《Endless》 Chapter 1
I bolted awake, my heart thudding loudly in my chest. It felt like I just had a nightmare, one real enough I could still feel the fear deep inside me. I''ve had dreams like that before but nothing this bad. My body shook from it, which something that usually didn''t happen unless I was mad, not scared. what made it even worse was the fact that I was trembling not only from the fear but also from a deep chill that seeped underneath the thick blanket i had over me.
sitting up slowly I tried to bring myself back together while my mind scrambled in a hundred different directions. part of me wanted to just get up and start running while another just wanted to curl back up underneath my blanket in an attempt to hide. I did neither, though, and instead reached down below the right side of my bed to grab a cup of water. After having anxiety for so long at this point it was mostly second nature for me to do this, the cool liquid giving me something to concentrate on for a moment. Taking a long, deep drink I gulped it all down and set the empty batman glass back in it''s spot, my hands still shaking bad enough it was almost as difficult to put it down as it was to pick it up. Closing my eyes I began to whisper to myself, telling myself I was just having another panic attack. "It''ll be okay Alex," I said, the words echoing in my head as i started rocking back and forth on my bed with my knees to my chest "You''re just freaking yourself out. It''ll be okay and you''ll calm down soon." But instead of starting to get better it just got worse, my hands starting to shake almost violently. Immediately I grabbed my rectangular glasses from their case before standing up, the disorienting feeling I started having becoming more intense as time continued. As soon as I put the glasses on I bolted to the bathroom that was a quick right outside of my room, flicking on the lights on to examine myself in the mirror. I knew that I had to calm myself down soon or else I was going to seriously freak out, deciding to take a gamble to get my mind off things. So taking a deep, shaky breath I began to take in the details of myself. I was a typical Caucasian male with a voice that wasn''t particularly deep and stood about 5''6, a height that some people still looked down on me for (get it?) but as far as things go I wasn''t bothered by how tall how I was. it was mostly superficial anyways, making it something that wasn''t worth my time to dwell on. on my head rested short, brown hair that was just starting to grow out again after i''d cut it recently. I hated it getting long so I made sure to cut if often into a buzzcut, otherwise I would end up walking around with hair that covered half of my face. And that was just uncomfortable. My body was particularly lean with muscle, having little to no fat on my entire body. I wasn''t in shape like a hardworking athlete was but I also wasn''t a pushover, having rode my bike to and from work for the past few months. while it was only about ten minutes there and ten minutes back it was better than nothing, letting me keep my body at least healthy enough I wasn''t going to die from cardiac arrest or something. My eyes were hazel colored and while I personally didn''t know what to think of it i was told a few times my eyes were "pretty." The first time I was told this i was taken aback, just like when I was told my hair felt good, and that was weird enough as it is. I didn''t know how to respond to either of those things and honestly i still didn''t. But i guess that''s what happens when you grew up hearing them repeatedly. my face was almost as lean as my body but just a little more full, my nose relatively straight and matching the rest of my thin features. the only difference was that there was a slight curve to the right in the center where i''d broken it a few years ago, back when i was a child doing the stupid things a kid does. It made it awkward for my glasses but i chose to deal with it, knowing i would have to re-break it at this point to get it straight again. and that wasn''t something i wanted to do just yet. As I continued to look at myself, examining the small details on my body like the scars I''ve gotten over the years, I suddenly I felt the panic and fear I had inside of me increase. i felt myself go from panicking to full blown fear, the world around me seemingly out of balance for a moment while everything seemed to blank out from the spots i was seeing. Closing my eyes I tried to take a deep breath to control myself but instead I gulped the air down, my body standing up rigidly while what felt like a hammer struck me in the head. Instead of collapsing in pain, though, I stayed immobile, completely paralyzed in an upright position while the adrenaline began to pump through my body. I could feel myself begin to struggle against what it was that held me still but still i didn''t move, every single part of my body rigid. For a minute after that I thought that maybe I was having a very vivid dream so I began to tell myself to wake up, the same way i always did since I was little. instead i felt a cold chill pass through my body as it began to move on its own, practically marching its way out of the bathroom. As my feet moved me through the apartments living room to the front door i understood this wasn''t true. It felt too real to be a dream, everything happening too fast for me to react. this made my heart beat in my chest faster, the anxiety i thought i''d just begun to get over coming back in a flash. the once steady beat began to thud in my chest as I threw the front door of my apartment open, a part of me glad neither my dad nor my brother were home at the time to see this. But when I saw what was in front of my door I began to wish even more that I wasn''t there myself. what could only be called a small, imp-like creature was crouched in front of me, licking the blood off what probably once a human. the body''s face was ripped to shreds, what used to be their face now resembling a cats scratching post while a large puddle of blood lay around the body. The creature seemed to writhe in ecstasy with every lap of it''s tongue, the look of pleasure evident in its gaunt face. It was so caught up in its adoration that when the door opened in front of me it didn''t react for a moment, enjoying the feast that was lay before it. After the first step out the door i took, though, it recognized my presence and its attention immediately snapped towards me, its flat nose sniffing the air near me. Before I couldn''t see it''s details since it was engrossed in the corpse in front of me but now I could see every feature, the monsters disgusting face looking straight at me. my mind was already going in overdrive as it was so i knew i would never forget this things face, every feature etched into my memory. It had rough, burnt-looking leathery skin that was stretched thin across its body. it''s face was like that of a bats in some ways but with less sharp edges, the look of it all that more bestial considering its rottweiler-like size and blood-red eyes. I could see half of its long tongue sticking out as it moved towards me, everything about it seemingly more terrifying since it''s claws and teeth were long and sharp enough to gut me while its rough tongue could lick my insides clean. I could feel my breath pick up again as it began to smell me for the second time, its eyes completely locked on mine. As much as I wanted to watch the thing I knew that i shouldn''t, my instincts screaming at me to just stay still and pretend as if this monster didn''t exist. So as hard as it was I did just that, my face staring completely straight ahead as this creature that was barely more than 3 feet tall began to climb up my body, sniffing me with its ugly, flat nose. I knew I was sweating profusely at this point, the fear beginning to kick in even worse as I tried to regain control of myself. The demons nose was laying right up against my neck at this point, its warm tongue sharing much the same spot in a disgusting combination i tried to ignore as best as I could. This lasted for about ten more seconds, the monster crawling over most of my body like an animal would before settling back down with the corpse that lay in front of me. My body lurched forward suddenly, as if whatever it was that was previously controlling me started back up again. I still kept a blank face, though, as my legs stepped over the demon that fed below me, my mind still having not caught up completely with what was going on. The warm blood that seeped beneath my bare feet on the tile floor caused my mind to reel even more, my heart continuously thudding in my chest. the whole situation was surreal enough as it was but as I continued down the hallway that lead to the stairway I started to understand just how bad of a situation i was in. not only was i incapable of controlling my body but I was also walking into something presumably worse than getting my face shredded like hamburger meat, the dead body i''d just seen being all the proof i''d need for that. why else would i have been let go while being under complete control of whatever it was that possessed me? something horrible was going on, and I was caught right in the middle of it, the worst part of it being I had no idea on what to do. i was helpless, something i''d never truly experienced until now. the feeling was so foreign to me that at first i didn''t know what it was, the cold, white snow beneath my bare feet snapping me out of the pure terror i was now beginning to feel. it had to have been below zero, my breath easily fogging the air in front of me while my body shook even more violently from the cold. I was wearing nothing but black basketball shorts, the chill penetrating me into my very core. A blood red glow shone from behind another apartment building a few meters in front of me, the illumination coming from my left, in the direction of the police station. my feet didn''t miss a step, instead trudging on in the same direction the abnormal light came from. The air stunk of something I''d never smelled before, the area thick with an acrid odor. the snow around me was up to my ankles in most places, forcing me to stick my hands deep into it just to hop over the small ledge that separated the our parking lot from the other one. as my body trudged on through the thick substance i could feel myself begin to break down, my emotions pulling me down in a direction I shouldn''t go. I would''ve shaken my head but i couldn''t even do that, instead having to watch like you would a movie while i moved alongside the brown apartment, making my way towards the street. well, at least you could say that whatever was going on didn''t try to force me through a wall. All thoughts began to disperse, though, as i took a right around the corner onto the snow-plowed streets and saw what it was that I was heading to. directly in front of the police station to my left, in the center of the street, lay a blood red pentagram of some sort that shined with an otherworldly glow without any snow to impede its shine. In a circle, directly on top of the shape was a group of people that lined up in a partially completed circle. all of them had blank expressions on their faces, as if they felt nothing at all or would on an insane amount of drugs. It was somehow different than the way someone looked when they faked it, like you would see on a film. You could tell there was literally nothing going inside of their brain, like something cut out that part of them. inside of the pentagram stood...something I couldn''t explain. It looked like it was human, in fact part of me completely believed it was human, but the rest of me knew the truth. as I got closer to the pentagram a sickly feeling began to overcome me that came from whatever it was that stood in the center. it felt like something was oozing out of it, the feeling akin to everything you would consider disgusting rolled up into one and then thrown at every one of your senses. This was where the smell originated from, a part of my mind remembering something I''d read about how demons from hell had the smell of sulphur that followed them around. all of a sudden I wanted to puke everywhere but i held the bile back, trying not to draw attention to myself as much as I could while my feet took me to the edge of the pentagram, plopping down on my knees. Next to me was an old woman on my left that looked as blank as the rest of the group, everything about her completely still. on my right, though, was an extremely gaunt-faced man that looked nothing like the others. i could see his dark, shady eyes darting around, trying to take in all the sites that surrounded him like a predator caught in a trap. when they landed on me I could see he