《World Of Darkness》


 Going Dark

    ¡°Liam! Dinner is ready¡±


    My mother shouted from downstairs, I put my pen down and got up; I tried my best not to run down the stairs as the smell of food got stronger as I descended into the dining room. My little brother and my stepfather were already there at the table digging in, the damned gluttons; I smiled slightly as I pulled a chair and sat down.


    ¡°Liam honey, did you wash your hands?¡±


    My mother asked without turning around, I took on a pained expression while restraining a groan, my brother laughed and stuck his tongue out at me before digging back into his food, taking the occasional glance at my plate. I took my plate off of the table and carried it with me to the kitchen sink; I rested it on the counter and washed my hands beside my mother who was busy washing a spoon. Her auburn hair was tied in a ponytail and draped over her left shoulder while her hazel eyes were focused as she furiously scrubbed away at the utensil in her hand.


    I took the spoon from her and smiled as she looked up at me with an angry expression she could only manage when it came to doing chores.


    ¡°Thanks¡±


    I said as I turned around and briskly walked away, not forgetting to retrieve my plate from the counter. I could feel my mother¡¯s glare boring into the back of my head as I took long strides back to the table, too afraid my mother would throw something at me as I made a tactical retreat.


    Thankfully, that wasn¡¯t the case as I made it back to the table where it was relatively safe. I sat down once again beside my brother and began eating while he and my stepfather told jokes to each other and idly chatted, I jumped in occasionally when I had something to add to a topic or had a joke of my own to tell. For some reason they didn¡¯t find my jokes as funny as theirs, they never could understand my sense of humour. My mother joined us at the table shortly after with her own plate of stewed chicken and white rice, Oddly enough, hers looked more delicious; I don¡¯t know if it was because of the hot sauce or because she sprinkled some sugar onto it but it sure looked nice.


    ¡°Mom, would you mind doing me a favour?¡±


    I asked hopefully, praying inside that she would, by the grace of the almighty, accept my request. My mother placed a forkful of food into her mouth and chewed while staring at me, silently urging me to go on; I distantly remembered yet refused to focus on a time she scolded me for speaking while my mouth was full.


    ¡°Would you mind giving me a piece of your chicken?¡±


    I mentally crossed my fingers in hopes that the answer would be positive. Yet, my hopes were dashed against the shores of denial as she chuckled lightly and took a sip of her juice. Wait, we had juice? I entertained the thought of getting up and going to the fridge to check until I remembered the personalities of the members of my household.


    We all appeared to be casually sitting and chatting but underneath this blanket of tranquillity laid four savage beasts patiently waiting for one of the others to slip up and leave their food unguarded. I¡¯d be damned to be the one who would lose their food in the hopes that there might be some juice in the fridge.


    Of course I knew better than to risk getting up and checking but the thought was there, you know? I had no choice but to trust in the power of my saliva as I began eating, the rich textures exploded in my mouth as I chewed and tried to keep track of the conversation between my family members.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t it happen near your school, Liam?¡±


    My little brother asked, though what exactly he was asking me was beyond my knowledge. I hadn¡¯t been paying much attention when I began eating; good food tends to make you lose focus. I looked at him in confusion; his eyes which were a mirror of our mother¡¯s stared back at me expectantly, awaiting an answer.


    ¡°The shooting, it happened near your school right?¡±


    He asked again, my heart beat like a drum in my ears as I remembered the events of that day. The screams and panicked shouts seemed to echo all around me as I briefly travelled back to that fateful day; before I could drift any further however, my stepfather cut into the conversation and said something which brought my attention to him.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    ¡°It¡¯s a shame what happened, I knew the kid¡¯s father. Robert¡¯s probably cryin¡¯ his eyes out¡±


    Sadness laced his tone as he said those words; he stared off into space as if recalling something. That¡¯s how you knew he was serious or deeply affected by something; whenever he stared off into space and looked constipated you could bet he was thinking about something seriously.


    My mother and brother sat in silence after that statement, mom probably didn¡¯t have anything to say anyway but my brother probably noticed the atmosphere and realized it was best to be quiet, as ridiculous as that sounded. The thought of my brother reading the mood almost made me laugh. I couldn¡¯t even imagine it. Alex Reading the mood? I highly doubt that.


    My stepfather sat grim-faced staring up at the ceiling, possibly thinking about how he could comfort his friend in his time of need. That was just the kind of person he was I guess, always thinking about what he could do for others, as far as I could tell at least.


    I wasn¡¯t some kind of spiritualist that could read auras or anything nor did I care too much about why people were the way they were. I could never manage to force myself to be interested in much of anything to be perfectly honest.


    Not sure why I was that way either, I guess humans were just strange like that.


    We all sat together in silence for a while; Alex kept his eyes glued to his plate almost as if he was afraid that if he looked away a rice grain might hop off. Mom seemed content just sitting in silence, not that she was much of a talker anyways and I¡¯m sure she¡¯d much rather it continue this way but life never goes how you want it to. The peaceful silence was broken by the breaking of windows, the tranquillity of the moment shattered like the splintered pieces of glass now lying on the floor, I clutched at my head in an attempt to stop the loud ringing in my ears.


    Flashes of white went off all around me causing me to squeeze my eyes shut, the ringing got more intense as time dragged on. I felt someone grab my arm and dragged me forward, I didn¡¯t know who it was but I couldn¡¯t resist even if I wanted to, my head was pounding too much for that.


    I was dragged away until I could feel the wind blowing against my skin, I was outside. Out here, the wind seemed to drain away everything that was wrong with my body, my mind became unclouded and my thoughts seemed less sluggish. I slowly opened my eyes to the sight of polished black shoes, the kind you¡¯ll see on the most political of politicians; I glanced up and saw the face of a young man looking at me dispassionately.


