Chapter 1: Ash Grimm

"ASH!"

"Crap…".I turned to see a crying Mercy. When she stopped in front of me, her body and white blonde hair quivered and shook in sadness. Her blue eyes widened and were teary.

I sighed. 'Of course she would be the one to notice…'. I looked at her, already tired.

"I'll be fine, I'm a pretty tough girl, you don't have to be so paranoid."

"I know! But you are practically my big sister and…I'LL MISS YOU!"

Caught in another fit of sadness, her small frame put me in a surprisingly bone- crushing hug. 'Yeesh how the hell is she so small and yet so strong?'. Sighing again, I awkwardly pat her back, while some bystanders stared. I glared and flipped them off, the pricks stiffened like a pole was shoved up their ass and turned away.

"You are way too damn emotional".

Pushing off, she glanced at me and glared.

"I'm worried my friend will get killed! I mean you are going in to the army!" Mercy huffed out.

"I know, I know. But things will work out. I promise not to do anything stupid, well Rina made me promise anyways." Rina may be short and small like Mercy, but is still a little intimidating.

Mercy sniffed and slouched when she saw the silver bus.

"Looks like my bus Merc. Tell everyone I will miss them and I will come back."

Turning, I walk on bus and cringe as a screeching 'bye' was yelled back. I took a seat near the back, thankfully the bus was big, but fairly vacant. For some reason, all the seats had a weird, old 70's thin carpet design stretched over them.

I leaned back and closed my eyes and took a deep breath. 'I'm almost there, I just hope the others won't be too pissed… Wait, who's yelling?' I turned and saw my friends running up to say bye and screaming my name. 'Shit, Mercy I could somewhat handle, but with everybody else in the group…'. I smiled sadly at them.

I left earlier than I said on purpose. I knew that my friends would either beg me not to go (i.e. Mercy) or give a teary goodbye (i.e. everyone else). Of course Mercy probably tried to stop me from going and saw that my house was empty. 'That would explain why they caught up'. It's not they did anything wrong, it's just… so hard to say bye. Turning I saw the sobbing drama queen of our group meeting with the others.

'Leave it to Mercy to be the one to find out that I left early. At least she isn't… Really? Again?' I facepalmed.

Mags and Dex were attempting to awaken Mercy who fainted… again. It's not like she has an obsession with me. It's just…well… that girl has some serious issues. When V said she was going to a convention out of town one time, Mercy spent hours being sulky about it. Yeah, the girl's got some real hardcore attachment issues.

Then I saw the others waving. Well the Psycho/Morbid/Serial Killer twins were awkwardly waving/smiling creepily at me. Weirdoes. Rina was smiling sadly and so was V, granted they looked a little pissed, but mostly sad. I smiled, and waved back.

Feeling a small jerk, I turned to see the bus moving. Turning back, I waved back for the last time. I leaned back and looked up.

'I wonder how I'll survive the army'.

Turning to the window, I saw the various streets of my city whizzed by, while I attempted to memorize the images and engrave them in my mind, because I won't be seeing any of these sights or anything of my city for a few years.

I smiled and closed my eyes. 'I'll miss you bastards.'

I smiled and opened my eyes as I felt the bus slow to a halt. Standing up, I walked calmly in the front of the bus and jumped off. I turned and looked at the same bus stop I last saw any of my friends since I left. Looks like I can finally have my normal life as Ash Grimm again. I'm 5'4", have green eyes, brown hair, and I'm fairly busty. Not the image of a soldier, as most people would probably think, but I always had fun kicking their ass to prove them wrong.

I looked around my town. It was quiet, with not many people walking around too much around downtown. The town had only a few buildings, at tallest 2 stories. So it was fairly easy to see the nature around it. We were fairly separated from other towns and cities, so the lush green hills and forest near them were visible without much obstruction. Most buildings were painted in plain white. There were a few exceptions, such as town hall that was painted crimson red. The town had the old-style lampposts on the streets that were painted red. The reason behind the red theme was because the town name was Krimson Hills, so the town color as a result is Crimson red.

I remember learning about the reasoning behind the name. According to the founders of the town, the hills were stained with blood and decomposing body parts. When one of them, a doctor, tried to study the bodies, he claimed they weren't human. Shortly after, others threw the crazy bastard into an asylum. However no one knew who the bodies were or where they came from.

It was always a creepy part of our history that I liked to exploit and scare the crap of the others.

I started walking down through the street. Nothing had changed much from what I could see. The only thing I now changed was that we have a different mayor now. According to V, the old mayor was caught throwing a party filled with hookers and drug dealers. Of course I called BS on that, but she actually sent me the legit Krimson Daily newspaper on it. I think I laughed for about 2 hours straight. The mayor was a huge douche, so it was no skin off my back.

Smiling, I walked down the street while occasionally receiving a 'thank you' from passersby since I was still wearing my military uniform. My friends would probably make fun of me for wearing my uniform still. They hated formality of any kind, so I was curious what their reaction would be.