recognized i was conscious, too, but instead of of acknowledging my existence his attention continued on elsewhere before I could react to him. before i could even register that had happened something made my head snap straight, staring forward at the thing that stood in the middle. It stood completely still, even more still than the zombie-like people that sat around me, as if it was waiting for something to happen. I took a few cold breaths while we all watched, the sound of my breathing loud in my ears while the my body began to shiver even more from the cold. suddenly it began to move in my direction, heading towards me with a purpose while the glow of the red design illuminated its cloak. I could feel myself begin to panic even more but I shoved it away from my thoughts, trying to figure out a logical way around this before the panic set in again. while it got closer my breathing picked up slightly, the anxiety forcing its way in me while i wrestled for control of my thoughts. the thing moved fluidly in between me and the woman to my left, every fiber of my being screaming out in an attempt to appeal to some god that i hoped to be there. but there was none. as that thought crossed my mind i felt something warm splash across the left side of my face, part of it landing on the corner of my mouth. i knew what it was but it still took a moment for it to register in my head as the old woman''s body slumped forward, limp as her life was drained through her neck and into the ground. The thick liquid followed the symbols design in the ground, each drop making the symbols light even brighter as it flowed towards the center. The of me that was already panicking began to fight its way into the forefront of my mind, my control wavering even more as the second body to my left slid forward onto the symbol. as the thing began to systematically kill everyone around the symbol a flash of pain shot through me, my vision changing between what i was seeing before to something similar but completely different. each time the blood splash across the ground it happened, the world changing into a more decayed version, a large blood-red orb pulsating above the center of an eye. as my own eyes centered on the bizarre shape it looked at me, something inside of it knowing that i saw it, an understanding so deep i felt a cold chill go down my spine before the alternate reality disappeared again i clenched my eyes close, trying to ignore everything that was going on around me, rejecting the reality that was happening. but still it tormented me, the sound of a knife sliding across throats penetrating through my facade. i''d tried to ignore it but i couldn''t at this point, every part of me beginning to break down into full-on panic mode. but i couldn''t run, i could barely move, and all i knew was that monster was halfway towards killing me, blood beginning to gather beneath the ball of energy that i soon began to see without the pain that normally accompanied it, a sign of foreboding that i didn''t want to accept or understand. as the monster began to move its way even more around its sacrificial circle i quickly looked to my right, trying the last thing i could think of in that situation. but as i looked upon the face of the man i saw once before i knew this was impossible, his face of pure bliss at the death around him. his eyes glowed with a red that i couldn''t describe, as if it was the most pure blood red you could see, even more pure than the symbol was and only if you saw it in the glint of sunlight. while i stared at him in morbid awe he glanced at me, a blissful smile spreading across his face as a jagged dagger sliced his neck open. his blood coated the front of my face, my mind going into shock instantly. before i knew it i felt my short hair pulled backwards, bending my neck backwards to expose my throat to the sharp blade. i stared up into the darkness that lay beneath the hood above me, unable to breath as death itself pressed up against my throat. while before i heard nothing but silence from the creature that stood above me i could now hear something that sound like chanting but it resembled nothing i''d ever heard before, the sounds echoed by a whisper that drove painful spikes through my brain. as the whispering intensified in my brain i felt something inside of me break, a single tear sliding down from my right eye. i couldn''t explain how i felt in that moment, knowing that i was about to die. but as i felt the knife begin to slice across my throat i felt something rise up in me, the feeling akin to life itself, something that was always there but i couldn''t sense before. i could feel every fiber of my being erupt with such an intensity i began to scream, my voice sounding much louder in my ears than it seemed in real life, everything around me distorting so much my attacker was flung off of me. for a moment i could do nothing, a loud ringing in my head incapacitating me while my mind caught up with the world around. but as i shook my head i realized that wasn''t going to happen, a being that could only be described as a demon beginning to rise up out of the center of the pentagram. its head was that of a goats and it had horns to match it, its body dark grey in color with short, black hair that covered some of its body. its muscles were as defined as a heavy lifting bodybuilders, every inch of the things body rippling with what could only be described as pure strength. the lower half of the things body was just as naked (so it was a he?) and muscular, the only difference being that he resembled more of a humans body at this point. I tried my hardest to avoid it but i felt my eyes being pulled up to his own eyes, the latter completely blood red, matching the symbols hue that it rose out of. they glinted with malicious anger, something inherently evil living behind them. he knew me, somehow, and on a molecular level, i knew him. all in all the demonic creature stood about three stories tall, big enough to stomp my brains out with his toes. I tried to get the catastrophe that was my mind together but as the behemoth grunted and took a step towards me i couldn''t, everything about me still jumbled up from my scream. the monsters steps shook the earth as he slowly moved towards me, the world around me shuddering with each and every movement the thing took. i kept trying though, trying to force the thoughts in my head to actually formulate something that made sense. i just couldn''t though, the demon now clenching its hands together hammerfist style above my head. energy was being gathered in his hand, a slight tint of red surrounding his entire body. but right when his hands began to swing down towards me i heard my own voice yell in my head, a force behind it that i hadn''t felt before but yet was familiar. MOVE, ALEX! as the the monsters hands slammed down atop where i was i threw myself sideways, rolling out of the way while chunks of concrete were thrown around from the impact. immediately my mind assorted itself, the recoil from earlier stopping while an energy pulsated inside of me. I could feel it in me again, electrifying my senses to extreme levels. a part of me was still stunned by what happened but that side wasn''t in control right now, my instincts roaring inside of my head. without thinking about it i immediately turned and began to run down the street, my mind racing to find a way out of this situation. i knew i couldn''t beat this thing, whatever it was. i was just a human, only capable of doing what humans could do...but something told me this wasn''t entirely true anymore. i could feel that pulsating power within me, pushing my body to keep it moving. i was in full control of it and like a bottle of water i was drinking from it, draining it until it was nothing. and i knew what it was, some part of me knowing it before the thought even crossed my mind. something i''d only read about in books, envisioned in my dream, the one thing that i didn''t think that was possible: magic. or something like it, at least. it was wishful thinking but either way i could feel it like a muscle inside of my body, ever slightly expanding as i used it but still having a limit. and i was coming closer to that limit as i began running down the snow littered street but it didn''t matter. it was either run myself dry or give up and die. so i ran, starting to push myself beyond the speed i could normally go. And still the demon kept up with me, his every step shaking the ground. i pushed myself harder, trying to pick up speed but as i made it almost to the end of the first block, near the gas station, a small red car turned right around the corner in my direction. I could see his face in sharp detail, the shock evident in his sleep deprived features at the scene in front of him. he immediately slammed to a halt and tried to go in reverse, looking behind himself so he wouldn''t crash into something in the middle of his escape. i was just as surprised as him, my mind almost grinding to a halt while i tried to find an easy way out of this. but i couldn''t come up with one, instead only left with just continuing to run forward while the well inside of me was dried. but at this point i somehow still pushed it further, draining everything from my body to effortlessly run over the car and roll onto the ground. as soon as i stood up i darted left and took off straight towards the main street, a snow covered forest laying beyond it and the train tracks. it wasn''t far to where the other side of the street was, only a few yards, but my instincts screamed at me again as i crossed the highway. as they did the sound of the demon roaring echoed in my ears, a vocalized yell of exertion being carried with it. I could only guess as to what to was being thrown but somehow, once again, i knew i had no choice but to react. spinning around mid run i gathered up that dry well of energy from deep inside of me, the thing that i was sure was beginning to suck on my own life. it hurt as i did it, a part of me being ripped apart from what it was. but i didn''t stop, time slightly slowing around me while i saw my target, the broken hunk of metal that was once a car a few feet from my face. nothing was alive inside of it, the demon having basically turned the vehicle into a ball of steel he threw at me. but i didn''t hesitate in gathering more energy, pouring as much as i could in that moment to the image i had pictured in my mind. bringing my hands in front of my chest i thrust outward, the ball of metal in front of me stopping mid-flight before flying back faster than it had originally come. it collided with the demons chest, knocking it backwards as i myself flew backwards from the rebound. i had no control of where i landed, hitting the ground hard enough i lost sight of what was going on, the world of white rolling around me as my consciousness faded in and out after what seemed like years but was only seconds i blinked rapidly, trying to get myself to see straight, the fact that my glasses were now gone making that even harder. to my right was the edge of the forest i was heading for and to my left was the bottom of a small hill, the one i''d rolled so aggressively down before. every part of my body hurt but it was more than just the fall that did it, my insides churned like they were decaying inside. Moving over to my right i threw up, nothing but pure blood that was almost black coming out. my body shook like the worst withdrawals someone could have, random colors flashing in my vision as if i was on hallucinogens. but as the ground began to shake again i knew that i couldn''t catch a break, the demon undoubtedly beginning to chase me again. so i forced myself to stand up, not knowing exactly what it was at this point that kept me going. sure, before it was because i was going to die if i didn''t do this. but i was going to die now anyways, so really, whats it for? with a snort i turned towards the forest, walking into it as i thought about my family that i had back home. i may have had suspicions about that monster that followed me but honestly, who knows what it was? all i knew is that it wanted me. and if i was going to die, then i was damned sure going to die doing what i could. so i trudged on, forcing my broken body through the blurry, snow covered forest that surrounded me as my impending doom made its way to me. