《The Divining》 - Prologue Prologue *Huff, huff, huff* The sound of heavy breathing. *Thump, thump, thump* The sound of my heart beating. *Vvvrrrmmm!* The sound of an engine running at full throttle. *Click, Boom!!* "Fucker!" My scream of despair as the engine burns out. I scramble out of the car grabbing my bag and the two inch S&W snub revolver. I glance behind me and run towards my apartment one block away. Almost there! I''m almost there! Climbing over a pile up of cars I hear nothing behind me but I know they''re coming. I make it over as a shadow passes over me. I pull out the revolver and train it in front as I crouch down. Landing in front of me, it crushed an old truck and flipped over a sedan. Mankind''s newest threat has arrived, beasts from a different world. It resembles a wolf but you could never confuse it with one. Five times bigger, glowing black fur with yellow and orange streaks, it''s paws were huge and it''s shoulders massively disproportionate to its frame. But the biggest difference was its huge mouth, as wide as a tigers but still long like a wolf. "Human! You are fast for your kind, and very resourceful. For evading me for so long I will show mercy and end you swiftly." Oh yeah, they''re also intelligent. "Better idea, why don''t you run off with your tail between your legs before I have to kill you." "He he, you jest human. What can you possibly do to harm me? Your puny weapon barely wounds my hide." He''s right, this revolver doesn''t pack enough punch to hurt him let alone kill him. I just need to buy enough time. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. "Who said anything about killing you with this? If you want a real challenge let me draw out my real weapon." "Hmph, I have you within my grasp. Why should I give you the chance to fight for escape?" "Escape? Who said anything about escape? I''m saying I can kill you, and the way to do it is in my bag." "hehehe . . . Hahahahaa . . . Surely you jest, a mere human kill the great me?!" The wolf pawed at the ground in an amused manner kicking up some clumps of mud. "Are you scared?" "GROWL!! SCARED!? I DARE YOU TO TAKE OUT THAT WEAPON AND SEE HOW YOU FAIR AGAINST ME!" "No need" "Wha-" I pull the trigger and fire my incendiary round into the puddle of gasoline under the truck full of manure. *BOOM!!* Ow! Shit! Got nailed in the arm with the fucking bumper! Think it''s broken. The remains of the wolf was scattered about. Hurt badly but not dead I painfully reached my apartment and climbed up. "You look like shit, here I''ll help you up" A sonorous light voice reaches my ears and a tall, fit woman grabs me by my good arm and hauls me up the stairs. "Well you smell like shit" And I pass out. ~~~~~~~~~~ Hello everyone! Thanks for giving this a read, I''m new to this whole writing thing and I would love whatever criticism or compliments you can give! Please tell me what you like and what you don''t like, I''ll be posting chapter one shortly Peace, Kilsikon7 Chapter 1 Chapter 1 One year earlier I''m tired, so very tired The sun peeked through the curtains burning into my eyes. "Fuck it, I''m going back to sleep" I turn away from the light and throw my pillow over my head. "Wake up! You got work lazy ass!" A banshee screeches into my room, piercing my ears with it''s high pitched wailing. I feel the onset of a headache that accompanies me everyday. Stomping over, the banshee, my best friend Teresa, tears the blanket off me revealing my boxer brief clad body. "Groan . . . Leave me alone, I don''t wanna go to work" "Well too bad! I need you to pay the other half of the rent. Now come on, get your lazy ass up before I kick it up." Proceeding to take the road of lesser abuse, I slither off the bed onto the floor where I drag myself to my laundry hamper. "Breakfast is on the counter, day old mac an'' cheese" "Thanks Lucifer . . ." "Haha, very funny, see you at Tom''s " She leaves the room as I reach the hamper. I pull out a gray v-neck T and a pair of khakis. I grab a pair of socks from my dresser and proceed to the washroom with my clothes tucked under my arm. "Wo! Dude! Pants, man!" Exclaimed Teresa¡¯s boyfriend who seemed to be eating egg on toast. Great, now I want egg on toast . . . Maybe mac and cheese on toast. I