The blackness turned into light. I opened my eyes squinting so I could see. I lay on my back looking around and seeing the river flow past me. I had woke up this morning lying in the bushes I fell into the night before.

All of last night was a blur. The only remnant of the night before was a cut from my ear to my chin. I tried to stand up. But I couldn't. I forced myself to stand by grabbing at a branch that hung above my head. As I pulled myself to my feet I noticed my cell phone lay beside me. As I reached down to pick it up and flip it open I felt a sharp pain through my back. That fall was worse then I thought.

I heard a vehicle whizz by and looked up twenty feet to where I was before I was last night. I finally got my phone and turned it on and looked at the time. It read 8:30 am, June 21. June 21st? I have been lying in these bushes for 3 days? What happened that night? I thought really hard and then it all started to come back to me.

*********flashback********

As I ran down a long street I wondered why I ever came to downtown Edmonton to hide. The puddles splashed up around my feet covering my white DC shoes with a glaze of mud. I noticed the thick grey fog that hung in the air. Numerous sirens echoed in the distance. I slowed down to a jog and ducked into an entrance for the City Centre mall. Before walking through the revolving doors I paused to look at myself in the window. My dark brown hair was wind blown so I flipped it back up so I looked presentable. I also adjusted my dark brown jacket. I flipped up my sunglasses to reveal my blue eyes to the light.

I slipped into the mall and started walking into a furniture store. I sat down in a Lazy Boy and flipped my feet up. I relaxed a little since running for two hours straight can take a lot of a guy. Then I noticed the black blurs fly around past the outside windows. The black blurs were following me again! I did not know what they were but whenever they were around it only caused me trouble.

Tearing through the air like lightning through the sky the blurs flew around and took a running start into the glass window in front of me. I reacted quickly and ducked under the coffee table in front of me. The glass window shattered and sent glass shrapnel everywhere. A couple saleswomen screamed and ran in the opposite direction towards the mall. Two blurs took off from the group. I saw them chase the women towards the change rooms.

The blurs formed into two human-like figures and each drew out an item that looked like a thin ruler. The next thing I know there was an emerald light that illuminated the store and I hear the women scream bloody murder. The screams died off and the two human like figures join the rest of the group which had now also made themselves human. I was at a loss.

"What did you do?" I yelled.

I only saw smirks on the faces of these sick people. What did they want with me? One person stepped forward.

"Come with us Eric," one member of the group beckoned. Obviously he was the leader.

"Who are you?" I screamed.

"That is of no importance to you," announced the leader.

"Leave me alone!" I said.

I panicked and lifted up the light coffee table and threw it towards the group. I heard a thud and a couple light curses as the table made impact. This was just great. I had now managed to tick off the biggest threats I have ever seen in my life. I turned around and jumped the Lazyboy and looked back just in time to see one of the group say something. This member launched a burst of red light which flew over my shoulder and exploded a wall of flat screen tvs! WHERE DID THESE PEOPLE COME FROM AND WHAT DID THEY WANT WITH ME? I sprinted into the mall and joined the rest of the panicked shoppers.

Glancing over my shoulder occasionally and then heard one of them yell because they didn't know where I was. I relaxed a little and slowed down to a saunter. I casually slipped back through a set of revolving doors and noticed a city bus just taking off. I took off after it in a run. I ran after it and jumped into the bus on the run. The doors closed silently behind me. Pausing to catch my breath I looked up on the sign at the front of the bus and it read St Albert. Perfect. Any place is as good as Edmonton.

The bus picked up speed and headed out onto the freeway. I took a window seat and noticed a kid with his forehead pressed against the window. I looked through the window and noticed two of the figures riding on what looked like corn brooms beside the bus. One of the figures launched a burst of red light and I opened my hoody and shoved the kid beside me inside of it. The window shattered instantly as the red light hit it. The shards of glass flew through the air and I felt one of them glance past my cheek. I brought my hand up to my cheek and put it in front of my eyes and all I saw was my red blood covering my hand. I whipped off my backpack and grabbed the sticker for a radio station that I received earlier that day. This would be a good a band aid as any.

The bus shook from side to side. I looked toward the front of the bus and saw the bus driver slumped over the steering wheel. I steadied myself from seat to seat as the bus lurched from side to side and blood from my cut tinting already blurry vision. I crawled now between the seats on my hands and knees aiming for the front of the bus. I shoved the driver out of his seat and I took the large steering wheel and tried to regain control of the big bus.

For some reason the bus wanted to turn hard towards the right. I then noticed that the bus had a flat right tire so I had to overcorrect greatly. I slammed on the brakes and the bus skidded from side to side. Finally the bus skidded to a halt after colliding with a light standard. Slowly regaining my senses I burst out of the bus and kissed the ground. Never have I been happier to walk. Noticing I was near a bridge I ran over to the edge I cautiously looked over and saw a small river flowing below the bridge.

How peaceful it looked right now. One good part to make a bad night better. Suddenly I felt a push from behind me. I lost my balance and fell head first over the metal railing. The last thing I saw as I flipped through the air was one of the figures looking down at me and then flying away. Then I hit the trees. I felt my body act like a ragdoll as I flipped from tree to tree.

I landed with a thud on a couple of rose bushes. OUCH! I lay there with thorns in my body a cut from my cheek to my ear and my clothes tattered and torn. I felt myself slip into unconsciousness as my body could not handle the pain anymore.

*********End Flashback********