Sea of Blood
I
Somewhere in the United States, 2037
The crash awoke Mandy Sterling with a start. She closed her eyes, smiled. It was the police sirens once again, undoubtedly searching for the men and women the President of the United States of Europe had deemed "sickening, a crudely-made opposition to a better Europe." The perverse orders had even infected the crumbling United States, and officials all throughout the world were swift in making the orders. Mandy's eyes darted over her belongings as her heart seemingly stopped thumping in her chest. Was it her imagination, or had the sound of the police vehicle grown loudest-and faded-in front of her apartment?
She hated to think if the police were coming to bust the land's squatters. Her eyes darted frantically over her belongings. If they were coming, what items of value could she possibly take? The filth and grime stuck to the rotting walls, the torn and shredded purple curtains that reeked with the stench of decomposition? She shook her head and lowered her gaze. Only the clothes on her back and the stake attached to her belt were of value.
Slowly, she took herself to the window and peered out. Indeed, the squad car was directly below the window. With a heavy sigh, she rolled her eyes. It looked like another night of fleeing upon the rooftops.
There was a loud crash, followed by the clicking of a trigger. She let out a cry as she listened to the wood aside her head splinter from the force of a bullet. Woodchips flung at her face as she defensively raised her arms for protection. Heavy footsteps came up behind her.
"Ma'am. We see that you appear to be carrying some sort of.stake? You're ordered to drop your weapons, or do you think you're going to stab me to death? Sugar, before you could even get close to me, I'd have you filled with bullets."
She turned to the man behind her and blinked. He wasn't much older than she was, she presumed, but then again, a lot of the recently elected weren't as old as their predecessors were. Many fathers, grandfathers, mothers, and grandmothers had mysteriously vanished in the twinkle of an eye nearly three weeks ago, but the buzz had not yet faded. Celebrities crowded the screens of the televisions whining and griping about their losses of a brother, a sister, even a parent or two. Amanda Sky Sterling had lost her parents and five siblings. As far as she knew, she was the last remaining Sterling of her bloodline in the state. And who knew how many other girls her age were facing the same situation? She offered a sympathetic smile to the officer.
"I take it you lost someone, too?"
"That's none of your business, Ma'am. Hands above your head, and you'd better be silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law."
"Your father? Did you lose your father?" She blinked, glancing to the tarnished copper bar that read 'Temple' on his blue coat. He narrowed his silver eyes at her and raised his gun.
"So what if I lost my father?"
"I lost mine, too."
For a moment, the officer fell silent before shaking his head.
"This is an arrest, Miss Sterling. You're not to be making such catty remarks."
"You seem to be forgetting that order in this world is gone. There's no such thing as the 'court of law' or 'fairness' or 'justice' anymore. You've been given permission to slaughter over three billion people worldwide."
'Temple,' as Mandy so far knew him, closed his eyes in indecisiveness. Somewhere further beyond sirens blared again. Mandy closed her eyes and looked to him. His lips pursed shut before cracking slightly.
"What's your name?"
"Aaron." He blinked, lifting his gaze to her. "Run until you find someplace safe.the library downtown is unusually vacant, and surprisingly enough, we've made no busts for squatters there yet. I'll head back to the station and destroy your records."
Her lips curled into a smirk. "Then we'll meet again?"
"You have ten seconds before you start shooting."
Mandy unsheathed her stake and tore out the window. The freezing November air chilled her to the bone, and she slid slowly across the tiles of the roof. There were more voices coming from inside her small apartment, and it took all of her strength to continue going forward. She and her family had lived in utter poverty their entire lives, and had engaged in almost complete peace until the European Union's President, Brooklynn Savannah, had issued his orders for a better world. She could still remember that television broadcast in the back of her mind.
".It is this day mandated that every one of the hunger, of the African American, of the Asian, of the Hispanic, of the Native American, and any other race that is not of Caucasian; it is mandated that all of the poverty-stricken, debtors, Christians, and Jews be imprisoned until further notice here in the United States of Europe. I have contacted my fellow friend, the President of the United States, and after considerable actions, we have decided that this is the proper course of action. I have been your President, my friends, for three-and-a-half years, and oh, it has been a blissful reign. Let us advance in our prospects for a peaceful world union.!"
