Into the Darkness

by C T Scribe

  3

  Chapter 3

  Limping through a crowd of football fans is the last assignment he wanted. It’s too public here. With so many people in attendance, if our Intel pans out, this will be hard to contain he thinks. Who do they think he is, one of the Seven? No use in complaining now, this is his mission. The tall man seems out of place, and a few of the local fans had noticed by giving him long looks as he walked by. You almost had to give him long looks anyway with his long dark hair, long dark trench coat, and elongated features taking more time to take in than your average human. His face was gothically beautiful with his dark eyes are reminiscent of an old actor from a cult movie. The one famous for dying on set by a gun loaded with a real bullet instead of a blank. That was a long time ago. People didn’t remember that movie. People didn’t know how to take in the tall man either. In all his years he had always stood out. That was reason enough for him to keep to the shadows. This place with its bright lights and loud noises was miles beyond his preferences. The lingering eyes on him said it all. People didn’t dress like him at events like this. He probably looked the”lone wolf” school shooter type to them. They weren’t wrong there, but those things didn’t happen much anymore. Not since the government changed its gun control laws. The riots and panic in those days belonged in history books. Still, people remembered them, and the fear lingered. He could smell that fear from each too long gaze in his direction. Aside from the police and security details, he was most likely the only one armed. He was more than a shooter. He himself a living weapon had killed more men and women than all the cemeteries in this town could fill. Those were darker times long ago. His blackness a contrast to those around him. Most in attendance today sported one of two colors, red on this side of the stadium and green on the opposing side. A few teenagers ran around shirtless with bold letters painted on their torsos to spell out their school mascot. Mascots were an oddity to the tall man. This new world and their idol worship. Cartoon idols now used to represent everything from learning centers to professional teams to fast food chains. Fucking mascots, he nearly voiced the annoyance aloud.This was not the type of assignment the tall man preferred at all. He worked best in remote areas in the darkness. At night his senses heightened. He seldom had to factor in casualties or witnesses. This however was punishment for losing his prey last night. The others tracked him to this place. The poor bastard probably doesn’t remember the attack. It worked that way. Memory loss being a key symptom, but never understood until much later on. He felt bad for his prey. Days ago they were just normal, human. Days ago they wouldn’t need a visit from death incarnate. But here we are. All these people. This is gonna be bad he thinks while surveying the attendants. Aimlessly he sweeps his eyes through the stadium hoping to find a hint towards his prey. An aura should show itself unless the change isn’t complete. The sun is high, and the air is dry in this town. In all towns for so long now. So when the rain suddenly comes it startles him. He didn’t see an airship when scanning the horizon. The only way towns like these didn’t completely dry up was from the airship watering. They were like rain but different, artificial. And they never had enough of the liquid resource to please the dust below. It rarely rained this time of year, and the tall man knew it wasn’t in the forecast. Even more he hadn’t sensed it. The world had known drought over the last few decades. Each year less and less waterfalls. In some places rain was still frequent, but in all places it was less than it should be. The tall man didn’t sense a shift in the sky to allow for rain, but still the rain fell. He didn’t feel a change in barometric pressure. The long hairs on his long legs hadn’t stretched toward the sky in anticipation of a watering. No, this was abnormal. He wondered if the kids on the field had ever played this game in such conditions. He highly doubted it. Only magic could cause this rain. Rare magic, but perhaps it was at fault. He could come up with no other explanation despite it making no sense to use such skill here. The situation grew exponentially more dangerous with this development. In this crowd finding a magic caster would be next to impossible. The others must know this. In fact, finding his prey would be next to impossible. It finally dawned on him that he wasn’t sent here to track down the man. No, he was assigned to this location in the event the man emerged as his true self. He was sent here as an executioner, but the event was unlikely. So he stopped searching the haystack stadium, and instead shifted his focus to the game. Although the rain was ominous he decided to enjoy it as well. Bless the Seven.

  The match was evenly played from what he could tell. The green teams quarterback was giving them the edge however. Still, the match was a dogfight. The defenders were impressively slowing the big armed quarterbacks on both sides. It was a low scoring high impact brawl. The tall man couldn’t keep his eyes off the field. His senses were still on high alert, but his eyes were locked onto the spectacle before him. He had a weak spot for athletes after all. When he was young the games were much different, but he played them as hard as these humans did now. Even then he was swift and quick footed. He wished he could have played these modern games. It was one of the only urges that made him feel human.