I looked at the setting sun. 'I wonder how the others have been doing? Did V ever learn to shut up? Did Mags get over being a magician and stop worshipping Criss Angel? Did Dex get a social life and manage to stop the guys bullying him? If not, I'll just kick their asses again. I hope Rina kicked out the psychotic twins. I wonder if Merc finally toughened up? Have the others finally drove Rina crazy?' I thought in amusement.

After walking for a little while, I came up to the small house my family and I had called home. But now that they're gone, it's just me. I smiled sadly. It was a little bit away from downtown and somewhat hidden in the foliage. It was one story with ivy crawling the white walls. It was simple, but reminded me of the cottages in fairy tales. 'I hope my friends didn't destroy it while I was gone'.

Walking inside, it was dark and cool. I reached for the light switch, when I heard a noise. It sounded like rushed footsteps.

"What the hel.."

"SURPRISE!"

I jumped in surprise. My friends jumped out of the house and opened the door to reveal the little party they set up for me. The living room was lit up in little lamps and various holiday decorations. They even had the Halloween lights I love. Along with that, little tables with my favorite foods and a big punch bowl.

Mags was standing proudly, holding his trusty magician hat and wearing the suit that resembles one a stereotypical magician would. He was 6'1" with spiked red hair. He was lanky with hundreds of freckles and had a cheesy grin that was stretched across his face

Mercy was wearing her favorite blue sundress and matched her equally blue eyes. Her platinum blonde hair was pinned up and had a little butterfly in it. She was holding a present with a happy smile. Her 5'2" height was nearly hidden behind Mags and V.

V was wearing a purple dress and despite being 5'10", wore heels. V's hair was pulled in a brown bun. Her normally inquisitive silver eyes were softened and matched her smile. Her hands were on her hips and almost saying in a way 'Why didn't you come back sooner?'

Dex was in his normal white buttoned up shirt and black pants. His slender and tall frame of 5'11" was holding a 'welcome home' sign. His black hair was shoulder length now and his green eyes shown with happiness.

The twins didn't show that much emotion, but they both smiled. Damien was about 6'0" and had some muscle on him. Salem or Sally is about 5'7" and with a fairly slender frame. They both had black hair, pale skin, and brown eyes. They both had clothes fit for a funeral. I like to call them the Adams twins or Psycho/Morbid/Serial Killer Twins.

Rina at the very front of the group was smiling in pride. Her small frame of 5'2" filled out a red, almost regal looking dress. She had long, auburn hair that framed her blue eyes. Rina was basically the unofficial leader of the group, so I knew who had planned this all out.

Everyone stood in front of me, smiling in happiness. Mags and Mercy were yelling my name and cheering. V was chattering non-stop about the things I missed. The others smiled and laughed. All of my friends did this, for me.

I would never admit it, but I almost cried.

"…and he screamed like a little girl!"

I was laughing on the floor while Mags turned red from embarrassment. He turned and glared at V.

"You promised not to tell her that! You know she'll probably do the same thing to me again!" Mags said in a pissed/panicked tone.

I snickered. "Awww, do you not trust me?" I gave him my evil smile, while he turned a little pale.

"No! You, Dex, and Damien love tormenting me!" Dex and Damien both turned from their conversation to smirk at Mags and then turned back. I snorted in laughter at Mags' expression.

"Calm down, I just want to relax for a little while. So don't worry too much about me pranking you… yet." I responded while leaning back, comfortably on my couch. A cold Dr. Pepper in my hand and with my feet on the coffee table.

I was talking to V and Mags about what happened when I was gone. V, being the chatterbox of our group, was telling me all the embarrassing experiences everyone had. Damien and Dex were talking about something to do with an 'experiment'. Knowing them, it probably means pranking someone or see what things they could make explode. Rina, Sally, and Mercy are talking about boys to shoes to how crazy I am to join the army to boys again.

'It's nice to have things back to normal'. I thought with a contented sigh.

Of course fate had to be a bitch.

The next I know, a large blinding white light appeared through my window. It burned so bright, that it burned my eyes and gave me a headache. Everyone immediately raised their hands to their eyes and dropped down in shock, probably feeling the same pain I was feeling. It gave an almost unearthly screech, as though something was being ripped in half.

After concentrating and gathering my wits about me, I immediately went into action mode. I closed my eyes into slits and crouched down. I walked slowly to the door.

My thoughts were racing to find an explanation as to what is happening. 'What the hell is happening?! That can't be a bomb, or a car or any type of vehicle. So what is happening?'.

Then all of a sudden, it went dark. I had just reached the doorknob and I froze in place. I turned to the others, their frames illuminated by the lights in my house that almost seem like a dim glow after that burst of white light. I breathed heavily from the adrenaline running through me.

"WHAT TH….?!" Dex slapped a hand over Mags' mouth. I turned, shoulders tense, placing a finger over my lips. Eyes wide, Mags' nodded.

"What was that?" Mercy whispered quietly. She looked around the room at the other crouched figures, she received scared or tense looks.

I turned back to the door and slowly turned the doorknob. I heard a couple of whispered 'no's, ignoring them I slowly opened the door.

I tensed my body for anything that may come and looked. I turned my head to look in all directions. I didn't see anything.

