In the Dark

"Anything over there?" a girl asked as she knelt on the ground while looking around.

"Um… yeah. Just this quilt." a boy responded as he stood up straight.

"Alright. Let's go home." she said. The girl's name was Rashel Walker and she was sixteen years old. She had long, brown hair and green eyes. She wore a gray sweater with some holes in it as well as ripped, blue jeans. Her brown boots were also scuffed and dirty. The boy was Reece Walker and he was fourteen years old. He had brown hair that fell in his face, but not enough to cover his eyes. He wore a black and red flannel with holes in it and ripped, black jeans. His black sneakers were just as scuffed and as dirty as his sister's.

"I wouldn't even call that a home." Reece replied as he looked over his left shoulder at her.

"Oh, come on, Reece. Just be glad we have a home, okay?" Rashel said. Reece sighed, knowing that Rashel was right. After all, nobody had much in their time.

"Yeah…" Reece said. Then, the two of them began to walk down the street. It, just like the sidewalk, was cracked and popped with craters. The buildings, if still standing, were snapped as if they were twigs. They were also cracked along the outside and some of them were stained with blood. All reminders of the war that had happened only a decade before. All reminders of when the world lost its light. All reminders of when justice was lost, and tyranny took over. All reminders of the God, the monster, who controlled humanity. All reminders of Darkseid. Reece glared, both frustrated and angered by the world his was living in. 'I still don't remember much from that day. All I remember is being outside when a large shadow passed over me. That shadow felt so dark and so cold. I didn't know it then, but I was feeling death slowly wrapping around me… so I ran. I ran to my house. I still can't remember if it was white or brown. Doesn't matter now because it's destroyed. I ran in and my mother told me to go with my sister. I was running with Rashel for what felt like an eternity, an eternity that lasted only a few steps. I looked back to see my Mom one last time, but I didn't see her face. I only saw the back of her head, and that's how I know she had brown hair like mine. I did see a face though, but at the time I didn't know who, or what, he was. I remember his eyes glowing red like blood and his smirk… his damn smirk! And that crimson omega that I see every day of my life… He stood in front of my mother with his arms behind his back, but he didn't hurt her. I don't know what he did with her. All I know is that I ran and I was crying… but not from fear. I was too young to know what I was feeling, but now, now I recognize that emotion. It's something that I see, something that I feel, something that I live in everyday. Hate. Pure, uncontrollable hate mixed with rage. I don't know what happened after that. All I remember is fire and death, but it was all blurring by. Since that day, we've lived in fear. We've lived oppressed by one man… no, one monster, Darkseid. That day would forever be known as the Day of Apokolips, the day that marked the beginning of the end. The day the Earth lost her heroes, sometimes in groups, other times one by one. But that's not all that died that day. On that day, December 31st, 2030, humanity died. We didn't die physically, we died psychologically and emotionally. We thought that if the heroes who rivaled Gods couldn't stop him, then who could? Well, I won't have it. I may not remember my mother, but she once told me that a Walker is strong and that we don't give up. She told me stories of how her and my father fought for their positions in life. I may not remember either of them, but I sure as hell won't forgive Darkseid for what's he done to me, or the world. I will change everything because I can't stand a life of nothing.' Reece thought. Each day he could only think about how much he wanted things to be different. Since the Day of Apokolips, the planet once known as Earth was renamed New Apokolips. Every day he woke up, wishing that he would wake up from some sort of nightmare and the world would be different, but every day his dream was denied. The only people Reece had was his older sister Rashel Walker, Keith Ingram, and Adrian Jackson. They were all friends that had come together in their broken world. They didn't know it at the time, but they were all set for big events in the future, events that would define just what the world can do to a person.

Reece had Rashel go home without him, deciding that he wanted to do some more scavenging of the area to see if he could find anything else they needed.

"Alright, but be home before sundown, and don't fight anybody either, got that?" Rashel said. Reece nodded and started walking away. Then, Rashel thought of something else for Reece to avoid. "Oh, and if you see any Peacekreepers, you'd better just let them be." she warned. Reece waved his right hand as he walked away, showing that he understood.

The fourteen year old boy stood in a pile of rubble and looked around for anything he could possibly find. As he brushed through the rubble, another man approached. He had short, black hair and sky blue eyes. His face was dirty with a few cuts on it from several incidents. He wore a long, tan trench coat that was tattered and dirty. His jeans were blue, but torn and stained and his boots were brown and as dirty as the rest of his body. The man began to comb through the rubble as well. After a few moments, and some exchanged glances, Reece found a pot and it was in good enough condition to be used. He picked it up and a few seconds later, he got punched in his face by the man. Reece glared up at him while the pan picked the pot up off of the ground.

"I'm taking this." the man declared.

"Screw you! I found it first!" Reece shouted. Quickly, he shot up at the man and nailed him hard in his face. The two began to brawl over the pan, even though they both knew that fighting could get them arrested or worse.

Reece walked down a street that had cracks all throughout it, spitting blood onto the streets as he walked. Just like everywhere else, there were broken buildings, shattered skyscrapers, and abandoned apartments. Eventually, he reached a house that was missing a part of its roof in the front left corner of the house and a holes along the roof as well. The window on the right had been shattered and the other one was cracked. The house looked dirty and run-down much like the few houses in sight. Reece was bleeding from his nose and from the right side of his bottom lip, but didn't bother to hide it since he knew Rashel would see it anyways. 'She's gonna beat me into the ground…' Reece thought unenthusiastically as he looked at the cracked doorstep that he stood on. Then, he pushed the door open.

