No World for Tomorrow

I feel the cold sweat start to drip down my brow as these creatures still stare at me, their eyes still glowing that haunting yellow, as if they're not so much staring at me, but into my very mind, and their moans only make these moments feel like centuries. When I hear the flapping, their moaning becomes silent, and the glow starts to fade, and I hear the whirring sound of the outside wind, as I await the next thing to confront me. It takes it's sweet time reaching me, and I'm an uneasy calm, the wings somewhat relax me, yet make me feel as if I need to decide whether to run, fight, or die. Right here, right now. I close my eyes for a second, and then hear one last flap, and then hear a loud thud, which makes me open my eyes to see a beautiful woman, the moonlight shining behind her, almost making her resonate, her golden hair falling down below her shoulders, a long white dress trailing behind her. I sigh with relief, as the creature starts to walk towards me, and she flashes a smile, her teeth perfect, and I feel my heart beating just a bit faster. She looks a bit familiar, but not so much to jog any memories. How the Hell do I know about angels? Is this even real or some weird aftereffect from the drug they gave me?

She keeps walking forward, extending her arms, and before I know it, shes singing in some ancient language, I can only make out a few words, but they're words of paradise, of peace, and she envelops me in her arms, holding me close, my cheek against her chest. She continues singing, swaying me back and forth as I keep trying to remember the song, I know it, I know I do, just like I know her.... C'mon man, think! All of a sudden, I remember.

"....Mother..." I say quietly, as I wrap my arms around her and bury my face in her shoulder, feeling like I was a child again. She quietly whispers, "Shhhh, my child, it's all going to be okay," into my ear.

"What is all this? You.... you never escaped that fire." I say, pulling her closer.

"I didn't, my child, I died there, and was picked up by a Collector, he took me to the other world, and now I can finally return to you." She says, softly, and I sigh, rubbing through her hair to her back, feeling something that isn't exactly skin.

"Do you remember what you told me that night mother? The night you died?" I say, pulling away slowly, and I look her in the eyes, as she nods, "You remember how you told me everything would be okay, and you and I would meet again in the Afterlife? You told me your spirit would wander the fields of Elysium forever, and you would never return. Instead, you said our family would be reuinted."

"Yes, yes child, I know, now hush, let Mother enjoy your company." She says, and I push her back.

"You remember that night? The night you were in the hospital, after giving birth to my sister, and you were on your last hours of life?" I keep staring the creature in the eyes, "You are not my mother."

The creature starts laughing, her voice changing, as does her appearance, and her wings start to fade into a faint gray, and feathers start to fall slowly, burning before they hit the ground, and she rushes forward, pushing me against the wall, her arms changed, normal at the shoulders, but when they got to the elbows, they got bulky, almost scaly, as a dragon's would be, her fingers changed into four sharp talons, stabbing around me, keeping me planted against the wall. She brings her face close to mine, her hair faded gray and misplaced, pieces of her scalp showing, with dried blood dropping down over her blindfold, her nose seeming to not exist, as if it were chopped off, yet when she sniffs, the nasal cavities close and open rapidly, and her lips curl into a smile, showing a shark-like mouth with different rows of razor teeth, as she expels a red mist into my face. Smells of, as people would say in the movies, 'fire and brimstone'.

She holds me there, as I become paralyzed, whilst she keeps sniffing me, frantically, only to squeeze her talons around my shoulders, making me gasp for breath, her stregnth is incredible, feels like a vice grip. She steps back, still staring at me through her blindfold, though I doubt she has any eyes, and I can't find the courage to move, if I did, she would be able to kill me with one blow, but if I stay here, she'll be able to do it as well. I close my eyes and let out a deep breath, trying to figure out what to do, and take in my surroundings, half-circle of zombified insane people, holes in the roof, wind blowing at seemingly hurricane force winds, and to top it off, a....whatever that is. I need to attack, so I decide to charge forward, and as soon as I do, she swings her talons at me, grabbing me and throwing me across the room, through the group of moaning, yellow eyes freaks, and I break about five tables. I sit there, cursing myself, and she walks over, not exactly walking, but kind of limping, leaving a trail of some dark liquid, steaming as soon as it hit the ground.

Tar, you should remember that awful smell, kid.

"Who said that?" I end up saying a tad louder than I wanted, but hey, it spooked me.

Take up your sword, Warrior of Zeal. Show this petty creature what you stand for, O Defender of Morality.