Mandy shook her head and blinked her tears away. She was the Slayer, born destined to fight all traces of evil, born for salvation no matter how she lived her life. Wild nights of intoxication and lustful play had left her spiritually broken and lost. The God she had so long believed was just a mere by-stander in her sinful affairs had left her, muddled her into a pile of people who were so far beneath her. Perversities were everywhere, having gained a tight reign over the world-and even her life. For the three weeks after the disappearances of her family members, she had engaged in long nights of fun, as even her Watcher had mysteriously vanished with them. There was no longer anyone around to tell her how to live her life, and for some time, it had been enjoyable to have her freedom.
Until the police started investigating her neighborhood, anyway; she had lived in peace until the police started beating down her door nearly every day, pleading with her to give proof of her billing payments. Anyone three months or more behind in their rent and whatnot was considered a debtor, and imprisoned-or, as she knew, murdered, though the media would not report such atrocities to a blind, mentally impaired world. She was alone.
Her feet didn't stop until she was standing on the footsteps of the nice but vacant library. Nice, darkly-stained glass windows served to shield out the light, and the dark bricks seemed to have the appeal of a Church or synagogue. She moved towards the door and gripped the handle-and when it didn't give way, she slammed a fist through the glass, her lips peeling into a smirk.
"Hope no one's home, unless they want to be rained down on by shards of glass."
Soon enough, her feet were on the library's plush carpet-a place she'd rarely been, even when attending to her schooling. She managed a heavy sigh as she paced through the rows of books, biting her lip as she remembered all the others who had probably stepped through these halls. How many of them had been taken away to a land of bliss-and how many others were left behind to Hell?
Tap, tap.
Mandy lifted her head and raised her stake.
"Nice. Robbing a library? Really, the jewelry and electronics stores are just across the street."
"Oh, darling Amanda Sterling.I'm not here to rob the library at all."
She blinked as a man nearing his late twenty's emerged from the shadows on a pearly cane, his dark eyes hidden behind a pair of sunglasses. She bit her lip and giggled.
"Let me guess, you're a vampire?"
"No, Miss Sterling. Your watcher."
She violently shook her head. Benjamin Watts was her watcher, and even though at the time she had hated the grandfatherly man, she was really beginning to miss the sound of his voice-especially now that the young man before her claimed to be replacing him. Vehemently, she shook her head.
"No."
"No?"
"I'm the Slayer. You're the victim. Stay out of my way, I stay out of yours. Damn you, fool. Never speak such blasphemies to my face!"
I
Somewhere in the United States, 2037
The crash awoke Mandy Sterling with a start. She closed her eyes, smiled. It was the police sirens once again, undoubtedly searching for the men and women the President of the United States of Europe had deemed "sickening, a crudely-made opposition to a better Europe." The perverse orders had even infected the crumbling United States, and officials all throughout the world were swift in making the orders. Mandy's eyes darted over her belongings as her heart seemingly stopped thumping in her chest. Was it her imagination, or had the sound of the police vehicle grown loudest-and faded-in front of her apartment?
She hated to think if the police were coming to bust the land's squatters. Her eyes darted frantically over her belongings. If they were coming, what items of value could she possibly take? The filth and grime stuck to the rotting walls, the torn and shredded purple curtains that reeked with the stench of decomposition? She shook her head and lowered her gaze. Only the clothes on her back and the stake attached to her belt were of value.
Slowly, she took herself to the window and peered out. Indeed, the squad car was directly below the window. With a heavy sigh, she rolled her eyes. It looked like another night of fleeing upon the rooftops.
There was a loud crash, followed by the clicking of a trigger. She let out a cry as she listened to the wood aside her head splinter from the force of a bullet. Woodchips flung at her face as she defensively raised her arms for protection. Heavy footsteps came up behind her.
"Ma'am. We see that you appear to be carrying some sort of.stake? You're ordered to drop your weapons, or do you think you're going to stab me to death? Sugar, before you could even get close to me, I'd have you filled with bullets."
She turned to the man behind her and blinked. He wasn't much older than she was, she presumed, but then again, a lot of the recently elected weren't as old as their predecessors were. Many fathers, grandfathers, mothers, and grandmothers had mysteriously vanished in the twinkle of an eye nearly three weeks ago, but the buzz had not yet faded. Celebrities crowded the screens of the televisions whining and griping about their losses of a brother, a sister, even a parent or two. Amanda Sky Sterling had lost her parents and five siblings. As far as she knew, she was the last remaining Sterling of her bloodline in the state. And who knew how many other girls her age were facing the same situation? She offered a sympathetic smile to the officer.
"I take it you lost someone, too?"
"That's none of your business, Ma'am. Hands above your head, and you'd better be silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law."