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. i could hear the sounds of trees crashing to the earth behind me, the demons giant body forcing its way after me with a rapid pace. i knew i couldn''t keep going so instead i stopped, the energy in my body beginning to fade. still i held on though, making my body turn around to face the bull-faced monster as he let out a bestial roar, swinging at me with all his strength. when he hit me i truly knew it was done, every bone in my body breaking and my inside basically turning to a jigsaw puzzle gone wrong. when i gained what you could passably call awareness i saw the demon in front of me, roaring triumphantly while a familiar figure stroked its thigh. as i saw the other demon it also saw me, its movements pausing as it turned its hooded face towards me. it reached out its arm towards me, dark tendrils of its magic reaching out from its sleeved hands. but as they were about to touch me they suddenly sputtered out of existence, something i could even feel through the haze of death beginning to form around us. in a flash the figure waved their hands, disappearing out of existence with the monster that crushed my body. as it happened i couldn''t help but wheeze out a laugh, some part of me feeling as if i''d won the battle today. "Take that, asshole!" I said, coughing up blood when i''d finished the sentence. I had no idea what was coming but i accepted it, knowing i was dead either way. so as a ball of pure white coalesced in front of me i made my peace, keeping a grin on my face as the sphere absorbed me, everything around me fading into nothing. Chapter 2 The first thing that i heard was my fathers voice, sounding in my head like he was right next to me. "Wake up, Alex." he said, a groan escaping me as he spoke the words i hated most. "What time is it?" I all but grunted, feeling the sun warm my face while the birds tweeted outside. i waited for him to reply but when i didn''t i opened my eyes, quickly realizing i wasn''t even at home. and my father wasn''t anywhere to be seen. in fact the only thing that could be seen were the tops of dark green trees, sunlight peeking through them to shine directly in my face. With a start i jumped up, my mind racing to remember where i was at. as i did so i noticed that i was surrounded by small forest animals, a few of them scatter away from me when i moved. immediately i stopped moving and took in my surroundings, my fear from before evaporating as i saw where i was. I was in a small clearing in the middle of the tropical forest, everything around me full of life like i''d never seen it before. i saw animals in the dozens, some of them i recognized like the wolf and the rabbit but others i didn''t. and still, some of them didn''t look even look like an animal i would see normally. they were all looking at me, most of them looking relaxed but mildly curious. the entire scene was surreal and somehow calming, as if i was in heaven itself, the warm weather even matching it''s looks. For a second i didn''t know what to do but then the memories came back, recognition dawning on me as i remembered what had happened. and then different memories came to me, a sharp pain going through my head as they did. most of them seemed familiar but others were abstract, as if they were far apart from the life i''d lived. voices whispered in my head like i was living through them and for a moment i was disoriented, almost falling over right where i stood while my brain split in two. but then the feeling passed and the whispers faded until they were completely gone. I shook my head, the only thing coming to my mind being one simple question: What the fuck just happened? And that was just another question in a long list that was starting to pile up by the second, the top thing now being why there wasn''t snow on the ground. it was january when i last remembered but it seemed to be spring, the sun warming me while animals of all types continued to watch my movements. so looking around i decided i was safe as long as i didn''t disturb the animals, which didn''t seem to be too hard, considering most of them were watching from a safe distance. Taking a few tenacious steps around the smaller creatures i began to make my way out of the clearing, the light green ground soft beneath my bare feet as i began looking around for a sign of anything recognizable. it still looked as magical and mysterious the farther out i began to look, the scene off in the distance being something out of a fairy tale. but as i took the first step out of the area the world abruptly changed around me, switching from day time to night time. my heart leapt into my throat, my body immediately thrumming with power that was ready to be released. i looked around as quickly as i could, trying to spot the danger, but when nothing happened i glanced down at my hands. they were shaking with a force that wasn''t entirely normal, the air around them distorting from presumably the same thing. "Oh yeah..." I mumbled. "Forgot about that." Letting the energy dissipate (which wasn''t as hard as it sounded, oddly enough) I turned around, trying to find the clearing from before. but behind me was just dark forest, the spot where i just was completely gone. i wasn''t fazed by it though, a part of me expecting that already. it''s not like i didn''t just go through something crazier than that anyways. i mean, when else has somebody basically come back from the dead? Well, that''s to say i was even alive. but i just brushed those thoughts aside, a chill going up my spine before i did that had nothing to do with a cool breeze. in fact, there wasn''t a breeze at all, just stillness in air. whereas before i heard wildlife now heard absolutely nothing, dead silence surrounding me as i got my bearings. and while it took me a moment i recognized the area around me as the one i''d run to, basically the last spot i was in before i lost consciousness. with a sigh of relief i turned around, relaxing my body with without thinking about it. So while i moved i began to think of my next step, reaching up to adjust my glasses, my nose itching a little from the sudden temperature change. to my surprise, though, they weren''t there. i was stunned for a moment, my vision almost perfect even though i''d worn glasses for the better part of 8 years. i felt elated for a moment but that feeling quickly passed, the seriousness of what was going on setting in. as much as i wanted to feel the happiness about being able to see normally i knew i didn''t have the time, a part of me wanting to go back to my house and see if my family was okay. At first it seemed like a good idea, everything that has happened recently being a good indicator of that. but as that thought went through my head the head-splitting feeling came back with a vengeance, almost driving me to me to my knees. images played across my head of my fathers dead body in front of me, blood pouring out of his neck while i tried to stop the bleeding. next to me was my brothers body-less head, staring at me with a blank gaze, his soul having left a long time ago. The images kept coming for what felt like eternity, the people i cared about dying over and over in different ways without stopping. but soon they began to fade, my knees buckling under me as i began to sob into the ground. i had no idea what was going on with me but i knew, somehow, that what i was seeing was real. it wasn''t just me simply seeing everything. i could feel it all too, the warm blood in my hands as it poured of my dad''s open wound along with a hundred different feelings. with a short laugh i realized i knew what those images meant, sitting down and looking up at the night sky that peeked through the tops of the trees. I couldn''t go home. something in me told me not to, the only result being one of the thousands of things i just saw. normally i would just ignore it all but i couldn''t. a small part of me wanted to think this was all a crazy dream, like the ones i used to have when i was younger, but i knew it wasn''t. it was all real and it was just as much of a blessing as it was a curse. so for awhile i sat there, looking up at the stars while i wallowed in my own self-pity. i couldn''t even muster the strength to be angry, as pathetic as that sounded in my own ears. Even if the things that i saw never actually came to be, i knew that going there was a bad idea. something about me was...different. i could feel it now, my body somehow more interconnected to that well of energy inside of me before. before it felt like a tool you would use but now it felt like my soul itself, spreading throughout me as if it was the very blood that pumped through my veins. I brought my right hand up in front of me, my palm facing the sky as i drew on that very same energy, conjuring the image of a flame in my mind that appeared above my hand. instantly i felt a small amount of energy leave me, the very same flame i just thought of appearing exactly where i pictured it. with a small smile i stared at it, feeling a sense of reassurance from the simple action. At some point in your life you have to grow up and become an adult. so maybe this was that point in my life, the point where i had to decide whether to stay a child or become something more. so without thinking much pass that i clenched my hand shut and extinguished the flame, standing up with a sort of calm resolution in my mind. again that same feeling of my brain rewriting began to come across me but this time it was more of a buzzing in my head, something i could ignore without any issues whatsoever. So i trudged on through the dark forest, trying to find something i recognized that way i could figure out what the next direction i had to take. i assumed i was around the the road i''d crossed before so i headed east, off in the direction i assumed i''d come from, doing my best to make as little noise as possible on my way through the underbrush. soon i came across an opening and as i stepped through i saw where i was, the mall i''d grown up around a short ways off in the distance. i wasn''t at the same place i thought i was but to me it was good enough. around me it wasn''t too dark, the bright moon shining up above me, illuminating where it could touch. For a moment i felt relief but then an abrupt gust of wind passed by me, the smell of death itself following along. i tried to not throw up but i couldn''t help it, nothing but stomach acid coming from my gut. with a groan i wiped the bile from my mouth and shook my head, trying to keep my mind straight as stomach pains began to gnaw at me. the smell of decay didn''t help any but as i held my shirt up to my nose it faded until it was tolerable, my mind still spinning as i took in the sights around me. Off in the distance i could see a fire burn, dark smoke rising up above the tops of the buildings that were in front of me. the moons glow got stronger above me, my eyes looking up at it to see that the large space-rock was bigger than normal. its light shone on some of the world around me, as if it was showing me what my town had come to. and instead of seeing what might have been considered mild reassurance i saw nothing but destruction, buildings completely blown away as if a god came down and wiped them off the planet. and as i walked across the train tracks ahead me i got a better look of my surroundings, the smell of dead bodies getting even stronger as i moved, i began to think that might just have happened. the main street i just walked across was completely empty but what was on the other side made me stop, my mind grinding to halt while my eyes began to see everything around me. Where i was at would be considered a small strip mall off the side of the highway here in the center of coralville, the same road leading to the mall that lay a short distance away. stores covered both sides of the street, the right side consisting mostly of restaurants while the other side was everything in between. but what was shared between the two was the destruction and dead, bodies littering the concrete as far as i could see. immediately i realized this was where i was getting the smell from, a feeling of pure terror and anxiety beginning to rise up in me while i looked at the sight ahead, my feet beginning to carry me onward. Bodies were strewn about around me, some of them dried up from being burnt alive while others seemed to be recent, blood still slowly draining out of their necks. i continued to hold my shirt up to my face, trying to hold back the intense smell that was wafting in to my nose from my surroundings. a few cars were around me but most of them were scattered, flipped on their sides or obviously destroyed beyond the point of repair. it seemed like a horror movie as i continued to walk down the sidewalk, passing by the empty restaurants that were to my right. I''d never seen a dead body before (like this, at least) so i forced myself to move, choking down the bile that built up in my empty stomach and throat. but before i moved even halfway down the sidewalk i began to throw up again, almost nothing coming out of my mouth since there wasn''t much to give. this just made it even worse, the smell now becoming