I look up to one of the holes in the roof, and see a man floating there, unbothered by the harsh winds outside, his eyes deep and.... blank. He floats down, landing between me and the winged creature, and points a finger at it, like its a pet, and it cowers in fear, as he walks over to me, squatting in front of me, his hands on both kness as he looks me up and down.

"Tsk tsk, you sure did get yourself in a pickly, you know that?" He lets out a big sniffle, then wipes his nose with his finger, and looks back to me, "Sorry, I'm just allergic to people like you, make me so.... sick."

I move a bit, so I'm sitting straight up, my arms broken, I can feel it, and its starting to swell, and I look him up and down, he looks like he comes from some poor teenage gothic novel, dressed in old English clothing, dark toned, and his hair makes him look like some Anne Rice creation. I chuckle a bit, and ask, "Do I know you, or should I simply call you," I make my voice deeper, mocking him, "Lestat?".

He chuckles at me, shaking his finger side to side, "Watch it warrior, I would love to kill one of your kind, especially with our....." He looks me up and down, makes some sort of loud sniffle again, then spits next to me, and says lowly, "Connections." He falls back onto his ass, and looks over his shoulder, "How can you be beaten so easily by just a handful of the Damed, and one measly Seeker? Its quite pathetic you know, this isn't even worth paperwork up there."

I laugh a bit, catching my breath, "Yeah, well, I don't know if you know who I am, but I can sure as Hell tell you I don't. So, explain to me, what are those things, why were you calling me a warrior, and more importantly, can you teach me to fly?"

The man raises an eyebrow, then I see a small smirk appear on his face, as he extends his hand, "My sincerest apologies! I thought you knew what all this was, and well, who am I to refuse you information that you will need?" He grabs my arm and places his hands around them, and for a second, my arm burns, then it feels better and I can move it again. "You see, way back in the day, a war was declared. However it was not to be fought by means of my kind, you see, no it was to be fought by you all. You.... pesky little mortals, no offence." I wave my hand like its no big deal and he continues, "Fourteen are chosen on a field at random, seven to each side, and they are to fight to the death. Each of you are given a weapon, that reflects who you are, and what it is your...... soul, or rather, your life force. We restricted the weapons so they only reflect those of.... how do I say..... true skill? No...... I'll just say the ones that lead to some of the most exciting fights. You've been drafted into a special war, because this one has the presence of the Scar! The Scar is something every mortal fears, or in some strange, derranged cases, revere as their God. In all honesty, its simply a gateway to our world, connecting the two for the first time in a millenia, our creatures are here to create...... obstacles for your kind, to see who deserves to live, who doesn't. You have the choice, and because the Seeker didn't kill you is why I thought you fought for......them." As he says that final saying, he takes a face of pure hatred, and the words come out as if they were poison.

"Them being Sanctity, I presume?" I say, standing now, and his eyes shoot me a glare that seem to burn straight into my mind, and I get a migraine.

"Yes, the ones who claim to fight for 'what is right', who claim to be judges, who claim that there must be Order for everyone to prosper. Led by that pompous bitch, Beatrice. God I hate her more than anything..." He looks at me, then chuckles slightly, "Sorry, that was a bit over the top, put simply, you have yet to be claimed, and I only have six fighters, so you have the choice, fight for her, and be led by some false ideal, or fight for me."

"What do you stand for? What is your name?" I ask, the burn in my shoulder returning.

"I stand for humanity! I stand for what we see as something bad, and label as temptaion, I believe in nature! I will let others do what they wish, with no meanings of consequence, and they will be unharmed by such petty fools such as the ones behind me. So, tell me, you gonna join the Bitch Brigade, or you gonna join me, all you have to do is say, 'I.....whatever your name is..... swear under you, my Master, Samuel, and will carry out your bidding'."

I look around, and clench my fist, moving my shoulder, and I point to the Seeker behind him, "Why wouldn't she kill me, and why didn't those other freaks attack either?"

He looks down, closing his eyes, and rubs his temples, his voice obviously annoyed, "Oh, you know, because the Seeker finds people and feeds on their weaknesses, if you break their facade, they try to sniff through you, finding your fear and devouring your body because of that. The Damned are kind of the same, except they feed on the darkness in peoples' hearts, metaphorically, its what gives them stregnth, but they are quite fond to flesh when they do attack. Why they didn't attack you, I have no clue, so hurry now, choose."

"I don't want to be a part of this war." I say as I walk by him and the Seeker starts to follow my steps, sniffing me, trying to fing an opening, "I'm leaving now, thanks for the help and explanations."

