(Thanks to RogueWriter17, Lance-Dusk, Can't Get Any Better, mortalstandards, Zro-Kemuri 9t6, zackt2010 and Jamesss for your reviews! I appreciate them! Okay, I introduce the survivers one year before the story starts, as well as the last one to be mentioned. Read on for the 'sixteen destined'!
It was the ninth year since Death had invaded, and the people in the sanctuary were alive, yet even though the survivors were isolated from the outside world, they were happy and didn't actually get bored due to board games and other such equipment. As each survivor had appeared at the sanctuary, they were met by five people, a tall black man saying 'wait', and remained silent throughout the years, always staring at the door.
The sanctuary was actually a connection of concrete corridors and sewer pipes, but all led to one place, a croft underneath a church. There were only sixteen beds, which led to the people who had come in late to wonder why there were so few.
But all of a sudden, after at least a year for some, the man stood up, attracting the attention of the sleepy survivors in the early morning. "Good morning."
"Morning? How the hell can you tell what morning is in this place?" Max Abernathy called out. Max was 18 and simple dished some jeans and white t-shirts out from a store cupboard.
"Hey, Max, mind your manners." Max's sister, Mila Abernathy said, smacking Max lightly on the arm, before placing her hands on her hips. Mila was 22, and was very fit despite being stuck down a hole for nine years. She had done numerous jogs on the spot, as well as push-ups and sit-ups and various other activities once the other survivors started to come in.
"Simple." The man said with a white flash of teeth appearing from his smile. "You just woke up. My name is William Bludworth, and everyone here doesn't know me, and I haven't introduced myself, or talked to anyone here. Well, in a few minutes, I will explain all." William sat down again, and crossed his arms over his crumpled black suit with an open jacket, revealing an open collared white shirt. William was bald, and had a few scars covering his face. He looked in his thirties, but was in fact hundreds of years old, due to being possessed by Death. He finally died, but when Death was 'defeated' became Death himself, until the real Death came back and took over the world.
"Always the talker aren't you William ol' boy!" A man with a white cowboy hat laughed, throwing a can of beer into a corner, on top of a rather large pile. His name was Jeffrey Jebediah, and was a Work Partner for William. It was him who found the sanctuary and protected it from the demon's above, getting the supplies needed and made the sanctuary into a much comfortable place. Jeffrey was once bitten by a zombie during the zombie invasion, and was killed, but he was sent back up to Earth by William.
"You can't leave us hanging like that!" Damian Cane spoke up, rather annoyed. Damian, at the age of 24, was tall at 5 foot nine, and was nicely muscled on his arms, abdomen and legs. Damian's brown hair was tied back into a pony-tail to stop the long hair of his from distracting him. He stared at the motionless William with his brown eyes.
"Yes he can." said a figure from the shadows, leaning against the wall. He walked forward into the light, revealing a young man of 25 dressed in a black shirt and rough jeans, in which his hands were shoved in. This man's name was Zeke Kurosagi, and he glared darkly around the room, before leaning back into the shadows. "Bludworth can do whatever the hell he wants to do."
"Are you still so fucking depressed?" Conner Shepard exclaimed, cracking his knuckles. "Get over yourself! Your part of one of the only groups of human's alive, so fucking get up and enjoy it!" Conner was 27, and stood even taller than Damian, at a freak height of six foot seven. His body wasn't bulky, rather long and scraggly with defined muscles. Conner's white hair hung down to his shoulders, slightly obscuring his contact-lensed pure white eyes. He wore spurred cowboy boots, tight blue jeans, a white t-shirt and a matt black leather jacket. Along his arms, legs and back of his jacket were many 4 inch blades.
'You know nothing.' Zeke thought darkly to himself, while his friend, Leslie stepped forward angrily.
Leslie was nearing his thirties at 26, and had been through many a rough time, losing loved ones, friends, and family. Leslie's face was scarred lightly, although a thick one lanced down over his milky white eye. He wore a pale green tank-top, yellow bottoms a sneakers. A bizarre appearance for someone who had been through hell and back, but these sort of clothes were what attracted Leslies ex-lover James to him, so he kept it. Leslie was homosexual, and he wasn't afraid to admit it, thinking anyone was allowed to be free. "Why're you even here?" he challenged Conner. "All you do is cause fights, argue, and swear many a time! You've even drawn blood of many an occasion!"
"Why? Do you want a fight ya freakin' scar-face." Conner grinned, laughing at Leslie stiffening.
"Lay off of him Shepard." A small, timid voice spoke up. Rain Orlando, a twenty year old woman looked straight at him. She had dyed long blue hair with white streaks, blue eyes, a slim, yet tall, figure and wore old glasses.
"Oh!" Conner's eyes widened in glee. "A what're ya gonna do about it? How about I gut ya here and now?"