a taste that made my stomach hurl even more. but as i lost control of my gut i felt my senses spark, throwing myself to the left without thinking about it. A small creature appeared where i was before, the monster looking a lot like the one i''d seen when this all started, it''s details clear in the slight-darkness that surrounded me. as i hit the ground at a roll the demon jumped at me again, reaching out towards me with its deadly claws that looked to tear me apart. without hesitating i gathered some of my magical energy in my hand and mimicked the same action i did when i blew the car away, using only a little bit of that energy i felt deep inside of me. Unlike the car there was no rebound effect, the monster immediately being flown back and into a wall with a crunch. my heart was beating in my chest while power pulsated throughout my body, a drastically different feeling than i had before when i''d used that same energy. without getting a time to rest i heard a noise come from my right so i quickly stood up, looking for whatever else that was chasing me down while the my body buzzed with power. Directly ahead of me was another of those demon things circling around me, a snarl on it''s face. at first i was going to just run at the monster, thinking that it was just two lone wolves. but then i noticed there wasn''t just one but actually three or four others moving quickly on the edge of my vision. it was at this moment i felt my face go blank, a slight chill going down my spine as i stood up straight, knowing i was probably surrounded at this point i''d been in enough fights in my life i knew the feeling, my mind instantly kicking into overdrive. Without wasting a beat i took a boxers stance, slowly looking around me at the demons. there were more coming by the second, four more of them being newcomers while i recognized the seventh one as it peeled itself from the wall, its body looking a little worse for wear but with less damage dealt than i''d hoped. this one glared at me with hate-filled eyes, their red color shining brightly in the night. it was definitely the same creature that i''d seen before, all of them looking exactly the same. it was as if they were animals from a pack...not that it would surprise me at this point, all things considered. Normally i would''ve been terrified but i didn''t feel that, my mind calm while i thought about what i needed to do to get out of this situation. so for a moment i just sat there, concentrating on my surroundings while i gathered my mana up inside of me. i wanted to try throwing a fireball or something like that at one of them but that was just a bad idea entirely, the first reason being i didn''t think that i could hit any of them...yet. the second was that i only had a finite amount of magic and while going over that limit again was possible i didn''t want to risk dying again, knowing that i probably wouldn''t come back from it this time. so i stood there and watched them dart about like feral beasts, snapping at me with growls and hisses. but soon enough they slowed down and got quiet, moving at a more deliberate pace while leaning forward, their noses getting closer to the ground as they moved. the air around me seemed to still with their movements, the world becoming quieting until i heard nothing but my heartbeat. Bu-bump, bu-bump, bu-bump. And all at once they all came at me in unison, the one directly in front of me leaping at my face, it''s claws outstretched. without hesitating i took a step forward and grabbed onto its body with both of my hands, the surprise evident on it''s face as i threw it into one of it''s companions. Id been in enough fights before I wasn''t going to go down easy. As i flung the monster away from me i felt claws begin to scratch at my body, carving up my skin without restraint. i swung my elbow in a wide arc, my attackers dashing back while the rest of them began to surge forward. The one that clawed me tried to take a step backwards to get away but I didn''t let it, moving forward to punch it in its face. I felt it''s bone crunch underneath my fist, a howl of pain emanating from it''s throat. It leapt backwards to get away and this time I let it, my mind set on my next action. It''s now or nothing! i thought, one of the monsters that was going to attack me to my right and only a few feet away. i wasn''t able to hit any of them before but i could now, the distance small enough i knew at least one of the small creatures couldn''t dodge my attack. the image of a powerful fireball became clear within my mind, so with a twist of my wrist, my right palm facing toward my target, i let loose part of the power that i had gathered inside of me. instantly i felt a small rush of energy travel out of my dominant hand, a large ball of flame that was slightly bigger than my outstretched palm flying out faster than i thought it would. As the flame went flying it illuminated the area around me, my body feeling the heat as it collided with the demon i shot it at. its scream resounded out around me, it''s fellow demons flinching as the flames consumed it. but other than that they paid it no mind, just as i didn''t, the fight continuing as if that didn''t just happen. one of the demons swung at me, trying to cut my leg but i stepped backwards to dodge it''s attack, reaching down and grabbing its head so i could knee it in the face. i could feel its nose crunch under the force of my blow, blood covering my leg as if i''d opened an artery. Suddenly i felt a sharp pain go across my back, a claw digging into my side. with a yell of pain and anger i grabbed the aggressors wrist and pulled the claws out of my side, the small holes i now had leaking blood, not unlike the gashes i''d gotten already. i grunted as i pulled the demon closer to me, picking it up in a wrestling throw that had me sending it flying a few meters away. At this point they were all on top of me, their claws now beginning to rip in to me, my body a dull haze of pain. but instead i fought on, grabbing one of them that was on top of me and digging into my shoulders with both of my hands. I slammed it down on the ground in front of me, its eyes wide as i pushed my right hand down on its chest and screamed with a voice that resembled the one when i''d almost gotten my throat cut. i could feel my emotions swell up from deep inside of me while my self-control began to fade, my hand gripping the things chest even harder while my mind went blank. White fire began to spread from my palm and into the demons body, the creature shrieking while the flames began to eat it''s body out from the inside. i didn''t stop, though, unable to prevent myself from pushing my magic deeper and deeper into its body until all i could see was flames beginning to spread out from underneath me. soon that was all i could see or feel, fire erupting all around me while the world went numb. Without any warning i was suddenly standing in a prairie, a warm breeze brushing by right cheek. off in the distance were gigantic mountains, larger than any building i''d ever seen in my life, a sun equally as large setting behind the peaks of those mountains. as i watched the gorgeous scenery a shadow covered me, making me look up in what could only be pure awe as a group of what i assumed were dragon flew towards the mountains. But then it was all over, my mind swimming while the outburst of energy i''d unintentionally released made my body ache like i''d been hit by a car. with a groan i looked around, watching the few surviving demons scurrying away from the scorched land around me. for a moment I thought about standing up but decided against it, instead just rolling onto my back from above a burnt body to stare at the stars and get myself together, like i did before. Yet all i did was feel nothing but pure pain shooting through my body i understood this wasn''t possible, every fiber of me being erupting as if my nerves were being ripped to shreds. my body shuddered and shook, foam covering my mouth as what i would call a seizure began to overtake me, my vision blinking in and out like a flashlight before darkness took me completely over... I had no idea how much later i woke up but when i did i had the mother of all headaches, something akin to a blacksmith pounding a sword into shape happening inside of my head. i tried to sit up but i couldn''t for a moment, my muscles sore and hurting worse than i''d ever felt before. so instead i got my thoughts back together, the memories not hard to conjure up. As everything came back to me i began to shake my head, saliva still coating the side of my cheeks where it had dripped down. i didn''t know what it was that i''d just had. at first i began to wonder if i was dying but i immediately threw that thought out, knowing that if i was i couldn''t do anything about it. what i needed to do was stand up and get somewhere safe, the only other option being to wait around longer and risk getting maimed by those monsters again. and even through the disorientation i felt i knew that wasn''t a good idea. So with a final push i moved to my right side, picking myself up with a painful grunt that made my head pound even harder for a second. looking around i saw the destruction i''d wrought, a medium sized black circle of scorched earth surrounding me. i had no idea what i''d done to that demon but it was obviously dead, every living thing that was in that circle burnt into black husks. i would''ve felt something at what i''d just done but i couldn''t, every part of me hurting in ways i didn''t know existed. I checked my body for the wounds I''d gotten before, finding most of them scabbing up already. I didn''t question it how it was already healing so fast, knowing that would just be a waste of my time. This did give me a sort of reassurance that I wasn''t going to die from blood loss, a sigh of relief escaping my lips. This made me wince in pain, my right hand gripping my left side where I felt the pain come from. There I found a bruise where my ribs were, making me think somehow I''d broken one of them. But there was nothing I could do about it so I just held that side tenderly, avoiding hurting it as much as possible. Ignoring my body''s protests i moved forward, continuing my walk towards the mall. i had no idea what lay there but it was my best option for now, whether or not it was completely ransacked. all that meant was that nobody in their right mind would go there and that was just fine by me. with the world being so screwed up i didn''t even want to think about what the survivors would be like in this situation, the image of a few shows id been watching coming to mind about something similar to this. It wasn''t something i wanted to think about but i had to be realistic at this point. i was already halfway dead, basically limping down the street and looking like easy pickings. and while i wasn''t going to go down without a fight i was positive i wasn''t the only one with magic. and even if by some miracle i was, that didn''t mean a good bullet to my head wouldn''t do the trick. i couldn''t fight off a feral cat right now, much less a human with a gun. As drained as i was i kept watching my surroundings as best as i could, finally coming up on the three-way street, a short grass hill on the other side leading up to the malls parking lot. more cars were littered around me but the bodies were less here than back where i''d gotten attacked, just skeletons laying halfway out of a van in the center of the intersection. How fucking long was i gone That thought just rolled around in my mind endlessly while i continued on, reaching the top of the small hill pretty quickly. ahead of me was part of the large parking space that surrounded the mall, a few dozen cars strewn in disarray from where i could see. but just like before there were no bodies, just more cars and and empty space. as things were that was more than just a little weird, the feeling that something was off starting to creep up on me more than it already had. I kept moving forward though and did my best to ignore it, heading towards the front entrance of the building, that spot being the closest to me. When I''d reached the wall I began to use it as a crutch and for moment i thought that my headache was finally going away while i made my way towards the doors, my eyes being drawn to the movie posters that somehow still were relatively unscathed on the wall to my left. but then it came back, the pain sharper this time, the sound of voices whispering accompanying the ache. Grasping the side of my head i stumbled, my knees hitting the ground while i gasped from the agony. taking a deep breath i tried to force the pain back but before i could i saw something move ahead of me, my eyes moving to look upward without me thinking