    His steely gaze bore into me with an almost tangible intensity before he sighed


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for your loss, Liam¡±


    His words were spoken without any emotion which gave his voice an almost synthetic sound, it also made it difficult to tell if he was actually sorry and ergo, what the hell was he sorry for?


    ¡°What- what¡¯re you talking about?¡±


    It was then that I saw a slight change in his facial expression, a twitch of the eyebrow one might have missed if they weren¡¯t paying close attention. He sighed and closed his eyes, allowing a moment of silence to descend on us, it was then I heard the gunshots and screams.


    My head whipped back to stare at the horrifying scene of men dressed in all black marching into my house with rifles at the ready. My eyes widened in horror as a group of men dragged my mother out through the front door as she kicked, screamed and bit at them like a wild animal.


    ¡°H-Hey! What the fuck are you doing?!?!¡±


    I screamed at the men who manhandled my mother without so much as a change in their expression, I turned to the man dressed in the immaculate suit for help but he refused to open his eyes, he acted like the scene had nothing to do with him as he continued to stand in the midst of the chaos. I turned back to the men as they proceeded to restrain my mother as if she was some kind of savage beast; I opened my mouth to protest but froze as I felt a hand rest on my shoulder. I looked up and once again I was looking into the piercing gaze of the smartly dressed man who I presumed was the one in charge of this entire operation.


    ¡°Why? Why are you doing this? We didn¡¯t do anything¡±


    I begged for an answer as tears streamed down my cheeks, admittedly not my proudest moment but it seemed to do the trick as he sighed and reached into his jacket pocket before pulling out a round silver disc of some sort. Before I could ask what it was for, he pressed a button on the disc and threw it at my mother, the world slowed to a crawl as I watched the unknown device get closer and closer to her in silent horror.


    My mind screamed at me to move, to try and stop it before it did something unimaginable to the woman I¡¯d called my mother for the past twenty years but my body refused to listen to me. The situation was just too much for me to handle and as much as I hate to admit it, I was much too scared by the entire situation. My lips quivered as the object landed on my mother and exploded into a flash of light so bright it bathed my vision in white and seared itself onto my irises.


    I squeezed my eyes shut and clawed at my eyeballs as I felt the stinging pain penetrate deeper into my eyes, a soul rendering scream burst from my throat as the pain intensified. As time passed my body began to increase in temperature, I felt as if I was bathing in lava which only caused my screams to increase in pitch. As I was beginning to think that this was how I would die, I felt somethingcollidedwiththe back of my head and suddenly, everything went dark.

 Dark Tidings

    I opened my eyes to a blurry world; it was like I was viewing my surroundings through a pair of incredibly dark and foggy glasses. I turned my head to the left but the scenery remained the same, although I could make out a few vague shapes as Itook inmy surroundings. Trying my best to stifle the rising panic which came due to my being somewhereI was unfamiliar with, I decided to distract myself with other things; knowing no other way to calm myself I turned to my thoughts.


    ¡°If what scientists say is true and that we evolved from monkeys, then why are there still monkeys?¡±


    An odd question to be sure but with my paranoia seeping in there really wasn¡¯t anything else I could do to distract myself. Besides, it was a good question; it kinda makes sense if you think about it.


    ¡°Only simpletons believe such drivel¡±


    I jumped at the sound of a robotic voice which resounded from my right. On instinct, I quickly sat up and rolled off of whatever I was laying on. My head swivelled from left to right in an attempt to locate the speaker but with my vision being what it was, the only thing which I saw were blurry outlines of objects I could not identify.


    ¡°I must apologize to you, Liam. It was due to my actions that you are now in this precarious state, I hope you can find it within your heart to forgive me¡±


    His statement only served to increase my confusion, I reached a hand out and felt it brush against something soft, I frantically patted the surface which my hand rested on yet I could barely make out the shape. It was then that the events from last night popped back into my head along with the memory of the unbearable pain I had felt.


    ¡°I¡­I can¡¯t see¡±


    My heart skipped a beat as the words left my lips; I felt my whole body tremble as the harsh reality began to settle in.


    ¡°I can¡¯t fucking......see¡±


    The panic which I was trying to supress came back with a vengeance, like ten thousand Norse warriors rushing into battle. I restrained a sob as I grabbed onto whatever it was I was laying on and began rising to my feet, you know that saying about not knowing what you had until it was gone? Well, it¡¯s true.


    ¡°I can¡¯t imagine how you must be feeling, Liam. Words cannot express how sorry I am about what you¡¯re going through knowing that it is my fault you¡¯re in this situation in the first place. Truly, I am sorry¡±


    The speaker, who sounded like the man from last night, said with a tinge of sadness laced in his voice but right now I could care less about what he had to say. Sadness quickly turned to anger and for good reason, I wouldn¡¯t be in this situation if this asshole hadn¡¯t butted into my life.


    ¡°Oh yeah? Keep talking, I wanna see how sorry you are¡±


    With gritted teeth I used the bed as support while I struggled to walk over to where I last heard his voice; walking was kind of hard given the fact that I could no longer see where I was going so well, so it was a given that I bumped into a couple of things along the way making my threat seem less¡­well, threatening.


    Still, that did little to quell the rage I felt building inside me; at the moment I wanted nothing more than to hear the pompous asshole scream like I did. My less than graceful advance was halted as I stumbled over something and landed on my face, a string of curses flowed out my mouth like a river.


    ¡°I would imagine walking is a difficult task for you¡±


    The same monotonous voice of the bastard made its way into my ears, taunting me in a roundabout way like any true asshole would. Of course I could be wrong and unfairly judging him and he was genuinely just making an incredibly obvious observation, either way the fact remained that he was a dick and I was going to punch his face until I felt his nose break under my fist.