"Maybe you'll listen to me. Lay. Off him. Shepard." A slightly gruff voice said, and Alejandro "Alex" Thebes said, crossing his arms irritably. He was tall, but still not as tall as Conner. His skin was tanned and he had dark brown hair, and wore a dark blue, almost black, jeans. His black cloth jacket covered a black and red shirt with skulls with wings on it. His belt had a gold skull on it, and on his head was a baseball cap. An unusual addition of Alex was the fact that his left ring finger was made of entirely crystal. No-one, not even him, knew what it was. He woke up the morning after he was attacked by Conner when he got into a fight with him, and the finger just appeared in the night. The scar and finger were a result of the fight with Conner.
"Oh! Want some more fingers off!" Conner stepped forward towards Alex when a hand pushed Conner back.
Victor Kinsley stood tall, glaring up at Conner. Victor was big statured, and would never back down from a fight. He had met Leslie back in Emporium City, but was killed by the zombies. He managed to come back though to try and stop the 'Apocalypse', but failed at that. "Conner. Move away from everyone. Go stab your bed or something. A have half a mind to just chuck you out, but then you'll never get up again and die, and I don't hate you that much. Yet."
Conner sneered at Victor, and sauntered over to the other side of the room, starting to sharpen a couple of knifes, glaring at everyone in turn.
A triple knock on the door caused everyone to look suspiciously at the door.
"They can't have got here, could they?" Max asked with slight fear.
William stood up a smile a gleaming smile again. "Come in."
In walked Paige Callaway, with a young girl.
Paige was a leader. She had managed to get through two of Death's lists, before finally being killed in the zombie invasion. Paige had come back for one day with Victor to prevent the Apocalypse, however, she failed and thus her friend, Tanzi, was killed. She was wearing a dark blue hoody and jeans. "I found Anella Brazia William." She said, causing the girl to tug away.
"I'm not Anella! I told you that! My name is Tally." Tally said irritably, crossing her arms. Anella was of small stature for a thirteen year old, and was wearing a ragged and ripped dress. Her eyes showed deep fear and pain, while she looked around the sanctuary with a hard eye.
The final survivor walked over, smiling at Tally. "Hey Tally. My name is Riley, nice to meet you." Riley crouched down and smiled softly at Tally in a motherly way.
"You look like a freak." Tally said matter-of-factly, and promptly walked over to a bed on the far end, and lay down on it, facing the wall. He rugged backpack was chucked against the wall, but it was empty.
Riley shook her head. She rather liked her appearance. She had short blonde hair cut into a blunt bob and had streaks of pink and purple through it. Riley wore fingerless gloves, with fishnet going up her arms. He top had been ripped manually at the arms and waist, while she wore a plaid mini-skirt with stockings.
William clapped loudly, glancing at each person in turn, before smiling again. "Finally, the last is here."
"What do you mean last?" Alex asked, looking at Tally nervously.
"Do you wonder why I had Jeffrey set up exactly sixteen beds?" William asked, to confused faces.
"It ain't a coincidence Y'all..." Jeffrey drawled, giving a smile equal to William's.
"Exactly." William continued. "Each and every one of you, from birth, was destined to come here. Fourteen 'survivors'. The Fourteen destined."
"Fourteen?" Victor asked, confused to who the other four were.
"Yes. You, Paige, Zeke and Leslie are included. They faced Death head on, while you were chosen to accompany Paige. I ultimately knew that Death would succeed, and I only sent out Paige and Victor to save Zeke and Leslie..."
"What?" Zeke suddenly shouted out, shooting forward. "You knew? You knew T-Tanzi was going to die! Why didn't you save her, why didn't you let me die! Why!" Zeke questioned, his eyes gleaming.
"Because Tanzi wasn't destined to survive." William said firmly. "Even though the dead survive, only a few are selected! Tanzi Sakamoto was only caught up in the wrong place at the wrong time! No, everyone here is the chosen."
"Explain, please? Not all of us understand your mad talk." Max piped up, causing him to get elbowed by Mila again.
"I will happily explain Mr. Abernathy." William replied. "Everyone here was born under my guidance. I was possessed by Death for the majority of my life, and this stopped me aging or growing. During this time, with help from Jeffrey, I had managed, without Death knowing, to find out the 'prophecy' of sorts regarding each of you. And from that, we found each of you had abilities, or 'powers' if you will."
"Powers? You ARE a fuckin' nutcase old man." Conner called from the back.
"Yes, powers." William continued patiently. "Have any of you ever noticed anything strange? Anything you couldn't explain, or that you shouldn't of had?"
"Like my speed!" Max piped up. "I'm on Olympic level!"
"And my finger! I never knew where that came from." Alex called out.
"Exactly." William said. "And these abilities lie dormant within you." He turned to Zeke, Leslie, Paige and Victor. "Yes. Even you." He turned back to the others, who had started to crowd around William, except for Conner and Tally. "And, we will wait one more year. In that year, you will find these abilities, and you will use them. And then, just as destined, the sixteen of us wil go and confront Death and his ten generals."
"You're mad!" Rain exclaimed. "You're damn mad if you're expecting us to just go out and get killed!"
William looked on gravely. "But the worst part of the 'prophecy'... is that only one will survive!"
Tally belongs to Lance-Dusk, so props to him for her! Explanation in the next chapter... including the ten 'generals' get revealed and the means of beating them... It ain't gonna be easy though... See you then!