"How dare you...." I feel the air start to get thinner around me, then suddenly, I feel a chill go up my spine as he yells, "Turn your fucking back on me!!!" I turn just in time to see him letting go of a sickle, and it hits my chest, sending me flying back and impaling me onto a wall. He walks over to me, mumbling things, and then stands in front of me, placing a hand around my neck, "You don't want to be in this war? Tough fucking luck, kid, you're in it. The only way out, is for you to swear allegiance to a side right now, and with your current situation, I think you know what you have to do, don't you?"

I feel blood start to come out my mouth, but I feel this.... almost burning sensation in my heart, the kind of feeling you get when you know you don't want something. I look him in the eyes, and smirk, holding onto his wrist with my own hand, the other on his neck, as I spit the blood from my mouth into his face. He gets mad, using his other hand to pull the sickle out of the wall, yet it stays in me, and we starts floating in the air, two large black wings, almost batlike, stretching through his clothes, and the tables fly everywhere, the Damned disintegrate and the Seeker lets out a last loud, ear-ringing shriek, and flies off into the night. He holds me simply by the wound, and I cry out in pain, and he yells at me, "Is this what you want!? All of you are the fucking same! Willing to die a pointless death when the right answer is smack dab in front of you! Well guess what, Mr. Dogood, I'm not gonna let you die that easy, I will put you through as much pain as FUCKING possible! It's my goddamned SPECIALTY. The rules dictate that me and the whore aren't supposed to interfere, but she broke that rule first, now didn't she, Abel? Now..." He reaches out his hand, and places his palm on my forehead, and says quietly, "Give me your memories."

I feel a surge, and he takes his hand back, then stares me in the eyes, his own narrowing, and another knife comes from his sleeve, and he stabs downward, and I feel it stab into my chest. I cry again in pain, as I hear a woman's voice say in my ears, "Fight back, you fool!"

I tighten my grip around his wrist, and move my other hand to his knife, not knowing what will happen, I force him to draw it , streams of blood flying everywhere, and I start to float myself, blood falling from my wounds, dripping down my feet to the floor below, as I say, louder than the wind, "I, Abel Coreas, swear my allegiance to thee, Beatrice, let me be your right hand, allow me to bring down judgement upon those whom are unfit. Allow me to be the flaming sword, allow me to be the arrow, give me the stregnth to rid this world, and give me the courage to rise when I otherwise cannot. I swear my allegiance to thee, O Mighty Guardian."

Suddenly, the burning feelings I had in my heart spreads all over my body, and arms and legs extend, and I am put through pain that I cannot describe, then, my wounds stop bleeding. The blood that fell to the floor slowly starts to rise, and the blood from Samuel's weapons are slowly pulled off, and they form flowing streams all around me, circling around me, and I feel an immense power, then I hear the woman's voice again, "I'm glad you're under my service Abel, you can be my right hand, you will be my burning sword, showing light to all those covered in this dark world. I bestow upon you the greatest gift I have, the gift to control the essence of life itself, control the crimson streams that flow through each person, and use them as you see fit. See you soon."

Her 'See you soon', wasn't exactly formal, sounded more like a friendly goodbye, but right now, that doesn't matter, because I am standing on a small pallete of blood, and Samuel is staring at me, his eyes unchanging, and he charges me again, stabbing me straight through with his sickle, and kicking me back. I turn my hands, and raise them above my head, and the streams of blood move to my command, and I thrown both my hands down, as the streams circle around us and stab him through the back, and peel him away from me. I hold him there, helpless in front of me, and he stares at me, laughing, "You think you can kill me here? You're sorely mistaken boy, your kind made a grave mistake creating me. Now I will show you why, your worst nightmares, your deepest fears are about to come real. The War is begining, and I've just found my last warrior. Thank you, but this is where I'm leaving, so with all do respect, go fuck yourself." He raises his middle finger at me, then disappears in a flash, as if he was never there. I fall to the floor, and can barely breath as the streams of blood start to flow back into me, and my wounds seal up almost instantaneously.

I walk through the remains of our fight, I didn't notice, but we caused a bit of destruction, the entire ward is like it was hit with mortars, blown to Hell. I look over the fence, and see the city lights still strong in the early morning, "Guess I'm free, finally."

I let a slight smirk as I run through the guards lockers, grabbing clothes to fit me, a gun neatly hidden in a desk, but not so neatly that it wasn't obviously there, and I take the money from just about everyone at the mental institute, not like they'll need it anymore. I stand on the cliffs, and see a boat belonging to a worker here, and I laugh as it fits so perfectly. Finally, I'm free, but one thing stands out above everything......

"What the Hell am I going to do now?"