grunt and walk into the washroom to appear acceptable to the rest of the world. As I freshen up Teresa¡¯s boyfriend Mark? Mac? Morry? Whatever it was knocks on the door. "Hey, Tere told me to remind that we''re having dinner at Tom''s tonight." I grunt loudly in affirmation with a toothbrush in my mouth. Definitely will try mac and cheese on toast. "Alright, I''m taking off. Oh yeah you guys are out of bread." Curse you Morry, Mac, Marc!! After eating my mac and cheese with NO toast I left for work. The elevator jitters and stops as it reaches the ground floor of my apartment complex. The door opens and everyone piles out like baby turtles freshly hatched. That''s some allegory if I ever saw one. Baby turtles racing towards the open sea, their goal. Only to be impeded by predators waiting to devour them. I nod at the security guard Hakim like I do everyday and he ignores me like everyday. Reaching the front door I push it open and head for the bus stop. The weather was rather hot for a fall morning, people were dressed rather lightly. I take off my backpack and my windbreaker. I tie the windbreaker around my waist and walk off as I throw my pack back on. Streets weren''t crowded yet since it was still early so I got to enjoy the sights in the concrete jungle. Why concrete jungle though? With how much glass we have now you''d think we''d adopt a new name, like quartz forest or glass maze. I arrive at the stop and stand under the shelter. The usual people are here as well; Old lady Margery, the piercings asian girl, Bob, and tattoo face man. The bus arrives and we all get on. "Good morning folks! Beautiful morning isn''t it?" The driver is cheerful as always, I smile and nod at him. Finding a seat I pull out my earbuds and plug in for the trip. Good ol'' rock, it''s the soundtrack to my soul. Drifting off into my little world I wait for my stop. The bus stops short after a while and I take a look outside to see a police barricade. Huh, did something happen? I stand to take a better look when suddenly I''m sent flying. *Crash* I get thrown straight into the pole head first and everything goes black. ¡°I¡¯M ON THE HIGHWAY TO HELL!¡± I wake up to the sound of my playlist and a world of flickering lights within inky blackness. The floor was cold and my neck felt like a kangaroo decided to use it as a trampoline. Where am I? Why is it so dark? Shit my head hurts. I push myself and pull my earbuds out, looking around I realized I was in a turned over bus. What the hell? I look around the bus and remember that I was on my way to work like every morning when we got stopped by the police. Something hit us and I was knocked out. I look around to find bags and strewn all over the place. Walking towards the rear of the bus I see the damage. The back half of the bus was crushed in like an accordion. If I didn''t stand up I probably would have been crushed in my seat. Cold sweat starts to run down my back. Deep breathes Isaac, deep breathes. I calm down and go looking for my bag in the wreckage. I find it and carefully crawl out from one of the broken windows. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. A scene from every apocalypse movie appears before me; things were on fire, car crashes everywhere, blood and ravaged bodies. Shit, fuck, shit, what the fuck. I didn''t dare breathe, the atmosphere was crushing. *AWOOOOO* A wolf''s howl pierces my senses forcing me back to reality. I look around and find the cop from this morning on the floor. I run towards him to find that he was missing his whole lower body. Dead. It looked like he was eaten half way before whatever it was decided to leave him to die from blood loss. The scariest part was that I didn''t recognize any of the bite marks, they were from creatures I have never researched before. A new animal? The canines are similar to wolves but the jaw line is far too wide, the teeth marks look like they were chewed out not ripped out. It''s as if a tiger grew wolf teeth with serrated edges. I was getting distracted, pulling myself together I started checking the cops body. It was a disgusting mess and I felt my stomach churn fiercely as I picked through the cops uniform. I found a pack of cigarettes, a lighter, an empty holster and the S&W two inch