    I struggled to get to my feet, grasping at the air for something to stabilize myself with, I heard footsteps approach me and then I felt hands grasp mine and helped me to my feet. I wanted to lash out, wrap my hands around his throat or something but I knew that wouldn¡¯t solve anything; in a situation like this where I wasn¡¯t sure where I was and the only person who could help me was standing in front of me, no matter how angry I was I wouldn¡¯t try to beat the shit out of them.


    I took deep, shuddering breaths to calm myself all the while trying to convince myself to be the bigger person. When I felt myself calm down enough to not be impaired by my anger, I asked the question I dreaded hearing the answer to but wanted to ask the most.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Where¡­.where is my mother?¡±


    My heart sped up as soon as I asked, it was one of those moments everyone has when you need to know something but you¡¯re sure you wouldn¡¯t like what you would hear or see but you still just had to know anyway. I swore my heart stopped when I heard him sigh, thoughts of the worst possibilities sprang to the front of my mind as I waited with baited breath for him to continue.


    ¡°It would be easier to let you see for yourself¡±


    I winced at his poor choice of words but followed nonetheless as he led me by the arm, I heard the sound of keys jingling followed by a door opening before I was led down a series of twisting hallways.


    I had to say; whoever designed this place had a serious fixation on mazes, who needs this many twists and turns on one floor anyway? Our journey down the winding halls soon came to a halt, the whirring of gears made its way into my ears before a low hiss followed; the smell of antiseptic and strong detergent drifted into my nostrils as I was led into a room of some kind. By the sound of the different machines I heard I¡¯d say we were in some kind of sickbay or something, I hated hospitals.


    We continued further into the room, the beeping and strong smell of disinfectant only got stronger the further we went, like someone tried to wash away the smell of death with bleach. I had to stop myself from slapping the back of the asshole¡¯s head several times for being so rough, I stumbled several times as he led me along the way.


    ¡°What you¡¯re about to witness is possibly mankind¡¯s most guarded secret, not even the president knows what I¡¯m about to show you¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re just going to let me in on mankind¡¯s most guarded secret? Just like that?¡±


    I felt him tug my arm and place it on something fleshy and cold; I traced my arm along the surface until I reached what felt like a skull, an awfully misshapen one at that. From what I could make out with the little I could see, the thing or person or whatever it is was abnormally tall and thin. I retracted my hand and backed up a couple steps before I bumped into something, causing it to fall onto the floor with a loud clatter.


    ¡°Do not be afraid, Liam.¡±


    Don¡¯t be afraid?? Sure, it¡¯s not like I was in a room with a fucked up corpse or anything. I hesitated, briefly pondering how far I would make it if I just ran out of the room screaming my head off before I was dragged back inside. What was the point of this anyway? This wasn¡¯t what I wanted to know, all I was concerned about was finding my mother.


    ¡°Listen asshole, I don¡¯t care about whatever this¡­thing is. All I want to know is where my mother is so if you could just bring her here so we can go home that¡¯d be swell¡±


    I tried my best to keep my tone level but to be honest this was beginning to freak me out a little. This man was clearly touched in the head; no forget that, he was completely insane. This was just too much, I need to lie down.


    ¡°I know this is hard to digest but I need you to listen to me very carefully, Liam.¡±


    My captor no longer sounded dispassionate, his voice was now tinged with grief and it brought me out of my shaken state long enough for him to deliver his next statement and boy did it hit home.


    ¡°Your mother is dead. The woman you called your mother was murdered by the creature before you and used as a cover to evade us. We had been hunting it for more than two months now after it escaped our holding cells during transportation, on behalf of my colleagues I must apologize¡±


    I fell to my knees lifelessly; I felt my heart ache as tears fell down my cheeks; this was just too much for me. His words kept ringing in my ears and bouncing around in my head, threatening to drive me insane all while tears kept streaming down my face.


    ¡°Dead?¡±


    That was all I managed to say, my mouth felt like lead and my brain was little more than mush in my skull at this point. My body began to feel unusually hot but I was too lost in my grief to even care, all I could think about was that I would never get the chance to see my mother¡¯s smile again or listen to her nagging me about the dishes or taking out the trash.


    It was funny in a way, all the things I considered annoying back then were the things I would miss the most now that she was gone. Memories resurfaced in my mind about times long gone, she was inarguably the strongest person I knew. I remembered seeing her sitting alone at the table when I was younger, it was just after dad left; I fell asleep watching her stare at the wall while she struggled to hold back tears and although she never said it, I knew she blamed herself for him leaving.


    My heart ached for her then, just like it aches for her now.


    ¡°I have a proposition for you, Liam¡±


    I glanced up and saw the blurry outline of the man in the suit as he gazed down at me, I looked at him silently, I didn¡¯t have the strength to respond so all I could do was stare at him and wait for him to continue.


    ¡°Join us. Help us eradicate scum like the creature that killed your mother so that no one else has to go through what you had to. We will cover all your living expenses and training fees, our doctors will also do their best to help you get used to your.....condition.¡±


    My tongue refused to move; even if it could I wasn¡¯t sure what I could say. Sadness had spread to every part of my body until I felt numb, I felt like I was trapped inside of my own body. I didn¡¯t know how to feel or what to think but one thing that I did know was that I would destroy every last one of those misshapen, ugly fucks.


    Even if it kills me.

 Unbridled

    I sat still on the floor for a few long minutes while waiting for my strength to return, I had never felt so empty before in my entire life. I couldn¡¯t help but release a hollow chuckle, for years I had prayed to finally be able to be in a position where I was self-sufficient to finally leave the house and strike it out on my own.


    Oh I was so na?ve, my thoughts were like fuel for the cold fury I was feeling in my chest; I was angry at the beast that killed my mother, at the asshole and his organization for dragging my family into their mess.


