I walked through the shadows, utterly exhausted.

I swear, if I do that one more time, I'll actually welcome death.

I leaned against the wall of the alley I was in and looked around.

Fuck, is this Indianapolis?! Please, be Indianapolis! For the love of fucking Aphrodite, be Indianapolis!

I made my way out into the street, I then realized I had no fucking idea what Indianapolis looked like. I saw a man walking by on the phone.

"Hey excuse me!" I said, but he looked me up and down, scoffed, and kept walking.

Oh, bitch, are you serious!?

I marched up to him and stopped him in his tracks.

"Can I help you?! I am on the phone!" he said. I quickly grabbed his phone and threw it as hard as possible into the brick wall.

"Now, unless you want that to be your skull, you will answer this one question: Where the fuck am I? What is the name of the area we are in?" I asked slowly, so he got it through his thick fucking skull.

"G-Greenwood," he said nervously.

"Is that near Indianapolis?" I asked curiously.

"About a half hour outside...A taxi or bus can take you," he said quickly, clearly not wanting to deal with me. I rolled my eyes but started down the road. I heard the man run as fast as he could away from me.

Good! I have no fucking time for pieces of shit like him!

I found a small diner and my stomach rumbled violently. I hadn't eaten since the day before yesterday.

Fuck, I'm hungry!

I walked in and sat at a booth, a waiter came over.

"Yeah, can I just get the turkey club and water?" I asked. He wrote it down and walked away. I sat there drumming my fingers.

So, the Triumvirate is moving on Indianapolis? Whatever they are doing, I have to figure out what it is and how to stop it. After Fitzpatrick, I'm not taking any chances. These fuckers need to die!

My food came, and I started eating when suddenly, a police officer walked into the diner out of breath.

"Gerry?! Isn't your boy at a university in Virginia?!" he asked loudly. The man behind the counter nodded, confused. The officer walked over. Everyone was looking at him as he grabbed a remote from behind the counter and flipped to the news channel.

"Yes, that's right, Jessica. A school shooting here at George Mason," the reporter said as my eyes widened.

Oh, fucking hell, no...Please, no! Please, don't tell me...

"A young brilliant student named David Fitzpatrick was tragically murdered. The man who committed the crime has not been identified, but all witnesses report that he has extremely unique facial features: Scars across his face, black hair, and crimson red eyes. This is a sketch artist's rendering of the assailant," he said before an image appeared that was a very, very...very detailed picture of my face. I looked back and saw the waiter staring at me in horror and then looking at the police officer.

I gulped before dropping a few bucks on the table and making my way to the door with my head down. I had just opened the door when I heard a gun cock behind me. I froze dead in my tracks as I heard the sound of handcuffs uncuffing.

"Stop right there! Turn around now!" I heard the officer say. I raised my hands to show I was unarmed and turned around to face the officer. I saw that everyone in the diner was behind him, looking terrified. The officer walked over, grabbed me, only to turn me back around and throw me against the wall before handcuffing me.

"You have…" he started, but I rolled my eyes.

"…the right to remain silent. Anything I say can and will be used against me in a court of law. I have a right to an attorney. If I cannot afford an attorney…" the officer slammed my head into the wall.

"Shut up! You clearly have an understanding of your Miranda Rights, so you should know that it isn't wise to be a smartass!" he barked before taking me outside.

"Look, I know this looks bad. I look like the guy that killed that college student. I have the red eyes. I...really don't know where I'm going with this..." I said as I was slammed on the hood of the police cruiser. I grit my teeth "Will you stop doing that!? I'm innocent!"

The officer scoffed before talking into his radio. I glanced to my right and saw a row of trees casting dark shadows on the ground.

If I can just get to them...

"Seriously, if you would just listen to me?!" I shouted. As expected, he lifted me up again, and I threw my head back, slamming into his nose with a sickening crunch. He groaned and released me. I quickly ran to the shadows, though I heard the cop running after me. I saw the shadows begin to circle around me. Tendrils of darkness covered me as I stepped into the shadow of the tree and fell into Erebus, the realm of shadow and darkness. There was just one issue with this escape: I had no idea where I was going.

Shit! I should have thought of a place to go! Stupid fucking idiot!

Focus.

What was that!? Who the fuck was that?!

Now is not the time for introductions. Focus on grass, forest, and fields. Your body will take you to the nearest one.

What the fuck!? He can hear my fucking thoughts?!

Oh, enough wondering! Focus, or you will be subject to the horrors of Tenebrae!

Whatever, crazy voice in my head!

I closed my eyes and focused on soft grass, rolling fields, and dense forests. Suddenly, I felt the cold embrace of the shadows leave, my head slammed into a branch, and I hit the ground. Hard. Unfortunately, I was still handcuffed, so I landed right on my hands and crushed them.

"Fuuuuuck!" I groaned as I rolled over to take pressure off my throbbing hands.

You did well, child of darkness.

I immediately looked around, but saw no one near me.

Who the fuck is talking!?

"Who are you?! Show yourself!" I shouted into the forest that now surrounded me. All I heard was a soft chuckle through the wind, and then it was silent. I felt something behind me and then a loud CLINK sound, and my hands felt fine. I turned to see the shattered handcuffs on the ground. They looked like they had been cut by a sword but...whose sword?

I felt so tired from shadow traveling.

I shouldn't have done that again, now I'm going to pass the fuck out in the forest!

I fell on my back and stared at the sunlight dipping through the trees. My vision began to go black, but as everything blurred the shape of a man appeared above me.

Sleep, grandchild of Nox. We will talk when you awaken.

"Who...Who are..."

Darkness took me.