"Your father? Did you lose your father?" She blinked, glancing to the tarnished copper bar that read 'Temple' on his blue coat. He narrowed his silver eyes at her and raised his gun.
"So what if I lost my father?"
"I lost mine, too."
For a moment, the officer fell silent before shaking his head.
"This is an arrest, Miss Sterling. You're not to be making such catty remarks."
"You seem to be forgetting that order in this world is gone. There's no such thing as the 'court of law' or 'fairness' or 'justice' anymore. You've been given permission to slaughter over three billion people worldwide."
'Temple,' as Mandy so far knew him, closed his eyes in indecisiveness. Somewhere further beyond sirens blared again. Mandy closed her eyes and looked to him. His lips pursed shut before cracking slightly.
"What's your name?"
"Aaron." He blinked, lifting his gaze to her. "Run until you find someplace safe.the library downtown is unusually vacant, and surprisingly enough, we've made no busts for squatters there yet. I'll head back to the station and destroy your records."
Her lips curled into a smirk. "Then we'll meet again?"
"You have ten seconds before you start shooting."
Mandy unsheathed her stake and tore out the window. The freezing November air chilled her to the bone, and she slid slowly across the tiles of the roof. There were more voices coming from inside her small apartment, and it took all of her strength to continue going forward. She and her family had lived in utter poverty their entire lives, and had engaged in almost complete peace until the European Union's President, Brooklynn Savannah, had issued his orders for a better world. She could still remember that television broadcast in the back of her mind.
".It is this day mandated that every one of the hunger, of the African American, of the Asian, of the Hispanic, of the Native American, and any other race that is not of Caucasian; it is mandated that all of the poverty-stricken, debtors, Christians, and Jews be imprisoned until further notice here in the United States of Europe. I have contacted my fellow friend, the President of the United States, and after considerable actions, we have decided that this is the proper course of action. I have been your President, my friends, for three-and-a-half years, and oh, it has been a blissful reign. Let us advance in our prospects for a peaceful world union.!"
Mandy shook her head and blinked her tears away. She was the Slayer, born destined to fight all traces of evil, born for salvation no matter how she lived her life. Wild nights of intoxication and lustful play had left her spiritually broken and lost. The God she had so long believed was just a mere by-stander in her sinful affairs had left her, muddled her into a pile of people who were so far beneath her. Perversities were everywhere, having gained a tight reign over the world-and even her life. For the three weeks after the disappearances of her family members, she had engaged in long nights of fun, as even her Watcher had mysteriously vanished with them. There was no longer anyone around to tell her how to live her life, and for some time, it had been enjoyable to have her freedom.
Until the police started investigating her neighborhood, anyway; she had lived in peace until the police started beating down her door nearly every day, pleading with her to give proof of her billing payments. Anyone three months or more behind in their rent and whatnot was considered a debtor, and imprisoned-or, as she knew, murdered, though the media would not report such atrocities to a blind, mentally impaired world. She was alone.
Her feet didn't stop until she was standing on the footsteps of the nice but vacant library. Nice, darkly-stained glass windows served to shield out the light, and the dark bricks seemed to have the appeal of a Church or synagogue. She moved towards the door and gripped the handle-and when it didn't give way, she slammed a fist through the glass, her lips peeling into a smirk.
"Hope no one's home, unless they want to be rained down on by shards of glass."
Soon enough, her feet were on the library's plush carpet-a place she'd rarely been, even when attending to her schooling. She managed a heavy sigh as she paced through the rows of books, biting her lip as she remembered all the others who had probably stepped through these halls. How many of them had been taken away to a land of bliss-and how many others were left behind to Hell?
Tap, tap.
Mandy lifted her head and raised her stake.
"Nice. Robbing a library? Really, the jewelry and electronics stores are just across the street."
"Oh, darling Amanda Sterling.I'm not here to rob the library at all."
She blinked as a man nearing his late twenty's emerged from the shadows on a pearly cane, his dark eyes hidden behind a pair of sunglasses. She bit her lip and giggled.
"Let me guess, you're a vampire?"
"No, Miss Sterling. Your watcher."
She violently shook her head. Benjamin Watts was her watcher, and even though at the time she had hated the grandfatherly man, she was really beginning to miss the sound of his voice-especially now that the young man before her claimed to be replacing him. Vehemently, she shook her head.
"No."
"No?"
"I'm the Slayer. You're the victim. Stay out of my way, I stay out of yours. Damn you, fool. Never speak such blasphemies to my face!"