    ¡°What about my brother and step father? Are they okay?¡±


    I looked up quickly at the blurred figure in front of me, my eyes widened as images of my little brother¡¯s mangled corpse played in my mind. I felt my sanity slip away a little as I kept envisioning harm befalling my little brother; the world began to spin as I lost myself in my morbid thoughts.


    ¡°You need to calm down, Liam. Your brother and step-father are fine¡±


    I felt his hands clasp my shoulders tightly before giving me a firm shake which snapped me back to reality; I shook my head fiercely to free myself from my increasingly darkening thoughts. I rubbed my face with my left hand and used the feeling of rubbing my face as an anchor to keep my thoughts grounded.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we get you back to your room. Get some rest; you can give me your answer tomorrow.¡±


    He helped me to my feet before throwing my arm over his shoulders and walked beside me as we made our way out the room.


    ¡°By the way, Mr¡­¡­.¡±


    I dragged the last word and waited for him to catch on to the social queue. I had to say, it certainly took him a while to catch on to what I wanted from him. I guess I finally found someone who was worse than I was at catching someone¡¯s drift.


    ¡°Call me Kiyan¡±


    His name was odd for sure but the pronunciation seemed to just roll of the tongue, like sipping tea that was neither hot nor cold; an odd comparison, I know but it was the only one I could think of.


    ¡°Well Mr Kiyan, I-¡±


    ¡°Just Kiyan¡±


    I restrained a sigh at the interruption but continued as if nothing happened.


    ¡°Kiyan, what exactly are you training me for?¡±


    I had to put aside my grief for the moment, there would be time to mourn later but right now I had to know what exactly I had been dragged into.


    ¡°Well, for starters the creatures you¡¯ll be pitted against are stronger and faster than us but don¡¯t worry, we don¡¯t expect you to overpower them; not right away at least. No, what we¡¯re training you to do is take them down using tactics and sheer ingenuity; what we lack in strength we make up for with intellect so in essence what we¡¯re training you to do is to think in more complex and flexible ways. Or at least that¡¯s what it says on the brochure¡±


    Undoubtedly, that was the worst joke I had heard all day; still, I still couldn¡¯t stop myself from chuckling though. I always was a sucker for terrible jokes; it was one of my weaknesses.


    ¡°How do you plan to do that?¡±


    My curiosity was piqued, I knew enough about biology to know that the brain was probably the least understood organ in the entire human body so hearing him say that they had ways to train someone in a way that improved brain functionality was surprising.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we save the questions until after you¡¯re healed up, okay? I don¡¯t want to deprive Dr Manning of flaunting his genius in front of the newbie.¡±


    I frowned at that answer, for one I had no idea who Dr Manning was but from how Kiyan talked about him I¡¯m sure I wasn¡¯t going to like him. I chose to keep quiet for the remainder of the walk back, choosing instead to lose myself in my thoughts.


    As much as I tried not to, my thoughts just kept drifting back to my mother; I felt violated, angry and downright disgusted. That disgust wasn¡¯t aimed at anyone but me though; I was disgusted with myself for not noticing that my mother was being worn like a fucking coat by some jacked up creature.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    I knew that I was being hard on myself but I couldn¡¯t help feeling that maybe If I¡¯d noticed then maybe I could¡¯ve done something; sure, it wouldn¡¯t have brought her back but¡­..I don¡¯t know; I just felt so helpless and¡­..so darn tired.


    ¡°Do not allow guilt to consume you, Liam. Beating yourself up over something you have no control over will only make it harder for you to move on.¡±


    He was right, I knew he was and yet I just couldn¡¯t let it go. Before I knew it we were back in the room I first woke up in, I could make out certain objects from their shape but others just seemed odd. For instance, I knew there was a wardrobe in the corner of the room as well as a dresser while a bookshelf and desk stood beside the window.


    Kiyan gently lowered me onto the bed before removing my hand from around his shoulder. I lay down on the bed and closed my eyes; my strength seemed to be rapidly draining away by the second.


    ¡°Dr Manning should come by to check up on you either later today or tomorrow. I suggest you try to get as much rest as possible in the meantime, you¡¯re going to need your energy for all the tests I¡¯m sure he¡¯s going to run on you. Nothing intrusive I assure you but he¡¯s sure to ask you many questions, feel free to ignore the ones you feel are too¡­..odd¡±


    His voice seemed to fade into the background as I drifted further and further into unconsciousness, I barely heard the door open and close before I allowed myself to relax and drift off.


    Kiyan¡¯s POV


    I briskly made my way to the director¡¯s office, not often had I doubted the work here at the organization but this was wrong and I knew it; no amount of justification from him could change that.


    When I joined the organization it was to destroy monsters like the one that killed Liam¡¯s mother not become one, and yet I did what I had to if it meant being strong enough to go toe to toe with them but to do this to someone when there was no need? This was where I had to draw the line.


    I pushed open the door with enough force to send it flying off the hinges and tumbling toward the mahogany desk in the middle of the room. Any normal person would have been scared witless but the director didn¡¯t even glance up from the papers in front of him.


    ¡°To what do I owe the pleasure, Wolf?¡±


    I detested that name, especially when it was him calling me by it. Sometimes I had to wonder if he himself was one of the creatures we were made to fight, at least that would explain some things. I restrained some of the anger I felt, it would help no one if I was killed because I was careless with my words.


    ¡°Was it really necessary to do it this way?¡±


    The words barely managed to make their way through my gritted teeth without the thought of jumping over the desk and choking him till the light drained from his eyes crossed my mind. He lifted his eyes just enough so that he peered at me over the lens of his glasses, the pale blue of his eyes seemed to contain all the frost from the North Pole as they bore into mine.