snub nosed revolver in the cops hands. I check the revolver over, there was four shots left. It had been a lifetime ago since I last held a gun in my hands. The sun beat down on my skin as bullets whistled across the streets. Men and children screamed and wailed as the sand congealed with blood. The sound of magazines clattering against my belt as I ran with my AK-47. The acrid scent of iron so thick it threatened to take all of my senses. Enough! That was a long time ago, I¡¯m not at war, not anymore. I stand back up and take in my surroundings. I didn¡¯t see any movement around me so I decided to head back to my apartment, I start walking. Taking out my phone the time was 20:13 and a whole lot of missed calls. I dialed my voicemail and started listening through. The first call was from my boss asking where I was so I promptly deleted that, the next one was far more important. ¡°It¡¯s Tere. My building just went into lockdown, I¡¯m not sure why but I just overheard one of other workers saying the police are being deployed city wide to stop something. Apparently the Military is going to be deployed too. Call me back soon, and hide somewhere safe.¡± *Beep* ¡°End of messages.¡± I hang up and move to check my texts when I noticed something move in the corner of my eye. Putting my phone away I turn and widen my stance while pulling my gun sights up and secure the revolver with both hands. ¡°Don¡¯t shoot! don¡¯t shoot! I¡¯m human!¡± A chubby black man in a tattered business suit limps out of the alley. I lower my gun and walk over to him as I look around. Coming closer I noticed the man''s eyes are bloodshot, and that he was clearly scratched up and scared. ¡°Cmon, let¡¯s head back into the alley, there must be a good reason why you¡¯re so scared¡± I half carry the black man back into the alley. Reaching.the alley I settle the man down and check his leg. "What happened to the city?" I ask as I ripped his pant leg open.the ankle was swollen, most likely a serious sprain. "What happened to the city? Where were you the whole time? The cities gone to hell is what happened." "I got caught in a car crash this morning, only woke up a few minutes ago." *Snort* "Guess that makes you a lucky one. Or not really, you''d have to see them eventually." I dig through my bag and take out my medkit. I pull out the bandage wrap and some painkillers. I hand two tablets and my water bottle to him as I start remove his dress shoes. "I didn''t catch your name, I''m Isaac." "Dave" "Nice to meet you Dave, now what were saying about seeing ''them''?" Dave shivered and started to sweat, his eyes darting around erratically. Paling slightly he started to whisper. "Beasts straight from hell itself, damnable creatures. They came out of nowhere and started to destroy everything. I saw one up close, it fell from the sky onto the car in front of me. Ripped the roof right off it and laughed as it ripped the man inside apart. I ran man, I got out of the car and just ran." I finished bandaging his ankle just as he finished his story. He sounds like he''s gone from fear, but if it''s true. . . "Could you describe this beast?" "I-I wouldn''t even know where to begin. That beast, I can''t, I''m sorry, I can''t." He''s clearly beyond shaken "It''s alright, you''re safe with me. Do you know where it''s safe? Did any of the authorities broadcast some sort of shelter?" "No, I mean I don''t know, I was just running and running" "It''s okay I think I might know a place nearby. Cmon, let''s move." I''m not far off from my apartment, I know this area well enough to find a good hiding spot for now. I pick up Dave and we start heading towards my neighbourhood. I walk past Tom''s pub and dining and turn into the alley. I get to the door and pull, it opened smoothly. Thank god Tom never remembers to lock his back room. I check over my shoulder one last time before Dave and I step in. ~~~~~~~~~~ Opinions? I''ll have Chapter 2 out sometime this week, unless you guys can convince me otherwise PEACE! Kilsikon7 Chapter 2 Chapter 2 I switch on the lights inside Tom''s, the bulbs flicker a bit before holding steady. The old fluorescent lights give off a deep hum as we make our way to the back office. This kitchen is surprisingly clean, you''d think it would