about it. as i did my vision distorted like from before, when i was caught in the demon''s spell and I saw the eye. Everything around me twisted and turned into a world unrecognizable, the area looking almost the same but instead it was all blue and cold, as if it was frozen. directly in front of me stood what i thought was a group of people at first but as the whispers grew stronger and everything began to transition completely into this new world i began to notice that this wasn''t true. they resembled people, sure. but the longer i looked at them the more quickly i realized this wasn''t true. Their clothes were ragged and decayed, eyes empty and emotionless. they all stood in a group, standing shoulder to shoulder as if they had no sense of personal space. their faces were completely blank while they faced ahead, looking forward like they were watching the same exact thing. everything about them seemed...wrong, almost as if they didn''t belong. the whispers in my head were now becoming voices, what was once unintelligible sounds now becoming words. and as this happened i also began to see that their lips were moving at a rapid pace, fast enough i knew now that they definitely were not human. Immediately the voices stopped and all of their heads turned towards me in unison, hundreds of eyes now concentrated on me and me alone. my throat closed up in what i thought was fear but suddenly my body frozen, as if the weight of their gazes held me down. while i began to panic internally the voices started up again, this time their sounds coming in much more clear than they had before. They sounded completely otherworldly, almost as if they were speaking directly into my mind. Look another one... He''s bright...so bright... I feel him... You feel that? I do... As they spoke they began to surround me with supernatural speed, their voices becoming stronger and stronger until they were a garbled mess of noise that i couldn''t comprehend. my head began to pound and cold sweat began to cover my body from head to toe, my heart beating faster than it should in my chest. they began to lean in close to me, their features warping while i watched to become closer to corpses than just living beings. and that''s when i realized what they were: dead. The ghost''s voices rose even higher as they got closer, their zombie-like faces staring hungrily at me like i was food. and as one of them grabbed my shoulder i understood that''s exactly what i was to them, a scream rising out of my throat as cold, intense pain shot through my body. from where the one had grabbed me i felt my energy being sucked out, the ghost-man''s features becoming slightly more life-like as it drained me. while he was continuing to do so the others had caught on and were now grabbing for me greedily, my throat becoming hoarse as i screamed in pain. I could feel myself begin to die, right then. i''d thought i''d known death before, when i''d been crushed by the demon, but as these ghosts began to drain me i knew that hadn''t been even close. my body felt like it was being pulled apart in a hundred directions, pieces of my skin being ripped from me and devoured with wild abandon. and still they didn''t stop, my screams becoming a whimper as they sucked me dry. As the world around me began to become dark and cold, my vision now centering on the ghost who first began to touch me, i felt myself begin to collapse face first onto the ground. and as i did i saw the ghost around me stand up, a look of wonderment on his face that reflected his new form, his body now resembling a regular humans. but that look quickly turned to confusion as light began to shoot out of its body, it''s form disappearing while the world was covered in a bright light. my consciousness faded at the same time, light being the last thing i saw. For the second time in the past day or so i awoke on my back, feeling like complete and utter shit with my body feeling almost the same. this time i just didn''t move at all, relishing in the fact i was still somewhat-alive. i could feel everything in me shriek in pain, my mind and body experiencing the worst hangover i''d ever experienced. the sun was now directly above me, blinding me even as i winced to close my eyes. i didn''t have the strength to move any more than my arms so i moved them to block the sunlight. I lay like that for awhile and at the time i just didn''t care if something tried to kill me. i felt dead already anyways so who cares? i was tired, more tired than i''d ever been. even the mana well inside of my was close to being gone. but before long i finally gathered up energy to move, groaning as i sat up to look around me. everything was the same from before i''d entered that surreal world where the ghosts were, the only difference being that it was now hotter than it had been before, my body warm from the sun shining on top of me. With another groan i moved to stand up, almost falling as my legs wobbled a bit. the headache that i had mixed with my aching body made it almost impossible to continue moving but i forced myself along, using the wall as a crutch to hold me while i made my way for what was originally the automatic doors. the aforementioned were still there (in a way) but it was all destroyed, glass laying around everywhere on the white floor. the metal that originally surrounded the frames of the doors were bent and warped, as if something (or someone) with superhuman strength came crashing through, tossing away whatever was in their path. As meticulously as i could i made my way through the debris, my feet stinging from the small shards of glass that i stepped on. but soon it was over with and i was inside of the theater entrance, what was once the concession stand to my left now nothing but ruin covering the entrance to that section. the ticket booth ahead of me was relatively unscathed besides the shattered protective glass while to my right was the ice rink, where people once skated merrily. but now it was just a concrete slab that was covered in dried streaks of blood, the protective glass that surrounded it much the same. everything was in complete disarray and even through my muddled state i was still in shock, the ruins of what was once a central hub of activity now looking like a relic of the past. As i walked along the outer edge of the rink, avoiding more of the broken glass that was strewn about while i began to take in everything i was seeing. my pace was slow so it was easy to see the details, like the fact that dark blood stains were literally everywhere. along the walls, the ceiling, the remaining glass that lay unbroken, along the ground, and it just kept going on. i had nothing to lean on while i walked so i moved slowly, almost at a snails pace. Directly ahead of me was where the second entrance was, the entire area caved in with sunlight streaming in through the giant hole that was there. that meant i''d picked the right entrance but as i kept moving towards the rest of the mall i began to think i''d picked the wrong place to go in the first place. while before it was bad now it was worse, skeletons littered ahead of me. i began to feel sick, the same cold feeling i''d felt from when the ghosts tried to kill me emanating from the bones. the voices began to come back too, my headache increasing in strength as i tried to take another step forward. but instead my legs gave out on me, my hands immediately reaching to catch my fall. I began to have a repeat from the same situation as before, the ghostly figures appearing before me. instead of not noticing me, however, they were staring directly at me. This time, though, they didn''t try to devour me as they did before. they just looked, their faces irritated while their lips moved faster than before. i couldn''t understand them at all this time, their anger just being the only thing that i could get out of them. i tried to shut them out but it failed, my head beginning to pound even worse, like i was about to have my brain explode inside my skull before i just couldn''t take it any more. "SHUT UP!" I yelled, looking up at them as my own rage coming out with way more power than i intended. without realizing it the little bit of magic i held inside me bubbled over like lava, leaking into my words to make them more powerful. immediately after the words left my mouth the spirits did exactly as i said, their lips stopping mid-sentence. their faces turned from anger to surprise as fast as mine did, their bodies disappearing when it happened, as if they were running from me. when they disappeared the cold feeling left with them, the headache subsiding to something tolerable. Slowly i began to stand up, my legs barely responding to the simple request. but i knew that i needed to move and get something to eat while i could. wherever those ghosts went i was sure they wouldn''t be gone long. so i started moving again, trying to move a little faster despite the increasing ache in my body. but i still didn''t move fast enough to be able to ignore my surroundings, having to work my way around more skeletons that seemed to have been there for a long, long time. It was all i could do to not cry as i made my way through the food court, seeing the aged bones of people scattered across a linoleum floor, streaks of blood giving me an idea of how they had died. and they had died viciously, the tables that people used to sit at thrown around in disarray, a good chunk of them broken in pieces. i made my way carefully around a baby''s stroller that lay on its side, doing my best to not look inside of it. this i could do, if only barely. As i walked i began to understand why those ghosts were here, the restaurants that lined the wall to my far right having even more bodies between me and them. I didn''t even want to go over there, instead keeping my head forward as best as possible until i got to the part of the building where it split off. to my left was a long concourse that led to the rest of the shops while to my right was my current destination, the Target store. in front of me was a woman''s clothing shop and next to it was a completely destroyed carousel, the entire thing black as if it had been set on fire. most of it lay on it''s side, the animals that children rode on broken and scattered across the ground. This was even harder to look away from, my anxiety starting to penetrate through the fog of weariness i felt. i just ignored it though, having gotten used to feeling from having panic attacks for a few years now. it was hard but i taught myself to push it to the back of my mind until it went away. it was the only way i knew how to deal with it, the burden of the constant anxiety more than i could handle for far too long. but as i stepped over what seemed to be a couple clutching each other in death i lost it, collapsing into a wall in front of the store while tears began to stream down my face. What the hell happened? was my family even still alive? hell, was i the only one left? i didn''t know the answers and it killed me, my emotions coming to the surface in the form of my crying. i couldn''t hold it in anymore, far too many things happening in the past 24 hours for me to handle. so i just curled up in a ball, leaning up against a cold, blood stained wall while i lost myself in my sadness. this continued for who knows how long, my sense of time already screwed from everything else. but suddenly i felt a tap on my left shoulder, my mind numb from the release of emotions as i looked up. A child with blue eyes and blond hair stood there, no more than 4 years old, a bright smile on his soft face. he reached out his hand towards me, a small toy car resting in his palm. when i didn''t immediately take it he gestured towards the object, that same smile on his face. with a tentative reach i took the toy from him, his smile growing even bigger than it was before. but then he seemed to hear something, his face turning right, towards the source of the sound. his expression went from happy to almost terrified, whatever it was that he was hearing certainly being the reason behind the change. Without even looking back at me the kid took off, running off towards the other side of the mall. i was going to reach out to stop him before he got too far but my instincts suddenly screamed at me, my eyes snapping to look where the kid was heading. the world around me seemed to slow as my heart skipped a beat, my mind grinding to halt while my eyes locked on another pair that stared at me from a few yards away. They glowed a dark red, darker than blood. the area around the two large orbs was surrounded by darkness, reality seeming to distort from where the shadows touched. instead of the extremely cold feeling i got from the ghosts i felt something akin to pure hatred along with a sense