    ¡°What other way would you have had me do it?¡±


    A small, condescending smile crawled onto his face and emphasized the few wrinkles he had despite his age; I wasn¡¯t too sure how old he was exactly but his features had not changed much over the years. My fists trembled as I squeezed them tightly enough to draw blood, dealing with the old man was always infuriating for me; it was like we were playing a game of cat and mouse in an infinite loop.


    He looked down at the blood on the floor and frowned, his nose wrinkled as his smile turned to a scowl.


    ¡°I do hope you plan to clean that up. I paid too much money for those marble floors for you to be staining them so carelessly¡±


    A growl rumbled out of my throat before I could stop it, at this point I didn¡¯t even care; I wanted nothing more than to watch him bleed right now. I took a step forward, bringing myself closer to his desk but he paid me no mind, choosing instead to return his focus to the documents in his hand.


    My anger spiked, this is why he infuriated me so, his casual dismissal of anyone he deemed ¡°inferior¡± to him, I readied myself to dash toward him when all of a sudden a heavy pressure descended on me. It was like standing in the middle of a gravity vortex, my knees buckled and slammed into the floor while my teeth felt like they would break from being clenched so hard, I felt like an elephant was standing on my throat seeing as how hard it was for me to breathe.


    The pressure left as quickly as it came. I took deep mouthfuls of air as the lack of oxygen had me seeing in doubles while the world seemed to be spinning with me pinned in place.


    ¡°Do. Not. Test. My. Patience. Boy¡±


    Each word was punctuated by the sound of the cracking floor beneath me, my mouth opened but no sound came out as the pressure returned, threatening to crush me with my own weight. Before I knew it I was sent hurtling out of the room before I collided with a wall which stopped my uncontrollable tumble, I barely looked up in time to see the doors which I tore off levitate and return to their original place before reattaching themselves to their hinges, they then slammed shut with a finality that resounded in my ears like a judge¡¯s gavel.


    I struggled to catch my breath as I slowly got back to my feet, I stumbled a bit before I felt my regeneration kick in. It hurt to breathe but I wouldn¡¯t die; I¡¯d have to thank the old man for this curse others would certainly call a gift.


    A grunt escaped my lips as I took a step forward, my ribs felt brittle enough to break at the slightest touch. This was always how it ended, me broken but never beaten and him always looking down on me from his castle.


    He is going to be the death of me one day, that much I know. I turned and limped away, my determination not wavering in the slightest.


    I paused and looked back at the doors, right now they were symbols similar to indestructible objects in my path but soon they¡¯ll be nothing more than splinters under my fists.


    ¡°One day old man, one day.¡±


    But for now, I must lick my wounds and bide my time.

 Just beneath the surface

    I was floating in a boundless sky dotted with brilliantly shining stars, the scene made my breath catch in my throat. I couldn¡¯t help but to take in the scene; I was so transfixed by the sight that I failed to realize I could see again and I was also not alone. It wasn¡¯t until I heard the sound of someone¡¯s throat being cleared, and I knew it wasn¡¯t mine, did I turn around and came face to face with a tall being which blended almost perfectly into the background.


    ¡°A beautiful sight, is it not?¡±


    His voice reminded me of a grand piano, loud yet melodious, as strange as that sounded. Each word he spoke seemed to press against me from all sides, carrying an invisible pressure. He floated alongside me, taking in the sight of the vast expanse of space around us.


    I stared at him for a few long minutes, in all my years I have never seen something so¡­¡­otherworldly, and believe me when I tell you that I didn¡¯t call him that for lack of a better word. His body literally looked like the space we were floating in; his skin was a dark purple dotted with several shimmering spots speckled across his body.


    ¡°Who¡­¡­What are you?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but ask as he stared at me with his empty but impossibly dark eye sockets; he had no nose or mouth to speak which begged the question, how did he communicate? I pushed the question from my mind as the creature chuckled before floating toward me.


    ¡°My name is Xa¡¯ Langoartha Von Manseil but you may refer to me simply as Xa¡¯ Langoartha, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Liam¡±


    After acknowledging that I could never commit that name to memory, I simply decided to call him X.


    ¡°What do you want from me?¡±


    I¡¯m afraid to admit my voice cracked a bit as I asked the question; it took all the courage I could muster to ask something which felt so inherently powerful a question such as that. The way its eyes crinkled at the corners gave me the impression that it was smiling, though that could have just been wishful thinking on my part.


    ¡°It¡¯s not about what I want from you. No, it¡¯s what I can do for you¡±


    I was equal parts sceptical as I was intrigued, it wasn¡¯t everyday someone got to talk face to face with a possible extra-terrestrial but I knew better than to wholeheartedly believe every word that came out of its metaphorical mouth.


    ¡°What¡¯s in it for you?¡±


    Now that we were conversing, I began to feel more at ease although that didn¡¯t mean I had let my guard down. I had seen enough men in black movies to know not to take an alien¡¯s words at face value, not that it had enough features for me to say it had one but I digress.


    ¡°You¡¯re cautious¡­.a good trait to be sure but unwarranted in this case. I have no interest in harming you or your fellow primitives; I¡¯m simply doing this for my own amusement. Besides, if I wanted you to be harmed then you would be¡±


    Suddenly I felt an impossibly heavy pressure slam into me from above which forced me to my knees and caused my brain to rattle inside of my skull. My teeth chittered together and my eyeballs felt like they were being liquefied inside my skull, white hot pain washed over my body which left me feeling like I was bathing in a lake of fire, an incredibly stupid decision which I¡¯ll never make mind you. My bones felt incredibly fragile, like one tap could end my life. My vision began to darken and cloud over as my heart rate slowed.