be mess given how it looks outside. I make it to the door and turn the knob. It was locked. "Tch. We''ll need to find another way in or break down the door." From inside the room I hear some shuffling and footsteps, the door clearly wasn''t soundproof. "Isaac, is that you?" "It''s me Tom mind opening up?" The locks click and the door opens up a crack to reveal a sandy haired man with a slightly crooked nose and a stubbly square chin. "Thank God, it really is you." Capitol G, you can hear it in his voice. With a sigh of relief Tom steps back and lets us in. "Who''s that you''re lugging in with you?" "Dave, met him on my way here, he''s got a sprained ankle. I did a quick wrap and he''s most likely a little woozy from the painkillers." Tom shakes his head as he drags his hand across his face stopping at his chin. "Always bringing trouble my way aren''t you? Alright, seat him down." I set Dave onto the big recliner behind the desk. He was more or less about to pass out. "You''ll be safe here, don''t worry" "No . . . Nowhere is sa-safe, nowhere . . ." "He''s right you know." Dave passes out and I turn to see Tom holding his Remington 870 Pump-action shotgun. Tom looked shaken, his left hand trembling as he grasped his cross pendant. Thomas Trymman Moore always looked liked a man cut from stone, but whatever happened today had shaken him to bits. His sunken eyes told me how bad it was, but I needed to hear it. ¡°What happened?¡± Letting out a breathe Tom closed his eyes seeming to gather strength as he took a breathe back in. ¡°It was like every other morning, I sat down at my desk to go through the bills and orders. The work day started and my staff started coming in, I got a few calls from some of them saying roadblocks were being set up by the police. Half hour later the radio started broadcasting for everyone to stay indoors and to hide. Most of my staff had family so I closed up shop and told them to go home. I stayed behind to clean up.¡± ¡°And then?¡± Tom¡¯s face scrunches up as he recalls the morning. ¡°Howling, that was the most distinct sound. But there was much more; screams, roars, screeches, growls. It sounded like someone had lit a fire at the zoo during a school trip. It was an abominable amount of noise, I stayed in my office since, just listening to the radio.¡± ¡°Was there any useful information?¡± ¡°There was one last broadcast informing citizens to abandon their vehicles and to either leave the city or buckle down in the nearest secure building.¡± Hope everyone¡¯s okay, wait, my messages! I reach into my pocket for my cell and found nothing but lint. I must have dropped it on the way here, shit. ¡°I need to head back out Tom, keep an eye on Dave for me?¡± ¡°You¡¯re crazy if you think I¡¯ll let you back out there. Who know¡¯s what creatures are roaming the streets!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I just dropped my phone outside. I won¡¯t be too far out.¡± Not waiting for an answer I drop my backpack and leave with just the revolver. I sneak out the backdoor and start carefully searching the ground for my phone. Backtracking the path I took to get to Tom¡¯s I manage to find my cell at the alley where I found Dave. Here we are, shit, dead battery. I¡¯ll need to get it charged back at Tom¡¯s. As I turn to leave a shadowy figure appeared in the corner of my eye. I instantly train my revolver onto it. It was a small creature, about the size of a racoon. It resembled a pitbull but with short gray fur, overly thick limbs and some sort of hump. The most eye catching part was its saber toothed maw, two giant fangs, serrated like a saw. After a few seconds the creature smiled and started to chortle. ¡°Kehehehe. You¡¯re the first human I¡¯ve met who hasn¡¯t run off or tried to kill me on sight. Amusing.¡± THAT THING CAN TALK?! ¡°Why thank you . . . I think.¡± The strange Pitbull finally stopped laughing and gave off a deep sigh. ¡°I do hope you can continue to amuse me some more before you die. You humans are such fragile creatures. I¡¯ll give you 10 seconds before I begin the hunt.¡± Finishing its sentence, the Pitbull simply stood there and started counting down. ¡°Te - *BANG!