"Reece!" Rashel shouted once he walked into the broken building of a home and she saw his lips and nose bleeding. She rushed to him and began to observe him. "What happened? Who did this to you?" she asked.

"You should see the other guy first." Reece answered. Rashel clenched her left hand tight on his right shoulder and then drove her fist into his stomach as hard as she could, punching him so hard that he lifted off the ground. Reece fell to the floor and held his stomach in pain.

"I told you about fighting! You know they'll take you away without giving two shits!" she shouted as she began to punch him. "What if they did, huh?! What if they took you away?!" she started, clearly choking up as she talked. "What if… What if they took you away from me?" she asked as she began to cry. Reece looked at his older sister as she cried, but he knew that he question wasn't just aimed at him. Reece sat up and hugged his sister, but she hugged him tighter.

"I'm sorry, big sis…" he apologized. After she released him, Rashel made him sit on the torn and faded, red couch in their dirty Living Room. She went into the kitchen and found a rag. Rashel turned on the faucet and its pipes groaned from their lack of maintenance as water came out. It wasn't the best water, but it was good enough for survival. She wet the rag and then went back to Reece. She wiped his blood away, still looking concerned as she cleaned his face. "Rashel, I'm fine. Honest." Reece said.

"No. No, you are not fine, you idiot!" she replied. Reece went to say something, but Rashel glared at him, letting him know that he shouldn't say anything if he didn't want to get hit. She finished wiping his blood away and then she let him stand up. "How about we go watch the sunset?" Rashel offered. Reece smiled a little because the sunset was one of the few things he enjoyed that Darkseid couldn't take away.

"Yeah, alright." he said. Then, they both shot toward the hole in their roof and made their way on top of the house. On the other side, there were two wide blankets, a red one on top and a sky blue one underneath.

"You didn't show off your powers either, did you?" Rashel asked.

"Of course not. I'm not as stupid as you." Reece answered. Rashel quickly put Reece in a headlock and held him bent over at her hip.

"What was that last part?! You want me to slaughter you, little boy?!" she growled as she made the headlock tighter.

"I'm sorry…! I'm sorry… big sis!" Reece choked. Rashel choked him for a little bit longer before releasing him. Reece rubbed his neck as he sat down on the blankets. His sister sat down next to him and the two of them smiled as they looked at the sunset. Reece's face became serious as his thoughts changed. Rashel turned her head to her brother and smiled fondly at first, but then she too got a serious look.

"Reece, I know what you're thinking and I won't let you do it. If you even try, I'll break your legs." Rashel said.

"Why won't you let me stand up to Darkseid?" Reece asked.

"Because I want you alive!" she answered.

"I'd rather be dead than live under his rule!" he replied. Immediately, Rashel turned her younger brother so he was facing her and slapped him so hard he fell back against the rooftop with a deep thud.

"Don't you ever say that! You be thankful that your alive, you hear me?!" she shouted. Before he could answer, Rashel's rage took over and she began to pound her younger brother worse than ever before. Reece tried to protect himself, but Rashel quickly punched his stomach as hard as she possibly could. "You aren't going! Do you understand?!" she shouted again.

"Yes, Rashel, I understand!" Reece answered in fear of getting beaten up more.

"God! Now you got me pissed off! Get inside before I lose my mind!" Rashel said. Without a word, Reece went back into their house and Rashel followed as the Moon began to rise.

Later that night, Reece lied on the couch while Rashel slept on the floor. He stared up through the hole in their roof, gazing at the stars as he thought. He turned to his left side and looked at Rashel, who was turned away from him as she slept. 'I know you don't want this, big sis, but I don't see any other alternative. I'm sure you'd stop me if you knew what I was doing. Still, I'm doing this for you… and them. Yeah, even them. I might not know who they are or what they look like, but it's surprising how you can love somebody you've only got a few memories of.' Reece thought as he stood up from the couch. As he thought, he also reached under the couch and pulled a blank and black, military style jacket from underneath the middle cushion. He put the jacket on while walking to the front door. He opened it and the moonlight shined in through the opening, casting shadows over his face as he looked back at his sister. His face showed his concern for her as his eyes flashed yellow for a few seconds. 'I promise I'll be back in the morning.' Reece swore as he looked at her. He quietly closed the door behind him and the sound of him zooming away could be heard inside the house. Rashel lied on the floor as tears came from her eyes. She was never asleep, only pretending to see if Reece would run out into the night to defy Darkseid.

From the center of the city, Darkseid looked out into the night with a cold expression on his face. He could feel that something was happening in one of his many cities as he gazed over it. He pushed a button on his gauntlet and a few moments later, one of his Apokoliptic minions soon entered the room.

"Yes, Lord Darkseid?" the minion asked while kneeling.

"Send them out, The Peacekreepers." Darkseid commanded.

"How many, my Lord?" his minion questioned.

"Three should be enough." Darkseid answered.

"As you wish, Lord Darkseid." the minion said. Then, he left the room. Darkseid averted his attention back to the city in front of him. He began to chuckle maliciously as his eyes got a sinister glow to them, matching the plan he had in mind for the city. END.