    ¡®Is this how I die?¡¯


    Anger tore through me as the thought crossed my mind; I refuse to die like this! I will never be crushed under someone¡¯s heel like a helpless ant; I slowly lifted my gaze and stared into the empty space where its eyes would be. Though I couldn¡¯t read its expression, I knew it saw me as nothing more than amusement, something which it could use to alleviate boredom until it got tired. Despite knowing that I and it were at completely different levels of power, I still couldn¡¯t stop myself from imagining myself punching it squarely in the jaw though.


    That thought served as enough motivation for me, I grit my teeth and slowly got up, fighting through the pain which threatened to tear me apart from the inside. I took a step forward and nearly fell again as the pressure increased; it was due to sheer will that I remained standing, taking a few precious seconds to recover before taking another step.


    Each step I took required all my energy to try to take another but eventually I made it to him, I didn¡¯t look especially badass or anything but there was a point to be proven. Sure, I looked like shit right now but at least I showed that I wasn¡¯t to be taken lightly. The pressure eased and like the sun after an especially rainy day, it came as a huge relief now that I no longer felt like the very air around me wanted me dead.


    With as much strength as my body allowed, I straightened my shoulders and stared into his impossibly dark and empty eye sockets; not really the smartest decision I ever made because I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll give me nightmares for weeks to come but he seemed impressed, if the chuckle he released and the vanishing of the pressure was any indication.


    ¡°Most impressive¡±


    I felt no joy at his words, right now my aches were aching and my feet felt like they were made of jelly. I strained to raise my hand and rest it on his shoulder, the action confused the creature but it seemed unconcerned about my actions; after all, to it I could hardly be considered a threat.


    ¡®You¡¯re gonna regret not taking me seriously¡¯


    I prepared to wrap my fingers around the creature¡¯s neck when I suddenly felt incapable of moving my body any further. It felt as if my body was frozen, unable to move even a finger.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get too cocky now¡±


    It chuckled as it looked down at me, now that we were this close I could see the height difference between us clearly and I had to say, it was obnoxiously tall. I was never one to let someone¡¯s size intimidate me though but if I was then I certainly would be running in the other direction right now.


    ¡°When you awaken you¡¯ll find that your body has gone through some changes, nothing to be too concerned about, I simply made some edits to your biological makeup. Of course these changes come at a price but I think it would be more helpful than harmful; after all, the irrational need to be violent all the time must be getting quite tedious, no?¡±


    He seemed to be hinting at something but I didn¡¯t know what, I also wanted to comment about his soulless gaze, I had a witty comment prepared and everything. My top lip twitched a bit but that was all I could manage to do, that certainly put a damper on my mood and added fuel to my tank. I wanted to rage quit this damn stage of this awful game but someone had completely removed the exit game button, damned buzz kill.


    ¡°I suppose it¡¯s about time you regain consciousness and get back to your revenge¡±


    I bristled at his statement, he made it seem so petty that it infuriated me but there was nothing I could do about it and that infuriated me even more. No one likes to feel powerless, confronting one¡¯s own weakness is never easy and that was especially so for me.


    ¡°Please do well to entertain me, Liam. I do not like to be disappointed¡±


    Was that a threat? Fear seeped into me and I shivered inside involuntarily before I suppressed that feeling, makes no sense to me to give into fear now, I already made up my mind. Before I could quip back inside my mind I found myself falling into the sky.


    An odd choice of words to be sure but it was fitting given the fact that it was an odd sensation; it felt like the world was suddenly flipped upside down. My arms and legs flailed as I was sucked upward, or was it downward? Everything began spinning before my vision turned black and I was flung back into the real world, I woke with a start as I sat up quickly and looked around the room. I was absolutely floored by what I saw, well it was more accurate to say I was floored by how I saw, the room was a mixture of cold blue and intense orange as well as a few soft purples sprinkled in between which blanketed the objects around the room.


    I hated to sound like a rip-off of the old web slinging superhero we all know and love but my retinas were tingling. Not like an uncomfortable sort of tingle though, more like a soft vibration which caused my eyes to itch which wasn¡¯t exactly ideal seeing as I had no way to scratch it.


    I heard footsteps approaching my position as I was busy marvelling at my new eyesight, the door opened to reveal a man in a white lab coat surrounded by a soft orange glow. He looked surprised as he took in the sight of me; we stared at each other for a terse moment before he regained his bearings.


    ¡°I¡¯m pleased to see you up and about, Liam¡±


    The man smiled politely but I just waited for him to continue, admittedly I may or may not have been distracted, waking up with your vision restored and improved would do that to you. How was it improved you ask? Well I could see in more detail for one and I figured out my eyes had a kind of zoom feature that automatically kicked in when I focused. On the outside I was calm, collect and slightly irritated but on the inside I was trying not to panic at the unnaturalness of my new situation.


    I now had an uncomfortably close view of the good doctor¡¯s nose, I could see a piece of dry snot just at the corner of his left nostril which left me in a dilemma; I could either tell him about it or keep my mouth shut. He kept on talking about some other doctor who was coming to conduct a physical examination but I couldn¡¯t wholly focus on his words when a piece of mucus was glaring at me so hatefully.


    My eyes constantly travelled from his hazel eyes to his nose before I just turned my head away and stared at the wall, my logic was simple, I didn¡¯t have to tell him if I couldn¡¯t see it; that way if he did realize I could just claim I didn¡¯t see it.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Now these questions may make you feel unsettled but I implore you to answer them to the best of your ability, are you ready?¡±


    I nodded but he was already sitting before I answered.


    ¡°Have you been experiencing any random bouts of depression?¡±


    I tried not to make a snarky comment about the stupidity of his question but then I thought maybe he just didn¡¯t know about my situation. But then that begged the question, why was that the first question he asked if he didn¡¯t know about my situation?