*¡± I fired a shot straight between its eyes, and I watched the bullet pancake itself across the forehead and fall off. There was small hole where blood began to pool, but that was all. What the fuck? ¡°Kehehe, nine, eight . . .¡± I run, as fast as my legs can carry me heading for the fire escape across the street. I leap for the ladder and just managed to grab it before I began to haul myself up revolver still in hand. ¡°Four, three, two, one, Kehehehe IT¡¯S TIME TO HUNT!¡± I scrambled up the fire escape making it to the third floor when I see the Pitbull run literally right through a car. one second the car was whole the next there was a gaping hole in it¡¯s side as if someone fired a large cannonball through it. I saw the Pitbull land a bit aways from the alley staring at me. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re the first to climb up. Interesting, rather amusing, kehehehe. But that won¡¯t stop me¡± The Pitbull let¡¯s out a toothy grin and runs at the wall opposite from the fire escape. I feel cold sweat drench my back as my stomach clenched up with a warning of danger. I book it up the stairs taking two steps at a time. The Pitbull leapt at the opposite wall and jumped off it to land onto the fire escape that was 14 feet off the ground. You have got to be fucking kidding me. I kept running and knocking anything on the windowsills down behind me to atleast try to slow it out. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¡°Hahaha! Very enjoyable! Yes, entertain me some more human!¡± The Pitbull running up the stairs simply crushed or knocked aside the obstacles as if they were made from air, but at least it slowed down. I finally reached the top, Someone had turned it into their own little getaway with a giant sandbox, poolside lounge chairs, a trampoline and a giant umbrella. I think I have plan. I run towards the trampoline rip off it¡¯s protective netting and push it to the corner of the roof. Knowing there wasn¡¯t much time left I grab the giant umbrella and place it over the trampoline hiding it from view. I then stacked the lounge chairs in front of it and stood on top staring at the fire escape. The Pitbull just reaches the roof as I get ready. ¡°Hey, short and ugly, I never caught your name!¡± ¡°Hmph. You dare to speak to me with such vulgar words and tone? You sour my mood.¡± Guess I¡¯m not getting his name, no matter. He¡¯s prideful and clearly can¡¯t stand insults ¡°Oh I¡¯m sorry, do you prefer stubby and stupid? How about Hunchback? Oh I know! Mr. Hyde maybe? ¡°I know not everything you are stating but your tone is clearly one of disrespect! I¡¯ve enough of your chatter, it is time to end this¡± The Pitbull charged at me with speed faster than it seemed capable of. I fire off one shot at its head right before it leaped. I threw myself at the sandbox and watched the disaster unfold. The Pitbull had blinked when I shot it¡¯s face so it didn¡¯t have to time to change it¡¯s trajectory. It flew straight through the umbrella and bounced right off the trampoline sending it flying off a 12 floor apartment. *CRUNCH* ¡°Take that you smug poodle¡± I push myself out of the sandbox and dust off before trekking my way back to ground floor. I head back to Tom''s with caution. What kind of creature was that? Clearly a canine yet it could speak perfect english. No guttural sounds or such. Does that mean it has similar vocal cords to us? *Sigh*, I should have inspected the body. Musing to myself I arrive at Tom''s restaurant. Tom walks out of the alley and waves at me.Suddenly freezing up his eyes open up as wide as two saucers "Run you idiot!" Hearing the danger in his voice I book it towards the alley, but not before I turn to see that stupid Pitbull bounding from car to car chasing after me. You have got to be shitting me! "YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE!" It makes one final leap right towards me when I hear one loud crack of gunfire go off. *BANG* The Pitbull was sent flying backwards into a street lamp. Tom runs up and pumps another shot into the chamber. The Pitbull pops back up utterly unaffected by the fact that it is missing half its chest. *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *click* Tom was breathing heavily now, staring at the headless body. ¡°Thanks, nice shooting by the way.¡± ¡°God almighty, It¡¯s still moving . . .