of wrongness, as if whatever that thing was didn''t even belong in our dimension. a low, otherworldly growl came from the thing, as if it was giving a warning to me. i felt like a predatory animal had found me and now considered me prey, my body screaming at me to move even though i was stuck in fear. As i watched without being able to look away i began to see the outline of the things body through the darkness, as if the longer i looked at it the more clear it began to be. but before i could get a better look at the red-eyed monster the child reached the darkness, disappearing along with the creature and it''s shadows. one moment they were both there and the next they were both gone, any signs of them having been there disappearing. What the fuck is going on? And why the hell is this happening to me? i''d only been awake for about a day or two and already my world was turned upside down while i continued to get attacked by things i didn''t even think were possible. i was too tired to think about it even more than i already had, though, my stomach growling at me despite the rest of my body being racked by aches and pain. so i tucked the small, blue toy car into one of my pockets and tried to stand up, moving my confusion to the back of my mind. Using the wall to help give me more balance i slowly stood, straightening my legs out as best as i could so i could walk again. my legs almost buckled but i held myself up, wincing as a sharp pain shot through my body in response. when the feeling went back to a dull throb i started to move again, heading underneath the target sign and through the wide space that was the inner entrance to the store. Inside the small outlet was originally rows of shelves and cashier lines, nearly everything you could want contained within the area. But now it was just pure wreckage, most (if not all) of the shelving laying in disarray. With a small sigh I steadied myself, unable to use the walls as a brace anymore while I searched for food. It took awhile but soon enough I was back near the entrance id come in, sitting in the small area behind the ticket booth and scarfing down bags of chips that I''d found unopened. Taking a large gulp from a water bottle I took a second to get myself under control, trying not to eat everything I''d found in one sitting. And I''d found quite a lot, surprisingly having discovered there was a lot untouched in the store. Plenty of things were destroyed and underneath rubble but from what I could see the store hadn''t been raided yet, a part of me thinking that the ghosts had something to do with it. As I munched on another bag of chips I thought about my next plan, knowing I was in bad shape and couldn''t do much anyways. It was best for me to stay there for the time being, the ghosts basically going to to ignore me from what I could see. And hopefully they would keep the demons away from here if they tried to sniff me out, meaning all I had to worry about was that monster in the darkness. So I mulled over things while continuing to eat for awhile, swallowing the bottles of water I had sitting next to me. Before long I could feel my eyes been to get heavy, though, so I finished off another can of tuna I''d found and laid down on the cold linoleum, wishing I could''ve found something comfortable to sleep on. A blanket would have been nice, too, but before I could finish that train of thought I felt myself drift off into sleep, darkness overcoming me in what could only be described as bliss. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Chapter 3 I awoke with a groan, my body aching in pain that covered almost all of my body. I felt as if a train had run me over, some part of me wishing I was going to wake up from a very vivid dream that I had previously been unable to escape from, almost as if my childhood was repeating all over again. But when the throbbing pain that was the left side of my ribs brought itself to my attention I knew this wasn''t true. So with another groan I sat up as best as I could, wincing in response as the feeling that resembled a sharp needle shot through me. A dark bruise had started to cover where I was hurt, flecks of dried blood surrounding it and the other wounds in my body. I wanted to take a shower and get rid of all of it but I didn''t think there was a place to do that. I remembered there were bathrooms around here but I doubted that there was running water still, logic pointing towards that simple fact. I dismissed that train of thought and instead grabbed another bottle of water to gulp down. It felt refreshing to drink the liquid, even though it wasnt cold in the way that I liked it. But since beggars can''t be choosers I didn''t complain and finished off the bottle, moving it to the pile with all of my other trash. I began to eye the can of ravioli I had sitting out, contemplating whether or not I should open it to eat but I decided to push it off. For now, anyways. Instead I carefully stood up, trying not to lose my balance as another stab if pain went through me. After successfully doing so I had to cover my eyes for a moment, the light coming from outside being a little too much for a moment. After my eyes finally adjusted I slid over the counter that id previously cleared of glass, glancing around at my surroundings to make sure there was nothing to attack me. Nothing stirred but a cold morning breeze that made me shiver, which led to the next thing on my agenda: getting some freaking clothes. I went back to the same intersection I took before but instead of going right I went left, the rest of the mall opening up to me. It was much worse here than it was in the rest of the mall, entire stores having collapsed on top of who knows how many skeletons. I could sense something watching me, the feeling akin to the one I''d felt when I''d seen the ghosts. I just ignored it for the most part, although I did tap a little into the pool of power I held inside of me in case I needed it. I passed by my favorite video game shop in solemn silence, memories filling my head of when I would shop there on the day''s I got paid. It made my heart ache a little along with a pang of home sickness. But those visions id had were a vivid reminder to shove those feelings down and move on. No point in living in the past. Soon enough I was at a relatively nice clothing store that was still intact, even some of the mannequins still standing tall. I headed inside and quickly found a set of clothes I changed into. when I was done sliding on the pair of skater shoes that barely fit me I looked at myself in a mirror, the bright design on my shirt that matched the pants reflecting into my eyes. It would make me stand out but it was better than nothing. I made a mental note of this place to get a change of clothes later and started towards my next destination, Scheels. If I was going to find something to defend myself with, this would be the place to find it. And while my magic was a good tool to use I couldn''t rely on it all the time; that was just asking for death. If you''ve ever been in this particular store before then you would know it was big and brown, consisting of 2 floor with mostly everything you wanted, besides electronics and food. The entire store spread out for a few dozen yards in both directions,. The entrance had two registers on each side but they were completely wrecked, parts of the tall ceiling having fallen on them. I cautiously moved forward and avoided the larger pieces of glass, now having shoes to protect me from the smaller ones. I ignored most of the first floor and went immediately to where the destroyed escalators were, parts of them sunk in like a heavy object had fallen through them. Luckily the regular stares were mostly okay so I headed up them, looking around warily in case something wanted to jump out and eat my face. even though i felt safe that didn''t mean i truly was, especially since something as incomprehensible as magic was suddenly now reality. Nothing did though so I let out a sigh of relief as I reached my destination on the second floor. in front of me was a shop that had its walls collapsed in itself and to my right was completely blocked off, more debris covering the area. To my left was even more wreckage, making the area around me blocked off completely. i frowned, stopping in my tracks while i thought about what to do next. where i wanted to go was on the other side of all the destruction but even with my magic i doubt i could''ve moved any of it, most of the concrete weighing more than i did by a long shot. this made me wonder exactly how this store was still standing, most of the foundation having crumbled from my point of view. and while i didn''t know much about building something like a store this didn''t look right to me. i just shook my head and moved that thought to the side because if this fell down around me there wasn''t much i could do about it in the first. so instead i just moved back to the original problem, deciding to try and find another vantage point i could get to that side of the store from. after getting to the bottom of the broken escalator i looked around for some way to get back up, having not been in this store in awhile so i couldn''t remember if there was a set of stairs or another escalator i could go up. but all i saw around me was collapsed walls and skeletons, making it almost impossible for me to find something recognizable. all i could see from where i stood was a steel pillar that led up to the exact spot i needed to go, meaning i had to figure out how to climb up there somehow if i wanted to get in. "Well that''s just fucking great." I said to no one in particular. "What am I gonna do, wrap a ribbon around it climb like Mulan did?" "Well that doesn''t sound like a bad idea to me." someone said back, their voice light and feminine. immediately i turned around felt my heart leap into my throat, magic coursing through my arms and into my hands. sitting on top of a block of concrete with her legs crossed was a petite girl, about 16-17 years old with brunette hair. she had a thin face that complemented her slender body, her eyes a light blue that sparkled with mischief. she was pretty for her age, something i rarely said since i turned 20 and grew into a different age bracket. "Who the fuck are you?" I demanded, my hand thrumming with power to be used at any given moment. she wasn''t fazed by me one bit though and instead hopped up onto her feet, walking towards me without any hesitation whatsoever. i brought my mana to an even higher level, ready to blow her away the instant she got within range of me. but still she walked on and soon enough she was within arms reach of me, a large smile on her face. "Does it matter? It''s not like you''ll be alive much longer anyways." She said, giggling a bit before continuing to talk. "You shouldn''t be worried about me anyways. What you should be worried about is that." she pointed to my right, indicating the spot i first entered the store in with her right hand. i glanced in that direction and immediately felt my face drain of blood, my adrenaline spiking while my heart rate sped up even more. where i''d come from was now completely pitch black, an otherworldly darkness that resembled the red-eyed monster i''d seen from before blanketing the entrance to the store. i could feel the hatred of that thing emanating from the darkness along with copious amounts of magic, the power of it crashing against me like a wave of heat. "You''d better figure out something to do before it kills you." The girl said, her voice fading as she finished her sentence. when my eyes snapped back to where she was she was gone, leaving no signs that she had been there in the first place. before i could even question what was going on i heard an otherworldly scream that reached into my soul itself, my magic flickering from the pressure the sound created. Immediately i turned towards the source of the sound and threw my questions out of my mind, my survival instinct kicking in now. where the darkness ended stood a tall, human-like monster, it''s body resembling the ghosts that i''d seen before. it''s skin was almost completely decayed, its eyes completely black, as if they were missing from it''s grotesque skull. it looked more like a zombie than anything else, as if was out of a horror movie I''d seen a hundred times over. the terrifying part wasn''t that so much as it was that darkness itself seemed to ooze out of it''s body, the gaping wounds it had covering its body basically letting out a constant stream of otherworldly-darkness. it seemed to be a liquid but a gas at the same time, leaving the wound to disperse in the air around it. i didn''t get much more time than that to look at the thing because it immediately screamed again, its