    ¡°Yes doctor, wouldn¡¯t you be depressed if you saw your mother die in front of you and you hadn¡¯t seen your brother or his father in what feels like days?¡±


    There wasn¡¯t any need to be an ass but what can I say, it¡¯s a defence mechanism. I always had a hard time effectively expressing myself, I could never quite find the right words that described how I was feeling so eventually, I just stopped trying and now I just deflect questions which make me uncomfortable. And before you ask, yes I¡¯m very aware of my shortcomings.


    The doctor didn¡¯t seem to mind though; he took my sarcasm in stride and continued with his assessment.


    ¡°I sympathize with you, I do. But please try to remain calm and help me help you¡±


    I resisted the urge to roll my eyes; nevertheless there was no need to make his job any harder than it needed to be. It might be a bit too late to apologize now though.


    ¡°Can you describe the emotions you¡¯re currently feeling?¡±


    I sighed and rubbed the bridge of my nose


    ¡°I¡¯m annoyed, confused, angry and sad¡­..lonely¡±


    I finished with a sigh and looked at him. His eyes had warmth to them, I could see the pitying look he was giving me and it was beginning to get on my nerves.


    ¡°Look, just let me see my family and I¡¯ll jump through whatever goddamned hoops you want but just stop it with the bloody pointless questions, alright?!¡±


    Well, I tried to keep my anger in check but this was too much. The Orange glow that surrounded him turned a darker shade as he frowned at me, I had no idea what it meant at the moment but I didn¡¯t care right now. The unfamiliar surroundings, the confusing dream, the ugly thing the asshole showed me and now doctor questions, it was all just too fucking much. There was an aching in the depths of my soul at the loss of my mother that demanded mending and there was only one way I could fix it.


    The doctor and I were glaring at each other now, neither of us spoke nor did we move. It was like one of those standoffs you see in those old western films, the only difference was we didn¡¯t have guns to shoot each other with.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take over from here Dr Bradshaw¡±


    A warm voice broke our silent stare down as the doctor turned around to look at the intruder. My gaze followed the doc¡¯s as we stared at the new arrival, a tall wiry woman with black hair tied up in a tidy ponytail stood at the door smiling at us politely.


    Her smile was blinding, I wasn¡¯t saying that because I was suddenly in love with her or anything, I wasn¡¯t a believer in love at first sight anyway. No, her teeth were just absurdly white; so white they practically hurt my eyes.


    Note to self: ask her what toothpaste she uses


    Dr Bradshaw stared at her; suddenly the glow around him lightened until it was a soft yellow colour. He nodded before getting up and walking to the door but addressed me without looking back.


    ¡°I hope to see you up and about soon, Liam¡±


    He left after that, leaving me and the sun¡¯s replacement alone. She stared at me through the lenses of her glasses; she regarded me before walking further into the room and sitting down on the same chair the other doctor just vacated.


    ¡°Hi Liam, I¡¯m Doctor Marcia Bailey and I¡¯m going to be conducting a physical check-up shortly but first, how are you feeling?¡±


    I swung my legs over the side of the bed and squeezed my eyelids shut as a stabbing pain in my eyes assaulted me.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine¡±


    As the pain receded, I made the move to stand but collapsed back down on the bed as a sudden bout of light-headedness came over me.


    ¡°You certainly don¡¯t seem fine to me¡±


    The worried look on her face annoyed me slightly; she placed the back of her hand to my forehead with an intense look of concentration before pulling it away and scribbling on a paper attached to the clipboard she carried.


    She flipped back and forth between pages, taking glances at me every now and again before she resumed her scribbling. When I felt like I had recovered enough, I took my time and got up, steadying myself as I swayed slightly before I took a step forward.


    I could feel her gaze on me as I slowly strode forward


    ¡°I can¡¯t help you if you don¡¯t tell me what¡¯s wrong, Liam¡±


    I ignored her remark and took another shaky step forward, bracing on a wooden table I hadn¡¯t noticed before to stop myself from falling. With slow and shaky steps, I made my way towards the door, intent on finding someone who could or would give me some answers.


    Doctor Bailey sighed and walked over to me; she wrapped one thin arm around my waist and threw my right hand over her shoulder.


    ¡°There¡¯s no shame in admitting you need help¡±


    Her eyebrows were furrowed as she stared up at me, her head reached no further than my chest. Now that I took a good look at her she seemed really thin, not in an unhealthy way mind you, she just seemed¡­..small.


    ¡°I don¡¯t¡±


    Dr Bailey snorted but said nothing, allowing silence to descend upon us as we slowly walked down the hall. With me leaning against her, we made our way through the door and down a random hallway. Well, the hallway was random to me but it seemed she knew where she was taking me.


    As we walked I kept picturing the face of my mother in her final moments, the more I thought back on it the less it seemed like her. True, my mother was a ferocious woman when she was angry but she would never act like that. I began to wonder, how long ago had she really died? Was it painless? God I hope it was.


    My thoughts turned to my brother; I could only imagine how scared he must be. I struggled to keep the rising tidal wave of panic in check as I pondered on where they could be keeping him, hopefully he was with his father, at least then he would be moderately safe and I could relax a bit.


    I looked down at the small woman as she resolutely carried some of my weight which, even though it wasn¡¯t all, still seemed to be too much for her.


    ¡°Thank you¡±


    I frowned, not because I didn¡¯t want to acknowledge her effort but because it didn¡¯t feel as bad as I thought to say it. I never had to thank anyone besides my mother for anything so it felt strange but not entirely unpleasant.


    She looked up at me and smiled, her teeth almost blinding me as her lips bulled back like a curtain to reveal glittering gems of pure white. Okay, maybe they weren¡¯t that white but they did irritate the heck out of my eyes.