¡± My head snaps back to see the mess of meat slowly pulling back together. The head reshaping itself from the bits of meat and bone. The Pitbull stands back up as the last bits of skin creep up its limbs to plant themselves onto The Pitbull¡¯s face. It let open a wide toothy grin and stared back at us. ¡°Not bad. Not bad at all, Kehehe. That was very entertaining indeed, do either of you gentlemen have anything left? Or shall I put an end to this now?¡± Bloody Hell, as Tom here will probably put it. I guess we¡¯re all out of options. ¡°Any chance you¡¯ve got more shots left?¡± I whisper to Tom as we start to back up into the alleyway. ¡°I got one shot left . . . But that ain¡¯t going to do us any good.¡± The Pitbull casually approached, matching us step for step. It looked extremely smug, I didn¡¯t like that. There has to be something we can do! There has to be We finally back into the wall at the end of alley. With nothing but two shots left in my gun and one slug in Tom¡¯s the situation seemed hopeless. Finally the Pitbull stopped with a pleased look on it¡¯s face. Stupid smug faced overgrown dog, If I had a freaking grenade I¡¯d shove it right down it¡¯s throat. As I thought that Tom¡¯s backdoor flung open and Dave fell out, bringing down a 14 inch long meat cleaver right onto the Pitbull¡¯s hump. *CRACK* *ROAR* Letting out a roar of pain the Pitbull staggered forward before it turned its baleful eyes onto Dave. It leapt at Dave, turning it¡¯s back to us and revealing the damage done. The hump was cut open and inside I could see a black crystal like lustre, clearly it was cracked. That¡¯s it! ¡°Shoot the hump!!¡± I line up my gun as quickly as humanly possible and fired my last two rounds into the open wound. Tom fired his shot a fraction of a second after me. The crystal shattered right as the Pitbull bit into Dave¡¯s leg, and the Pitbull slowly melted into a pool of coal black sludge. ¡°We got him, haha! Hell yeah!¡± ¡°WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE ISAAC!¡± I snap my mouth shut and freeze up. Tom looks at me, smiles and starts to chuckle softly. ¡°But yes, ¡®Hell¡¯ yeah indeed . . .¡± I smile back. Dave starts groaning and suddenly starts convulsing rapidly. I run over and pin him down to see what¡¯s wrong. His left leg was torn apart from just that one bite, the thigh bone was bitten right through and only a scrap of flesh still attached Dave to it. Tom runs over and sees the gaping wound, shock visible on his face. The coal black sludge from the Pitbull had seeped into the opening, his leg was turning into an unhealthy shade of yellow then into purple and finally dripping black sludge. Tom ran back inside saying something about the medkit in the backroom. By the time he came back out Dave¡¯s body looked like a giant bruise and he started puking out more sludge, then he died. ~~~~~~~~~~ Eh? Eh? You liking it? Yes? No? Please tell me something! (>.<) Also I''ve been using 2000 word minimum per chapter as my post point. I''ll probably slow down on posts in the future but I plan to keep this as a thing. I''ll know the impact of this plan sooner or later but please enjoy more of my writing! Peace, Kilsikon7 Chapter 3 Chapter 3 With no way to give Dave a proper burial we had placed him in the back of the alley and draped a white cloth across his face. Tom gave his corpse a prayer. I folded Dave''s arms across his chest as Tom finished. "Amen" Tom signed the cross, knelt down placed his cross necklace against the cloth and kissed it. Putting away his necklace and standing back up he and I go back inside the restaurant with Dave''s things. We settled down in the office and started going through the items. Dave had the basics most people walked around with nowadays; cell phone, wallet, and keys. His phone was broken, no helping that, his wallet though had a bunch of business cards and pictures. Dave was a father apparently from the what the pictures told us. His wife was of Asian descent, canted eyes, straight black long hair and narrow chin. His daughter had that cute look only children can have, black curly hair like her father and eyes from her mother. I Flip the picture around I see their names written there. "With our love, Shirley and Jaina" "The right