  Nothing of note happened until the end of the game. As the green teams QB went to throw, magic pooled around his leg. It was slight, but definite magic use created the slip. Simultaneously a defender unnaturally accelerated into the green QBs shin. The tall man didn’t flench like the rest of the viewers when he heard the crunch and subsequent screams of the player. He vainly scanned in hopes to find the magic caster that manipulated the rain. He saw no one of notice. Aside from the sport injury the assignment was uneventful. The tall man thought it odd a caster would interfere in a high school football match. And not any magic caster, but a high level Elemental intervened here. The rain continued to fall. The boy continued to scream as the paramedics positioned him on the stretcher. The tall man wondered if he realized he completed the pass. Even with magic at play, he somehow maintained focus. The tall man, whom was hard to impress, found himself liking the injured kid a little. Although, it’s hard to like a man who was screaming like a newborn he thought. The ambulance carrying the green teams quarterback left the stadium with sirens blaring. Again the tall man swept the crowd with his unique gaze. If that was the magic casters purpose, then perhaps he would spot them leaving. No one left. The green team took the lead with that completed pass. Three minutes hung on the clock. A score differential of one had every attendee focused on the field. His initial prey was here. Now that magic was present the tall man found his hand resting on the six shooter revolver at his waist. Although he never impersonated law enforcement, no one ever worried about the guns forever strapped to his waist. As if they blended into his body to the average glance. The tall man knew that would not be the case if he had to fire them in this crowded stadium. “Damn this assignment,” he swore as his eyes swept the stadium left to right column after column. As the clock ticked down to it’s final seconds he sensed something amis. His prey finally revealing itself. The bloodlust so strong he could taste it.

  The feeling came from a group of kids wearing red at the far end of the stadium making an early exit. With no pause, the tall man forcefully trudged through the crowd. Had he been tracking his prey visually he would have long since lost them in the multitudes. However, tracking scents and auras made staying connected to his target a bit easier at prolonged distances. The aura took on a colored trail in his mind. The swarm of people leaving the stadium muted the trail some, but as long as it didn’t gain too much distance the tall man was fine to track at this length. In this setting, the hunt excited him. In many ways he lived for these moments. The stadium was loud as his approach drew closer. Cheers of “Go Green Go” and curses from the red team’s fans mixed with kids laughing and joking floated in the air. The aura he was following stopped. A small wave of relief spread through the tall man realizing he wouldn’t have to run down a car tonight. The aura led him behind the away side bleachers. Everyone else walking opposite giving him quick glances a
s he brushed them with no regard. Feeling himself getting closer and closer to his prey, a distinct scent of blood mixed in the air. He sensed fear and panic from the auras direction as well. If he wasn’t already on alert, his body was now in full anticipation of an attack. The magic user still in the back of his mind. If he had to fight off both, this mission would prove difficult. He could radio for support, but the smell of blood was growing stronger by the second. Someone up ahead was running out of time. Behind the bleachers was an entrance to the school. A large frame sporting two green double doors was all the separated hunter from hunted. The tall man stepped through the doors feverishly. The hallway was dark, but that mattered little to someone like him. His eyes needing a fraction of a second to adjust as he took in the scene. The hallway now half lit as he walked through it. The fluorescent lighting seemed to be motion sensitive, but the beast was somehow immune. The wolf like beast and its prey filled the otherwise deserted hallway. The beast had her, a cheerleader, pinned to a locker near death. His oversized claws, manlike with wolf fur, digging into her shoulder left her immobilized. Her breath as faint as her dwindling pulse. Blood dripping from the wound. So much blood. The beast lapping it up as a dog would water. Of all manner of monsters the tall man loathed what humans called werewolves the most. In this sector of the war, such beast were common. Animalistic in nature they lacked the elegance of an immortal. At least these foot soldiers do. Like a virus they kill or infect humans at a rampant pace. The infection proving to be more problematic than the death toll left in their wake. An infected host could travel before their turn was complete. The majority of his missions were new beast outbreaks just like this. As he took in the fenririans full features he caught the indicator cut on its wrist. The cheerleader near her mortal death would provide a good meal for her maker, but she would ultimately be left to heal from this night. A week later she would be the monster he would hunt.. If only they weren’t in this stadium he could have reached her sooner. If only he caught the scent earlier he wouldn’t be tasked with this dirt once again. The tall man gave no pause as he ripped into beast and girl alike. Bullets tore into both flesh and fur as he began his charge. With inhuman speed he closed the distance between them. Cautiously approaching he planted foot after foot into the lockers running along the wall guns blazing. After a bought of acrobatics and gun fire the tall man stood above his prey. In that moment he toppled into the thing beneath him. He allowed himself to be enveloped in what the beast use to be. Days ago it was a student at this school. It worried about test, and girls liking him. Days ago it, no he, was holding someone’s hand. Days ago he was a happy human, but fate did not care for his happiness. In one final shot he squeezed both triggers. The blood splattered against his face. With blank empty eyes he looked at the beast and the girl. Her body riddled with bullet holes shuddering on the hallway floor. Life had long since left her. The moment the beast bit into her flesh, she was dead. It would have eaten her, or let her turn after taking some of her blood. The tall man had seen it so many times over his too long life. Killing her was the only mercy fate allowed him to bestow. Raising a finger to his headset he said, “target eliminated, one casualty, area needs cleanup, and I’m getting a damn drink. Don’t call for me again tonight.” Looking back to the hallway massacre he whispers, “may the Seven claim your soul and give you peace.”

