Book 1: Prototype
Night was peaceful yet chaotic, soothing yet dangerous. Numerous stars winked at the people down below, urging them to go faster, back to their warm abode. The central of the city was as frenzy as ever. Neon light of the advertising lamp was bright and disturbing but in the oddest way it provided enough comfort for the late night wanderers.
Well, that only applied in the central. While the youngsters partied off in the dread of night, drinking away and swaying with the beating of the obnoxious music, the residential area of the city stayed silent and asleep, devoid of any form of liveliness.
Eventually, the youngsters would return home one by one; mostly drunk. However, it had become a routine for adults to come together at night as well to boast about their works or disperse some stress. Some dangers though awaited in the dark. Shady business such as drug dealing, slave trading, money forfeit were the kind of 'popular' jobs among the people as they grew desperate for money.
Police couldn't track all their activities down and the jail was certainly not big enough to fit in the whole bundle of criminals. Their inability to stop these activities was like oil added to flame. The business became bigger and more frequent. Sooner or later, it would eat away the town, instilling great fears to the hearts of many.
The government realized that the town was in great crisis of being taken over by the increasing criminal activities. Although they were reluctant to do this, they hadn't had any other option.
Hitmen or generally known as assassins were used to deplete the number of criminals roaming in the city and thus effectively served as a warning for others who intended to disrupt the order of the city. Ever since, it had been an unspoken rule for the citizens who treasured their lives to stay out of the way of an assassin as no one would like the consequences of interference.
…
A man strolled through the empty streets. His heart was leaping with great bliss as he had managed to persuade another customer to indulge in his 'business.' Perhaps it was due to the alcohol or the pure happiness of his mind that he began to skip lightly in his steps. Never minding the fact that it probably seemed embarrassing for a grown man to do so.
The streetlights were a whole lot dimmer when compared to the neon light of the central. Not that he had much to complain… Occasionally, a car or two would pass and he would sidestep if not to avoid his luxurious coat from being damped by the muddy water that was so carelessly flipped by the accelerating vehicles.
He headed to a park nearby, knowing that it was a shortcut to his sanctuary. The eerie silence almost made him back out but his pride was too great for him to swallow even when there wasn't anyone around to see him acting so.
The silence was positively unnerving and a shiver went up his spine. A breeze of cold wind waltzed past the man and he trembled involuntarily at the cold. He breathed out, watching the mist form after his warm breath and he could feel his teeth chattering, knocking at each other.
He turned, thinking that it was best for him to take the longer route than to take this path through the chilly darkness and no, he wasn't afraid. He just hated the dark.
Then, he could swear he heard rustling noise behind him and he snapped his head to the direction where he assumed the noise was coming from. He spotted nothing except a few falling leaves from a nearby tree. The lush green was reduced to pitch black due to the lack of proper light.
The man stared and strained his eyes. Finally, as if satisfied, he gave a sigh of relief as he convinced himself that there was nothing wrong after all. It must be the alcohol. He determined, smacking behind his own head at his paranoid.
He trudged away with his hands tucked safely in the pockets of his coat. Within minutes, he was back on the dimly lighted streets. The meagre amount of light gave his mind peace and secure. As he sauntered down the streets, he began to notice something different. It was all so silent. He could hear nothing except the buzzing of the old streetlights.
A shadow appeared and he scrambled backwards. Gathering his courage, he peered into the alley where he saw the shadow fled to. Shiny and mesmerizing blue eyes greeted him and a feral 'meow' as the creature stood with its guard up.
The man silently laughed at himself, feeling himself not quite being the brave and imitating figure lately. Must be the age. He sent a powerful kick at the feline as payment for scaring him and he smirked as the weak creature shied away.
Unknown to him, a figure sat calmly on the corner of the roof of the tall building, spying him keenly as his legs swayed lazily and dangerously by the side of the building. The Moon rendered its beautiful and cold light, showing the long strands of hair of the mysterious figure.
"I found you." A quiet whisper.
The Moon was soon blocked away by thick and heavy clouds.
The man sneered darkly before he chuckled at the thought of the vulnerable creature from before. Oh, how easily it was for him to crush the small life beneath his palm. He liked that as the act reminded him how superior and powerful he was before.
He whistled out a tune without any real melody in it and continued in his advance. The buzzing of the ancient streetlights increased in volume. He stared at the light as it flickered as if struggling to stay lit and he failed to register the quick drop of a black shadow in front of him.
"Boo!" was all it took to lead the man into a sprint. The man screamed as he thought his soul was going to be ripped away from him when he got a close up look at the shadow. Blue eyes, curved into slit like the poor animal he kicked earlier but this time it was hard and uncaring.
The man ran and ran as fast as his aging legs could take him. His heart felt like busting into a million pieces. Behind him, he heard and noticed the light fading one by one as the shadow made its advance towards him.
Closer and closer. It was already there in the corner of his eyes. Nearer and nearer. The darkness drew close to him, wrapping him in its embrace. His steps wobbled with fear and the drunken sensation was gone in a flash, overtaken by fear and panic.
No, no, no! The man chanted, seeing the shadow closing in. His legs felt numb and he stumbled forward, grabbing onto a lamp post as he scanned through the darkness with the little light the lamp provided.
He was already at the crossroad of the normally busy street. To his horror, the light from the other roads had blacked out as well. All that was left was a single light from the lamp he was standing under.
He tried to catch his breath as his hands rested on his knees. It had been so intense that his lungs felt like they were on fire. In and out. Out and in. He breathed. Feeling calmer, he stared back into the abyss of darkness, half-expecting a hand to come out from it and claim him.
When nothing happened, he was almost convinced that it was the alcohol again when he saw the shadow again. This time, it stopped right before him. He shrieked and pulled his hands up to shield himself away.
Seconds passed by like hours and the man slowly uncovered his eyes. Nothing. Phew, he thought in relief. There was nothing. It was all hallucination. He tried to persuade himself and unsteadily, he stood.
His first step was never taken as he felt a cold metal pressing against his back, right where his heart would be. He turned robotically and those azure eyes burned into his.
"I'll give you a merciful and quick death…"
With that, the trigger was pulled and a shot rang through the night sky.
As mentioned, this is the prototype of an (maybe) incoming story. I still haven't decided yet. I planned it to be a trilogy which will probably take some more discussions and plot planning before it will be out officially. Anyhow, I will naturally determine which stories will come first and which will come later (mostly because of various reasons that will take too much space to explain.)
I am working on the sequels recently and I will probably be stuck for sometime. Can someone offer me ways to cure that damn writer's block? I will be most thankful if someone does.
By the way, I think I'll try to accept requests like my sister advised me to. Leave a review on scene that you will like to see (mostly for the collection of the one-shots for Twisted) and please NO ROMANCE. I suck at that... maybe I'll try it out someday...yeah, definitely some other day.
Signed,
ReneeNCC