thing to do would be for us to inform them of Dave''s demise." Tom said in a heavy tone, he was downcast and looked very tired. "I''ll see if he saved the contact on his memory card, but I doubt they will answer the phone." Recovering the memory card I dialed the home and cell number but got no answer from either. "It''s been a long day Isaac, get some rest, I''ll lock the restaurant down." "Don''t forget the backdoor" Tom leaves the office and I grab a blanket from the shelf before leaving for the booths at the front of the restaurant. Tom''s really too nice sometimes, keeping blankets and stomach medicine around for late night drunks. One day he''ll get robbed by one of them . . . Or I guess not . . . I snag my backpack and find a socket to charge my phone. I turn in for the night. I wake up to my phone alarm blaring the opening rift to "Welcome to the Jungle". I go to grab my phone only to slam my hand against the edge of a table. "Oww, fucker!" I sit up to find myself in Tom''s restaurant as I slowly recall yesterday''s fiasco in my sleep deprived state. "Welcome to the jungle! We got fun and games." I turn off the alarm and the phone goes back to sleep. Turning it on I check my messages, seeing a few I start flipping through. Teresa had been messaging me all night, keeping me updated on her situation. Seems like she''s safe at her workplace so far. The latest message was from three in the morning, seems like she passed out after it. I also got a few messages from Tere''s boyfriend Marc. Thank you saved contacts, Marc aka Marcus, aka Marcus Fitzgerald. He texted some garbled up message that from which I can decipher said something about saving Teresa or something, best of luck Marc I also got a few messages from my co workers but I could care less about them. Finally I reached my last messages, also the earliest, Derek''s. I''ve known Derek for as long as I''ve been in America, and him me. Well, slightly longer actually, we both arrived on the same refugee ship. We got to know each other and he gave me my name, been friends ever since. The texts read ''The newsroom is going insane, we''re getting a lot of people calling about monster sightings. We got some earlier in the week too, out in the countryside, police told us not to report anything until they get a better picture.'' ''The police are getting a lot of radio traffic, I think I heard one of them say something about monsters. A few officers locked themselves into an office, they''re arguing about whether or not to call the military in.'' ''Mr. Kyle wants to broadcast this, big scoop, police are guarding the equipment. The officers came out, one of them is running off with a cell phone in hand, the rest are telling us to report for everyone to go home and lock the doors. Seems like quite the emergency.'' ''We''re told not to go anywhere, the police are also confiscating phones and other devices now. If there are people still here I''ll be on the third floor, office 23, second door on the right, same knock. If not, you know where. I let out a breath of air I didn''t notice I was holding in. "Well shit, at least Tere is still safe. Derek''s News office is quite far north of here, Tere''s warehouse on the other hand is just a few blocks south west." So who do I go to first? While contemplating I hear footsteps from the kitchen and Tom pops into view. "Nice to see you up and early, I whipped up some breakfast if you care to eat." "Did you make macaroni and cheese by any chance?" Tom lifts an eyebrow questioningly. "Nevermind, thanks." I get up and head for the kitchen. A blast of aroma hits me as I open the door. Displayed on the counter was dish after dish of hearty breakfast foods; crispy bacon, eggs in any way, assortment of breads, sausages, cold cuts, cheese, I can¡¯t even list it all. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°Wow, how long have you been cooking Tom?¡± He walks up behind me and pushes me in. ¡°Since last night, couldn¡¯t sleep so I did what I knew best.¡± ¡°Are those deviled eggs? And hollandaise sauce? Fresh bread?¡± ¡°Yes, yes, now shut your mouth and start eating.¡± After stuffing myself full of delicious food I sat back and started pondering over my next step. ¡°What¡¯s on your mind?