stopped running on the 6th floor. He held the 6th floor door open so he could hear them to see what he needed to do. He heard one set of footsteps run out the 4th floor exit and the other set stayed quiet. Perfect! Making sure the 6th floor exit was quietly shut, Will walked over to the middle of the hallway, and simply pressed for the elevator. When it came, the door rumbled open,and Will quickly pressed 5, before hitting the door close button He backed up against the middle of the hallway again, and waited until the elevator reached the fifth floor. The door opened, and like clockwork, a rogue set of foot steps ran past the 6th floor stairwell and down into the fifth floor. When the fifth floor door was punched through, Will flew down the 6th floor flight the soldier ran down. The soldier had jammed his spear in the elevator door before it closed, so Will was quick to lunge down the flight of steps as fast and quiet as possible. Reaching the 4th floor landing, Will could only smile as he sped down to the first floor-and used the rear exit of the building to throw himself out and sprint all the way across 1st avenue in this part of the projects.

“Ha ha you can’t beat me in my element!” With that, Will darted outside, and stayed under the cover of the trees, darting through Jefferson Projects until he reached a school near the end of the projects that told him he was 112th street and Third Ave. The orb was held out the whole run, just to make sure he didn't run haphazardly into any more soldiers. As he ran, he spied the carnage of buildings demolished, cars ransacked..everything you'd see in a riot. But there were no other people running around. Had this ...force really got everyone else? It was an eerie silence that gripped the Manhattan neighborhood, and Will did not approve of it one bit. He stopped running to catch his breath, clasping the orb so the light was hidden again. He knelt down and looked across the street he was at. Knowing this block had a supermarket in it, he walked over to it.

"If anything, people would have tried to hide where there's food. I know I would." Will told himself as he passed teh hardward store, and the laundromat that preceded the supermarket. The windows were busted in, and Will hopped over the shard laden frame, hoping that his feet didn't make too much noise. He kept wary as he walked around in the store, heading toward the back where he'd have more options to hide from anything that entered.

Checking each aisle was easy, there were only 6, and there seemed to be no one. He turned to look back at the back storage area, but if anyone was there, they could have that tightly enclosed space. Satisfied with this area for now, Will quickly began to organize a small fort of sorts. Situating himself on the left side of the store, he could easily dart straight and out the front doors. If anything came in through the windows he could not see, he pushed a display case to block the view of anything that came up a different aisle other than Aisle 1. Sitting down in a chair he grabbed from the front of the store, he also placed a small display in front of him, so if anything entered the store front and came down this aisle, he'd know about it and would be able to get out via the back aisle.

Sitting in his small enclosed space, he grabbed the orb and stared at it. The strange Japanese symbol came to light once more, and Will tried to see if it was etched or indented. No surface difference came to his sense of touch. He didn't know what to make of it, or of the guy that gave it to him, but he thanked them both silently.

Now he could rest with little worry. So he sat down, and crossed his arms, and closed his eyes. Sleeping might be hard he thought, but he had to try, even for an hour.