I stood fully and looked again. Again nothing. No car, no vehicle of any sort, nobody. I heard the others walk up from behind me, some tentative and cautious steps walked onto the porch with me.

"What could've caused that?" Sally looked at me with a questioning look.

"I don't know, I've never seen anything like this before. I mean I've seen flash grenades, but this was too big and odd to be a flash grenade or anything like it."

Damien stepped in. "So it was just some flash of light, that came out of no where.

I rolled my eyes. "Don't be an ass. I didn't say that, I just don't know where it came from or how it happened."

"There has to be a logical explanation for that…" V started.

"There could be, but I would rather find out if it's safe to be outside!" Mercy chirped.

"Guys…"

"It was just a flash of light, I doubt anything lethal is out here." Dex reasoned.

"Guys…"

"Just a flash of light? It sounded like metal was being torn into pieces!" Mags protested.

"Guys…!"

"Look I don't care, I'll look around to see if there is anything suspicious…" I sighed while rubbing my head.

"GUYS!" Rina shouted.

We all turned our attention to Rina. Her eyes were wide, face pale, and it looked like she was holding her breath.

"Do you see that?" She whispered out.

I looked in the direction she was pointing, all I saw was the edge of the forest. I looked back at her in concern.

"Rina, are you OK?" I asked slowly.

She turned to me, frustrated and clearly distressed.

"The glow, don't you the glow patterns on the ground leading to the forest?"

"Well…"

"Rina I think you may be seeing things…". I glared at Mags, that was something she probably didn't need to hear.

"Maybe the light drove her mad…"Sally breathed.

"Shut up, Sally." Turning I looked back at Rina, only to see her running into the forest.

"Shit! Rina, wait!"

Taking off, I could hear the others behind me. I strained my eyes on Rina, trying to make sure I didn't lose her in the dark. I avoided some dark trees and unseen tree roots for a good while trying to catch up. After about 30 minutes is when she finally stopped into a clearing. Huffing, I looked back to see that we had lost the others. Hearing Rina talking, I turned back to her, she was muttering under her breath while gently touching the center of the clearing.

I took a step forward before realizing where we were exactly. Judging by the signs and the positioning of the hills, we were the exact spot where the gore was most. This area specifically is where the town got it's bloody name. This area was stained with so much blood, that it never did fully wash away. Looking closely, I could small dark spots in the ground and on the trees.

My eyes widened. "Oh fuck… Rina?"

She had no response to me, just touching the ground as though she was looking for something. Chills ran up my spine. Taking a deep breath, I walked towards her. Just as I placed my hand on her shoulder, she grabbed my hand. I jumped and she just stared at me.

Blue eyes stared at me with… excitement? The hell?

"Uh…" How the hell does someone respond to this? Your friend runs into a forest for a place where there was a slaughter fest and is now staring at you with a creepy amount of excitement. The fuck?

"It's calling to me…" Seriously, did you have to make it so much more creepy and disturbing, Rina?

"Uh Rina, we should probably leave and never come back."

Her eyes widened in horror and she let go of my hand. Her body immediately scrambled on the ground, touching the ground as though she went back to her search.

"No! I have to open it!"

I clenched my teeth in frustration. 'Fuck it'. I grabbed Rina and tried to hold her, but she struggled to find whatever she was looking for.

"Rina, calm down! You're making no sense! We are in the middle of a fucking forest! What do you expect to…?"

In the middle of my rant, Rina had broken out of my grasp and went back to groping the ground. I sighed and went back to get her when I heard a loud click.

I paused and looked closely at Rina's hand on the ground. She was bouncing with glee, so it was hard to see. Then I saw her move her hand again and then a second click, then a third, and then a groaning sound of something old opening.

I staggered back, my eyes widening.

The ground was opening up. It was opening in a weird circular pattern, the center growing bigger each second. In the hole of the circle, an eerily familiar bright light was becoming blindingly stronger.

Flinching, I almost missed Rina about to jump in. Before she could fall into it, I grabbed her hand and laid my body on the ground on the edge of the opening. She was struggling against my grasp, attempting to make me break from my hold, causing me to only be able to dig my knees in the ground to act as an anchor.

She was screaming at me, but I couldn't hear what it was. The blood was rushing in my ears and my heavy breathing from adrenaline and struggling to hold on to my struggling friend. It felt like she was slowly getting heavier by the second, as though the light was sucking her in.

All of a sudden, my body plunged forward. I put my hand on the edge and stopped us both from falling.

'Dammit, I forgot the stupid hole was getting bigger!'

My breathing got heavier and heavier as I realized that the edge I was holding on to was about to fall.

'Oh shi…AWW FUCK!'

I looked back at Rina to see her fall. She bit me. That idiot bit me.

'Rina…'

I felt a jerk and I looked back at my other hand. The edge was slowly slipping away. Using my now free hand, I tried to grab onto the ground further out, but I was too late. The edge fell and so did I. I tried to scream, but I was consumed with light and odd sensations as I fell. My vision slowly started to get black spots.

'Shit…'