  4

  Chapter 4

  Picking the right school was much harder without scouts telling me what to think, thought Tye. Without a sports scholarship made it even more difficult to choose. My parents had some money saved, but I never thought I’d need it for college. Paving my own way is something i never doubted before. It was something I never had to doubt. I was going to be rich, and buy my parents a mansion. They deserved a mansion. My parents were young when they had me, but they both managed to make a good life for us. A happy life, but they worked too much. Both of them constantly taking on extra shifts to pay for my counseling, gear, or to send me to some exclusive football camp to help me get scouted. They were the best. Visions of doing it on my own were an essential part of me. Were. Another crutch in my new life. Worthless. That’s the black hole talking I tell myself. Recognizing when the darkness speaks and when the thoughts are my own isn’t as challenging now. It use to be worse, before I met Julianne. At times, even the dark thoughts are true. Those are the worst thoughts to deal with. My mini sun’s help. To unburden my parents I applied for schools with large academic scholarships. Julianne recommended that to me during a session. I’ve always done well in math and science so I picked bio-engineering as my major. The school to give me the most funding was HighBrow University. A private college with a modest football team. If they realized who I was perhaps they’d recruit me after I recover. My solar energy still illuminates my brain as I have hopeful futuristic thoughts regarding football. It doesn’t happen often. The program I was accepted to is for overachievers, and is taught at an accelerated pace. Finish your Masters in 4 years is what the brochure said. What that really means is no semesters off at 24 credits per semester, is the sentence I signed up for. Better to throw myself into the work. I could also use the distraction from missing the field. HighBrow sent out assignments to begin the summer before classes began. To ensure everyone was up to speed, and prepared for the course load. I didn’t touch the summer packets. As they collected dust in my room I shuffled through shrink appointments, rescinded scholarship offers, and more Netflix and internet porn than I’ll admit. I was confined to my bed. The warmth radiating from my comforter my sole friend for a time. My floor was lava, but my bed was a lava proof raft. Watching TV quieted the voices of doubt being fueled by the black hole in my body. That was before Julianne found the right medicine for me. She shared with my mom that getting my levels correct had been a challenge. My weight and muscular density coupled with my age created an issue giving me the amount I needed without creating dependency. It wasn’t until two weeks before classes began that Julianne brought my mini sun’s from the vacuum of space and into my orbit. Since then I’ve been catching up. “You’ll never catch up,” the darkness in my mind tells me. I ignored it. I read as I walk to my class. Head down half holding up the school map, and eating a muffin as well. I’m walking fast. I’m not in a rush, but the more space I put between my bed and myself, the less likely I’ll crawl back to it. Smack. I never saw her coming. I knock someone over accidentally, and immediately regret it. She’s looks to be 5’2, blonde hair, with a slim build. Barreling into her sends the stack of books from her hand flying briefly into the air. The rhythmic thuds as all of her new textbooks land makes me cringe. Instantly I set my things down to retrieve her materials I just scattered all over the sidewalk. I’m picking up the last one when I feel a fuming presence over me. It’s ominous. “Watch where the fuck your going asshole,” she says heatedly. I laugh in reply, which comes off wrong . Completely wrong judging by the increasingly darker shade of red on her face.

  “Sorry,” I say with a smirk on my face. It’s just I use to be a cocky small town big shot, And I bet I sounded like that often. Let me make it up to you.”

  “I don’t see anything funny,” she states still glaring. ” If your going to make this up to me then the least you can do is carry my books big shot.”

  Relief spread through me at the lighter forgiving request. “Sure I have some time. Which way you headed?”

  “Library,” her only reply. With arms crossed she was now glaring at me again. Her attitude remained.

  I probably hurt her. At my size I’ve hurt much larger players in collisions. She wasn’t limping or holding herself in a sore spot. There were no scrapes on her either. Good. Fortunately my class was being taught in a library room as well. We set off for our classes. Me now holding even more books, and shoving the rest of the muffin in my mouth. Her navigating the way with my copy of the school layout. We walk in silence save the occasional directional cue. The walk was long, especial in the August heat. Tye found himself not wishing for rain as it now carri
ed an odd association. The books were much lighter than weights he was use to carrying, but the distance made the task more difficult. His ankle began to throb a few minutes into the walk. He did his best to make it look easy when he noticed the girl throwing him the occasional glare. As they neared the library Tye almost tripped over himself. His gaze lost in the massive pyramid before him. This was one of the most famous buildings in the country. The library at Highbrow was large enough to hold half the campus. It was breathtaking.

  “My name’s Marie,” the small blonde girl says as we arrive to the base of the Library. She’s looking up at me with her big blue eyes. Her face more relaxed than when our trip began. She was stunning without that scowl on her face. “What should I call you?” The question interrupting my physical assessment of her body.