¡± Tom asked with his broad back turned to me. He quietly stirred his pot of soup, waiting for my reply. We stayed like that for a few minutes, him cooking and me just sitting there. I gave in first. ¡°Tere¡¯s in trouble and so is Derek. Last I heard they were both stuck at work. What should I do?¡± Tom grunted in acknowledgment and continued to cook, moving from his pot of simmering soup to a large oven where he was slow roasting some chicken. ¡°Tere¡¯s a strong girl, she¡¯ll be fine. Derek is probably hiding in some place, he was always good at sneaking about.¡± Taking out the chicken he started taking it apart deftly with his knife. ¡°So . . . What should I do?¡± ¡°The way I see it you¡¯re not saving anyone until you save yourself.¡± Tom washed his hands down and started pulling vegetables from the fridge. Leafy greens and heirloom tomatoes. ¡°God shows mercy to those who deserve it. This could be a trick of the Devil or the end of times.¡± Tom finally stops his busy hands and stares me down. ¡°Isaac, you may not be a believer in God, but your actions have many times shown your devotion to His teachings. If this is indeed the work of the devil, God will guide you and protect those you love.¡± Tom goes back to preparing food leaving me time to think a bit. All that fancy religious chatter and I¡¯m no closer to figuring out my next step. Letting out a breath of air I stand and leave to the front of the restaurant. I begin to scan the room, figuring out what I could potentially use on my trip to whomever I would head to first. An hour so later Tom steps out from the kitchen. He hands me two large plastics bags. ¡°Here, you¡¯ll need this. I know you better than you think Isaac, I¡¯ve watched over you kids for the past 14 years. Even though neither of them need help right now it doesn¡¯t mean they won¡¯t in the future.¡± He walks over to the bar and starts to dig through it. ¡°And knowing you Isaac, you¡¯re going to rush out, unprepared to face whatever evil lurks in the shadows to get them home.¡± Tom stands back up with a large metal briefcase about four feet long and two feet tall in his hands. He sets it down on the counter and fiddles with the locks. ¡°So I won¡¯t tell you what to do. Because you already know. Go save Derek first, he probably has no food at hand and he can¡¯t defend himself, violence isn¡¯t in him, bless his soul.¡± The case pops open and he turns it around. ¡°Now then, pick your poison boy.¡± Inside that metal case held an armoury. An Ak-47, Beretta M9, Glock 18, MP 9, flash grenades, smoke grenades, and several knives. ¡°How? Why? Tom, this, this is . . . How did you get your hands on all of these?.¡± Utterly flabbergasted I stumble through my question. Tom gives me a smile that doesn¡¯t reach his eyes, his face seemed to darken as he answered me. ¡°You¡¯re not the only who has seen war boy.¡± I stare at him in shock. I never told anyone except Tere, how did he know? ¡°Every man comes back changed. I may never have met you before but I can see it in the way you walk, in the way you speak, and in the way you approach life. Now then, let''s get you ready¡± Two more hours passed. Tom showed me his weapons and how each one worked during this time. We also planned out my approach and ran through a few other ideas. I asked if he was coming along, he refused to join me and said that he could do more here. The sun was at its peak when we finished equipping me. I took the Glock with its detachable stock, a Bowie like knife, a diving knife, the revolver I first had, and a smoke grenade. My backpack also held the food and some extra ammo. The weight reminded me of a time long ago but I squelched it before it could bother me. ¡°I¡¯m off Tom¡± ¡°May God be with you.¡± I step out from the back, to my left was Dave''s corpse and to my right was the way out of the alley. I turned away from the grisly reminder and headed out to rescue Derek. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hey guys! Sorry it took so long :P Life has been pretty rough lately, I won''t bore you with the details but I''ll just tell you that it''s work issues and family emergencies at the same time. Hope you like this one, I think it might be a little clunky since I didn''t get to write it all out consistently. Peace! Kilsikon7