    We came upon the end of the hallway; in front of us was what appeared to be a cafeteria. There were several tables and chairs with people seated around them talking to each other quietly. A few curious glances were thrown my way as I was gently lowered into a seat but they quickly turned away and went back to minding their own business.


    ¡°Wait here, I¡¯ll get you something to eat¡±


    Before I even had the chance to decline, she had already walked off. I had no choice but to swallow what I was going to say and allow myself to be waited upon. Some people would be glad to be served but all it did was bring up bad memories and made me feel helpless.


    I tried not to look in the directions I felt the stares coming from, one thing I didn¡¯t need right now was an unnecessary fight because I couldn¡¯t keep myself from making a snarky comment because someone pissed me off, only god knows how much my mother hated when I started fights without even meaning to, she said I had a real knack for pissing people off, just like my old man.


    Every time I got into a fight and my mother had to come down to the school she used to give me the one of the scariest death glares I¡¯d ever seen, a smile formed on my face as I remembered the spanking she gave me. I say spanking but really it was more like a wrestling match with the undertaker fighting hornswoggle, meaning it was nothing more than a comedy show for anyone on the outside looking in. I couldn¡¯t have done anything more than run around the house in terror as my mother chased after me with what could have only been the face of the devil. Say what you will about disciplining children by giving them lashes when they were in the wrong but you can¡¯t argue with the results. Besides, mom was from the Caribbean, she had her fair share of those too and she turned out fine.


    ¡°Are you the new guy?¡±


    I turned to the voice, standing next to me was a boy who looked no older than fifteen. His dark brown, inquisitive eyes framed by a youthful face peered at me in curiosity, his equally brown hair was in a bowl cut and even when I was sitting he and I were almost the same height.


    ¡°Yeah, you could say that. Where are your parents? Should you be walking around here alone?¡±


    The boy smiled and unbuttoned the jacket of his suit before sitting down beside me.


    ¡°Thank you for the concern but I¡¯m actually eighteen¡±


    I lifted a brow at the news, showing my disbelief as he clearly didn¡¯t look that age. He laughed and pulled his wallet out of his inner pocket before retrieving his ID and handing it to me. Sure enough, the ID had his date of birth and it confirmed what he said. I gave a defeated chuckle and handed him the card back.


    ¡°Fine, I was in the wrong then¡±


    ¡°No worries, it happens more than you think. I¡¯m Jeffrey, Jeffery Thomas¡±


    We shook hands and I introduced myself in almost the same manner as him, his British accent made him sound prim and proper whereas I sounded gruff and sarcastic, even without trying to. Thankfully, Jeff didn¡¯t take it as an insult, he had a sense of humour which meant he and I would get along great.


    ¡°So Jay, did you happen to see a boy with brown hair about yay high most likely looking scared with a tall, big guy with a beard who smells like cigarettes pass through here?¡±


    His eyebrows rose a couple inches before he cupped his chin in thought.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I saw anyone fitting that description come through here but maybe Flynn knows. Hey, Flynn!!¡±


    Jeff waved to a group of men and a woman sitting at a table looking over at us curiously. A guy with curly blonde hair said something before getting up and walking toward us, the others got up after him and followed and I had to resist the urge to just limp back to my room.


    I didn¡¯t have anything against people but I just didn¡¯t like being in crowds, especially when I didn¡¯t know anyone in said crowd.


    The man with the curly blonde hair looked at me and introduced himself with a wave and a small, professional smile. He looked like the type of guy you¡¯d see in ads for men¡¯s cologne.


    ¡°My name is Flynn, I¡¯m the Long range expert of the assault team. I also happen to be their leader; it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you¡±


    The sole female member followed with a sloppy salute and flashed me an easy-going smile


    ¡°Leandra Best, I¡¯m in charge of communication during missions¡­..among other things¡±


    The other male in the group nodded


    ¡°Just call me Flex, heavy gunner¡±


    I nodded as each of them introduced themselves before I did the same


    ¡°I¡¯m Liam, the new guy I guess¡±


    The introductions were finished now and I preparing to ask my question when the doctor returned with a tray of food in hand.


    ¡°Oh I see you¡¯ve all met Liam, he¡¯ll be the newest member of the assault team so take care of him¡±


    A chorus of ¡®yes ma¡¯ams¡¯ and ¡®rogers¡¯ resounded as they all saluted her with serious faces , the previous aura of relaxation the group carried vanished and was replaced with the most serious faces I had ever seen. I looked at the doctor curiously, to command such respect and deference made me wonder if she was really just a doctor.


    ¡°Well I suppose since you¡¯re all here I might as well do it now¡±


    Her cheerful smile evaporated; suddenly the wiry woman was gone, she was replaced by an extremely dangerous person who reeked of danger. There was coldness in her eyes which suddenly gave me chills.


    ¡°To those of you who don¡¯t know me, my name is Marcia Bailey, former leader of the Maverick Strike Team.  To those who do know me know I don¡¯t tolerate disrespect or insubordination, if I tell you jump, you jump, if I say run five kilometres every morning then you do exactly that. Once you do what I tell you then there will be no need for us to butt heads¡±


    Apparently the coldness wasn¡¯t restricted to just her eyes, her voice was like dry ice. She turned her gaze to me and it took everything in me not to shrink back, I don¡¯t care how many fights I had been in, this woman made King Kong look like woody woodpecker. Suddenly, her bright smile returned but somehow it seemed even deadlier.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be your mentor and handler for the foreseeable future, do treat me well¡±


    She finished with a clap and a smile which seemed too innocent for the persona she just put forward. The members of the assault team were looking at her with reverence and respect written plainly on their faces, and me? Well I was trying to hold back the fart she almost scared out of me while praying I didn¡¯t look as nervous as I felt.