jaw stretching out to inhuman lengths before running at me like a psycho maniac. it was fast, almost too fast for me to register in my head as it bolted across the 80 feet or so between us. but since i was expecting it i held no hesitation and immediately let loose a good chunk of my mana into a push of force, the power of it colliding with the zombie-like creature as it got halfway and hurling it backwards. i felt a little out of breath from the exertion but none the worse for wear, instead channeling more power into my hands again while i planned out my next move. i knew better than to assume i''d killed the thing already, my instincts still screaming at me to move. and sure enough the creature hit the ground, slid across it a few feet, and then immediately oriented itself to stand back up straight. again it started to run back at me again but this time it moved faster than it did before, getting to me quick enough i was almost unable to react it it. instead of releasing another blast of pure force again this time i tried to make it more concentrated, aiming for his head as best as I could. I could see the air distort as the blast went by, another small chunk of my magic leaving with it. The attack missed though and I felt my heart leap from my chest as the thing screamed on, it''s steps unfaltering. I began to panic and scrambled backwards while my brain tried to catch up before the thing caught me. But before I could come up with another plan it slammed into my chest, knocking me down onto my back hard enough I thought it completely broke my ribcage where I was already hurt. Pain lanced through me but I didn''t have time to worry about that, the thing pinning me to the ground with it''s cold hands. Its face was so close to mine I could smell it, the odor somewhere between a rotting corpse and burning hair. The darkness that oozed from it''s gaping holes in it''s body touched my skin and where it did burned with hot fire, the feeling so intense I began to lose my mind. But as the thing roared in my face, it''s breath smelling worse than its body did, I snapped out of the stupor that threatened to overcome me. I didn''t have much time to think so instead I just placed my right hand directly on its side, letting loose another blast into its body. I didn''t mean to put as much power into the attack, trying only to throw it off me so I could get up and run. Instead, though, the monster was launched from it''s position like a cannonball, flying through the air before smacking into wall with a dull this. I didn''t even bother with trying to wail on the thing until it died this time. I doubted I could do it on my own anyways, the thing like something out of a nightmare. Panic made my body move faster than normal, my magic pulsing through my body in tandem with my heart. I rolled over to my right side and started bolting towards the pillar I''d spotted from before. There was no hesitation in my mind as I ripped my shirt off my body, tearing it in half as best as I could before wrapping it around the cold metal. I started climbing up as fast as I was able, my instincts screaming at me to move faster. And as that creature roared again I felt my adrenaline kick in even harder, my breathing labored from all the effort I''d put in during the last minute or so. I didn''t let it slow me down though and I didn''t even look back, knowing death itself was on my heels. And before I knew it was near the the top of the structure reaching out to grab the ledge to pull myself up and over. I barely succeeded in doing so before I felt something collide with the metal pillar, my eyes darting down to look at the source without even meaning to. The monster had run straight into the base of the pillar, trying to get to me but being too stupid to. Where it had hit bent the steel, almost completely breaking the thing. This made a chill go down my spine when I thought about what would happen to me if the thing caught me in it''s arms. I shook that thought clear from my head, instead turning around to find something I could use to fight. I didn''t have much time before that monstrous creature caught up to me so I started searching quickly, the terrible screams from behind me showing it''s frustration at me getting away from it. Again I just ignored it''s yells and continued frantically looking around, the area as much as a mess as the rest of the store. The reason why I picked this place to go to was because this was where Scheels kept their guns and other objects you can use to harm or kill someone. But where they stored most of the guns was buried under rubble, my heart so sinking with despair at the prospect of this being a fools errand. Suddenly I felt something shudder behind me, my body whipping around to see a zombie-like hand reach up and rip the railing from it''s foundation. Immediately I went back to looking, trying to find at least SOMETHING that could help me. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the glint of metal reflecting some of the sunlight shining through a crack in the ceiling. Without any hesitation I bolted towards the object at full sprint, a roar echoing behind me that sent shudders through my body. Directly next to a decayed skeleton sat a gun, one that I''d probably seen before but didn''t recognize. It was bigger than your average handgun. Which, if you''d never seen one before, they weren''t that big to begin with. At least, not until you get into the larger bullet casings. This one looked to be a revolver of some sort but I had no time to figure out what this type of gun was, or if it was even loaded at all. Maybe the person couldn''t get a single shot off before they died. Or maybe they shot all of the bullets before they did. In which case, I''d be joining them soon in an early grave. I felt a presence behind me, the creature hot on my heels as I threw myself to ground and pick up the gun, unable to get a good look at it to figure it out before I turned around to aim at the monster with both hands holding on. It was almost upon me, my thumb cocking the hammer back on the heavy weapon before pulling the trigger. I''d fired guns before but definitely nothing like this, the recoil far more than I expected. But I just held on as best as I could as the loud bangs that emanated from the barrel threatened to rupture my eardrums. I continued to fire without stopping, three bullets hitting the creature before it even began to slow down. When they hit it''s chest darkness puffed out like smoke instead of blood. My arms started to throb from the exertion I was putting them through but still I kept firing, pulling the hammer back twice more before the gun clicked empty. I started to panic, thinking this was the end of me before the thing stumbled forward and fell on the ground. It almost fell on top of me but I scrambled to the side so it didn''t, my heart still thudding inside of my chest. As I stared at the corpse, my instincts still raging inside of my head, I watched as it dissolved into shadow, sinking into the ground before disappearing like it had never been there. I didn''t move from where I was sitting, straining to hear for something else that was going to try and kill me. But I didn''t hear anything but my own blood rushing through my body, the last bits of my mana had inside mimicking the sound. After five minutes or so I finally relaxed a little, letting out a breath I hadn''t realized I was holding. Immediately I felt the exhaustion hit me, deciding to just like down before I continued on my way. A part of me was still terrified of what was going to happen to me and with what had just happened but the rest was exhilarated, the feeling kin to excitement. Not only had I found a gun (without bullets, but still) but I''d also survived something supernatural that I just couldn''t explain. And not only had I survived but I did so WITHOUT coming to the edge of death. I wanted to hoot and holler about my victory but I felt a pain lance through my side, my ribcage throbbing from where I got tackled. The bruise that was already there had gone from a dark red was now purple and nasty looking, one of the bones almost assuredly broken at this point. I grunted in effort as I stood up, deciding I''d had enough rest at this point. I didn''t know how safe I was being here but all things considered I doubted I was safe at all. Now since I was (hopefully) not in any imminent danger I was able to get a good look at my surroundings. After picking up my gun and putting in my waistline (no ammo, no danger of shooting my nuts off) i observed the area. The place where most of the firearms we''re normally was completely buried under rubble but if I got lucky enough I would be able to scrounge up some more weapons to use. For now, though, I decided to just look gather what I could without having to move all of the heavy rocks. Plenty more skeletal corpses littered the floor around me but none of them had another gun or even a knife around them. I even went through all of their pockets, trying to find at least SOMETHING else I could use. And before I decided to move on somewhere else I spotted, underneath some of the fallen debris, the hilt of a sword that made my heart flutter. Reaching down with tentative hands I moved some of the rocks aside, exposing the black sheath of a katana. I grabbed it as carefully as I could, hoping that it wasn''t damaged in any way. And when I slid the sleek blade out of its casing I let out a sigh of relief, the steel unbent and in almost perfect condition. I stroked my thumb across it''s sharp edge, the metal dull, but that was to be expected. Most of the swords here were decorative ones, unable to be used in a real fight, but it didn''t matter to me if this was one of those at this point. Something was better than nothing. And since magic was real I had some ideas I could try, the boundaries of what was normal being pushed into the realm of fantasies. I stared at the blade in my hands, thoughts running through my mind at the possibilities of what I could do to make this sword better. Before long I shook my head, a bemused smile on my face while I slid my newfound sword back into it''s home. I tucked this in between the belt I was wearing and my pants, making sure it was secured without getting in the way of my movements as best as I could. Next I began to look around for ammo, unsure where the management would keep it, or if they even had it in the store. If they didn''t I would have to travel to Walmart, something I wanted to avoid if I could. and who knows what would be outside waiting for me? Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. it took some work but a few minutes later i found a backpack big enough to carry what I figured id need, along with a door near the back of the store, where i presumed they stored everything they didn''t have on display. it was blocked by a large chunk of rock, almost large enough i wasn''t sure i could move it. but since i had a little bit of magic left in me i figured i''d try anyways. i didn''t need to pick it up, just needed to move it over enough i could get the door open and walk through. so i channeled power into my arms, grabbing the rock as best as i could and pushing it to the side. it barely moved but it was just enough i could slip by, and luckily the door was unlocked. I entered a short hallway with a few doors on the sides, one of them being the room for the ammo I needed. And after trying a few of them (with one having the roof collapsed and the others locked) I finally found it. Inside was rows of shelves that contained boxes of ammo, the room large enough it might take a few minutes to search through everything. "No point in waiting, I guess." I mumbled to myself, pulling out the gun and looking at it to see if I could find out what type it was. And there, are on its side, was it''s name: A Ruger GP100 .357. so no wonder the damn thing felt like it was going to blow my arm off. That also explains why it hit so hard, the power behind such a tiny thing immense. And so after putting my gun back I began to search for the ammo boxes that I needed, spending about five minutes looking before I found what I needed. With no hesitation I began to put the ammunition in the backpack, stuffing as much as I could inside of it. And before long I was back where id killed that freakish monster, trying to think of a way to get back down. It took longer than I thought it would but eventually I found a rope long enough to carry me down, tying the end of it as tight as I could to a side of the railing that seemed strong enough to hold my weight. The backpack I was wearing was heavy but not heavy enough I thought I would rip the metal from it''s base. I dropped it over the side as soon as I thought it was secure enough, looking down below to make sure i wasn''t going to hurt myself, either on the way down or when i finally reached the bottom. and once i got that out of the way i made my way down the rope as best as i could, inching my way down while pressing my feet against the wall to basically walk down it. and before i knew it was was standing on solid ground again, letting out a sigh of relief. i contemplated moving the rope somehow but i was too tired to think about it at that moment, instead just choosing to go back to my little living area and get myself situated. but as i went by the pillar that i''d somehow climbed up i had to pause, the stone different than it was before. where i had previously stuck my hands deep inside the structure was now a different color from the rest of it, as if i had changed the substance of the metal itself. it wasn''t drastically different, just a lighter color, as if i''d replaced whatever it was that was originally there with something else. i reached out a tentative hand towards the nearest spot, where i''d originally put my hand through the metal . i could practically feel the mana coming off that spot, my hand tingling from it. other than that, though, the material didn''t physically feel any different than the rest of it. i shook my head and let my hand drop down to my waist, though, and went back to walking towards the exit of the store. I wanted to figure out what it was that had happened to me in that moment, considering since i was pretty sure that was the same thing that had happened to me when i''d seen the ghosts earlier, but there would be time for that later. maybe after i took a nap. which is what i did after i got back to the my little area i made for myself, emptying out the ammo and lining it up next to my food that was along the back wall. I didn''t bother taking my clothes off (since i might need to get up and move quickly, so putting clothes on would probably get me killed) and as i laid down on the cold, hard ground, using my now-empty backpack as a pillow as best i could, i began to wish i was laying on my bed again. i could feel my emotions growing inside of me, tears threatening to break free from my eyes. but i just forced it all down inside of me, taking a deep breath before forcing myself to let my exhaustion take me over into the land of sleep. waking up after what i would presume was a few hours after i fell asleep i felt groggy but refreshed, letting out a yawn as i sat up and scratched at my head. my neck was a little sore but altogether i felt a lot better than i had before, the mana i''d previously used up having come back by a decent amount. the pool of energy was only about halfway full but that was better than nothing, and considering since i now had a stash of ammo along with a gun i could effectively use, i was ready for almost anything that was going to come my way. and speaking of my gun, i felt a little bit of excitement overcome me as i grabbed and ammo box and pulled my weapon out from where i''d put it before. it took me a minute or so but i quickly found a button next to ammo chamber, popping out the cylinder and dumping the empty shells into my open hand. i tossed them over the counter and tore open the ammo box i had, excitedly pulling out the bullets and putting them in my gun. they fit perfectly but since i''d never loaded a handgun before i didn''t know if that mattered or not, but honestly it didn''t matter. if i somehow got the wrong ammo then all i would have to do is grab a different caliber from the room i was in before. i would find out soon enough anyways, though, grabbing my sword with my left hand after stuffing a handful of bullets in my pocket. i stood up with a stretch and let out a yawn, forcing that sleepiness out of me as best as i could. there would be time for more sleep again later, when i was done with training myself. i could have as powerful of a gun as i would want and as strong of magic as i would want but that doesn''t mean anything if i couldn''t use any of it effectively. so i walked over to the ice rink and stepped through a panel of broken glass into one of the areas on the right. this spot was set aside for the hockey teams or ice skaters if they needed a break, the spot directly connected to the ice. putting my sword down on top of one of the benches there i stretched a bit, my muscles still sore from earlier. i kept my gun in my hand though, knowing that it would be dumb to set that down where someone (or something) else could grab it. i needed target practice for shooting so i hopped back up through the broken glass, stepping over a few skeletons before i could grab one of the overturned tables. it was heavy, but not heavy enough i needed to use magic to carry it. my muscles strained a bit but it felt good as i set it down on the far side of the ice rink. i made sure to lay it on its side so the top of it was facing me, a perfect target for my amateur shooting. I walked back over to my original position and took a deep breath, calming my nerves and concentrating on the table in front of me. i cocked the hammer back, remembering what i was taught about shooting a gun, letting out that same breath as i squeezed the trigger slowly. the sound was just as loud as it was before, perhaps even more so since i was concentrating on it this time around. but i didn''t jump at all, keeping my arm as steady as i could before repeating myself and shooting off another shot. i didn''t want to waste much ammo but i knew that shooting only a few shots wouldn''t be helpful compared to firing off two whole magazines. and so that''s exactly what i did, shooting the gun as accurately as i could with my minimal experience. and so about five minutes later, after reloading twice so my gun had a full mag again, i stuck a finger in my right ear, the loud ringing i heard barely tolerable. next time i would have to make my own makeshift ear muffs. if i didn''t want to go deaf, anyways. i walked across the concrete and stepped in front of the table, looking at my horrible accuracy with a sigh. i was aiming for the center but none of my twelve shots even made it, half of the circling the outer edge while the other half was in random spots. i shook my head and just moved on with my day, knowing that if i keep practicing ill be good soon enough. as i moved back to where i put my sword i found the safety button and turned it on so i wouldn''t shoot myself at some point, setting the gun down in a spot where someone would have to walk right by me to get to. i set my sword next to it too, even though i wanted to started practicing with that now but there was something i wanted to confirm first. so i stood still and closed my eyes, going through those moments before i climbed up the pillar in my mind. i recreated the situation in my head as best as i could, drawing in the same feeling i felt before. the panic, the frustration, the pure fear i felt as death came for me. and as i continued to replay that moment in my mind i felt something on the edge of my senses. no, that wasn''t right...it felt like it WAS one of my senses, as if it was a part of me just as much as my other five were. without any hesitation i grabbed onto that feeling, letting it fill me like i did with my magic. and when the feeling bubbled over i felt it fuse with me, as if i''d finally accepted a part of me that was always there. the similarities to how i felt when i first discovered my magic was almost disconcerting but i didn''t let it affect me. instead i just slowly opened my eyes and watched as the world changed around me. but it wasn''t anything like before, my body beginning to shake from the scene that i saw. around me was completely covered in blood and body parts were strewn about like confetti. the ice rink was an area of death, blood dripping from the ceiling in large globs that pooled around me. i could feel the world around me as if i was a part of it, nothing but a feeling of pure disgust and pain beginning to slowly overcome me. but i forced it down as best as i could, taking in everything as best as i could. around the rink was almost nothing but pure darkness, tendrils of it seeming to reach for me. i could feel something on the edge of the darkness begin to take notice of me, a growl emanating from a pair of red eyes that appeared from where i was looking. immediately i closed my eyes and shut down that part of me that could sense these things, my mind grinding to a halt as the the world snapped back to normal around me. i almost didn''t want to believe it but the feelings that i had before were now gone, my breathing beginning to slow down back to normal. i took a few deep breaths and then opened my eyes to the ice rink the way it was before. nothing was around me and the monster that i had witnessed from multiple times before nowhere to be seen. i could feel myself begin to shake from fear at the thought of meeting that thing again, not wanting a repeat of earlier in the day. at least not so soon, anyways. which brought me back to the whole reason i was here: training. whatever it was that i just saw could wait for later, when i could actually think about it without thinking i might get attacked by a monster that could rip my head off with two fingers. so i picked up my sword and drew it from its sheath, drawing my finger across the dull blade to make sure that it really was dull. "Okay." I whispered to myself, reaching into my magic and formulating what i wanted to do in my mind. as soon as i got a clear image and feeling in my head i channeled it into my sword, my mana coursing through me and into the blade. visually nothing seemed to change so i drew my thumb across the edge of the blade again, this time almost slicing it open to bleed all over the ground. i smiled in satisfaction as i let the spell go, the blade going back to the way it was before. so now i knew that i could not only make myself stronger by using magic but i could also do the same on the objects around me. this gave way to a lot more ideas i could test out, thousands of them forming in my mind. but i pushed most of them to the side and instead concentrated on just one, thinking about the science behind how you make yourself more physically fit. every time you do some sort of strenuous workout to make your muscles stronger you tear them little by little, forcing them to compensate for the damage done by repairing itself to be better than it was before so it didn''t happen again. this made me think of an anime i used to watch all of the time, where a particular character would sit inside of a chamber that multiplied the gravity around him so he would get stronger. so i attempted to recreate the same thing, gathering my energy in my body until i felt it was good enough to do what i wanted. when i got to that point i activated the spell, increasing the pressure on my body little by little until i felt like there was wearing a weight training suit, my body already straining to just stand up. but i kept the spell going, bringing up my sword vertically in front of me. then i began to swing as hard and fast as i could, which wasn''t very fast at all in this situation. and even as i started to sweat i didn''t stop, swinging the katana around with as precise movements as i could. this only lasted about ten minutes but at the end of it i was drenched in sweat, my mana almost drained completely while my body felt like it was hit by a train. i flopped down onto the cold concrete, the area free from blood stains so i didn''t feel nearly as gross about what i was doing. the ground felt cool and i almost wanted to take a nap but i knew it wouldn''t be safe to do that here so instead i just laid there for a few minutes, getting my breath back before standing up (albeit a bit wobbly) and picking up my gun. i immediately wanted to go to sleep but i didn''t, instead getting back to my little hovel and eating as much food as i could. i stuffed my face for the next few minutes or so, scarfing down as much canned food as i could before gulping an entire water bottle down. i could feel my body screaming at me to just lay down and rest but i refused to, standing back up from behind the counter as my muscles strained in pain. i left my sword this time and made sure my guns safety was off and i had extra ammo in my pocket, taking my new backpack along with me as i went back to the clothing store i was at before. i needed more clothes because even though i couldn''t take a proper shower i still needed to change my clothes as often as i could. i may not be as clean as i would want to be but dammit i would be as clean as i could be. that and i needed a damn pillow and blanket because i would be damned if i didn''t have that tonight. after i was done with that, though, i made sure to get to sleep and dream good dreams.