The Changing
The Subways
I was still in the city. But with the spires of fire from burning skyscrapers casting ghoulish shadows on the dark ground below and the distant moans of unearthly and ghastly creatures I felt like like I wasn’t on earth anymore. I turned around slightly taking in a 360 degree view of my surroundings. Not only was I in the city, but I was in an area I’ve never seen before. Oddly this has never happened. Even with all my memories gone I seemed to understand a lot of things. I knew how to talk, I knew how to act, and I knew right and wrong. This felt like I was an alien on another planet.
The night air mixed with the embers of fire and ash created a smog and mist that covered most of the ground level. I could hardly see two feet in front of me. The only things I seemed to be able to make out were the fires on buildings and the flutter of shadows off in the distance. Hopefully they were just the flicker of lights from the flames. My gut told me otherwise.
“Alright- Saul; let’s do this” I silently sighed to myself before I slowly picked up my foot and stepped further into the mist. Where was I going? I felt claustrophobic. I had such few options. I was trapped in hell with a goal and no real way to achieve it except luck. Hopefully luck was on my side.
I kept on marching occasionally seeing this in the mist too tall to be human or just too abnormal to be real. I dont know what they were. They looked as if they were shadows of things but I wasn’t going to find out. I stayed as far away from them as I could. It took me about a few miles to realize I had no idea where I was, or even the warehouse’s location that I came from. For all I knew I walked in a giant circle. Luckily this being the city it wasn’t to hard to find a untouched sign post with a street name, but without a map that did me nothing. That’s when it hit me. Subways have map stations. I noticed during my walks a subway station here or there. I didn’t dare go down them. There wasn’t a reason to before.
I swallowed whatever self preservation I had and decided that was my next stop. The subways. See I wasn’t scared of them. But I was terrified of what was in them. On more then one occasion I saw those shadows of beasts climb up and down those steps. I wanted to believe it was my imagination but I know it wasn’t. Not after what Levi told me and not after what I saw with the cadavers. These shadows originated from somewhere and im going to have to go down in their home. The only good thing about that was I wasn’t at the entrance of a subway just yet.
I was still hiking my way up and down the ash trodden streets. The soot fell from the sky like snow and even left a residue like such on the ground. I smiled looking at my footprints. It looked like a more peaceful time.
“That’s odd” I mumbled to myself. I remembered a time of peace. Ever since I first woke up it seems most of my memories are those of torment. Maybe it’s just because of the state the worlds in. Maybe there’s real memories in me somewhere. I let my smile grow wider before nearly dieing of fright. There were two sets of footprints behind me. I wasn’t the only one walking down this path.
“Hello there child.”
I glanced terrified in every direction. Up, down, left, right, and side to side. Nothing. The footprints behind me were in the shape of hooves yet they were abnormally big. At least double the size of my feet. I tried my hardest to locate where they stopped but it seemed like the hoof prints ended right in front of my body. I was dead. I was discovered and I was dead.
“Do not worry, I am above killing you.”
This creatures voice sounded horribly dry. As though with each word he tore his throat in two. I had no other choice but to imagine a creature with a mouth so chapped that his lips were falling off from his face. Yet oddly enough his voice was reassuring. He sounded like an bitter old man dieing in flames but his words were as enjoyable as drinking from a forbidden fountain. With that I relaxed.
“It’s good to see you survived your trip, what name do you go by now filius?”
I closed my eyes and breathed in and out deeply gaining my courage. “My name is Saul.”
The demon chortled with laughter. Each laugh sounded drawn out an pained as if he forgot the pleasure of a laugh. I gulped miserably. I felt hot breath on the back of my neck and I didnt dare open my eyes.
“That name suits you, but you’ll always be filius to me. Pick your side wisely. I wont always be so nice.” and with that the silence returned. I didn’t open my eyes for several minutes though. I was still terrified.
Cold sweat ran down my back as I began to get moving again. I have still yet to see a demon with my own eyes but from what I heard, let’s just say I have no more doubts about the reality of them existing. Whatever happened to this city, or rather world, is beyond me.
I can imagine the first contact with these creatures. There would be massive beasts destroying buildings entirely with one swing while legions of fighters move up and down the street like warriors from a time long ago. They would have raped, tortured and killed all in their sights. None would be spared. Except for the few who left their loved ones behind to be killed. Those like Levi.
I shivered at the thought. My feet were still marching forward with or without my mind to guide them. I felt as though I was on autopilot. I figured my eyes must’ve looked the same as the survivors ever since I met the demon who called me filius. There was something strange about that encounter. I couldn’t put my finger on it. It was probably because of the fact I was still breathing. Never mind that, I thought to myself. I had reached an entrance of a subway tunnel.
There’s not much I can say about it. It looked the same as ever just a little foreboding in the mist. I sighed again and took a step forward to look down the dark shaft of the tunnel leading to no where. The air was murky. It had a certain smell to it only comparable to a char house. Even the walls going down seemed blackened as if an explosion lit the entire subway system on fire. I figured I’d take that as a good sign. Maybe it’d mean the demons were done with it. Or maybe it meant survivors cleaned the tunnel out. I smiled at the unbelievable thought of anyone standing up to these creatures.
Then I began my descent.
The night air mixed with the embers of fire and ash created a smog and mist that covered most of the ground level. I could hardly see two feet in front of me. The only things I seemed to be able to make out were the fires on buildings and the flutter of shadows off in the distance. Hopefully they were just the flicker of lights from the flames. My gut told me otherwise.
“Alright- Saul; let’s do this” I silently sighed to myself before I slowly picked up my foot and stepped further into the mist. Where was I going? I felt claustrophobic. I had such few options. I was trapped in hell with a goal and no real way to achieve it except luck. Hopefully luck was on my side.
I kept on marching occasionally seeing this in the mist too tall to be human or just too abnormal to be real. I dont know what they were. They looked as if they were shadows of things but I wasn’t going to find out. I stayed as far away from them as I could. It took me about a few miles to realize I had no idea where I was, or even the warehouse’s location that I came from. For all I knew I walked in a giant circle. Luckily this being the city it wasn’t to hard to find a untouched sign post with a street name, but without a map that did me nothing. That’s when it hit me. Subways have map stations. I noticed during my walks a subway station here or there. I didn’t dare go down them. There wasn’t a reason to before.
I swallowed whatever self preservation I had and decided that was my next stop. The subways. See I wasn’t scared of them. But I was terrified of what was in them. On more then one occasion I saw those shadows of beasts climb up and down those steps. I wanted to believe it was my imagination but I know it wasn’t. Not after what Levi told me and not after what I saw with the cadavers. These shadows originated from somewhere and im going to have to go down in their home. The only good thing about that was I wasn’t at the entrance of a subway just yet.
I was still hiking my way up and down the ash trodden streets. The soot fell from the sky like snow and even left a residue like such on the ground. I smiled looking at my footprints. It looked like a more peaceful time.
“That’s odd” I mumbled to myself. I remembered a time of peace. Ever since I first woke up it seems most of my memories are those of torment. Maybe it’s just because of the state the worlds in. Maybe there’s real memories in me somewhere. I let my smile grow wider before nearly dieing of fright. There were two sets of footprints behind me. I wasn’t the only one walking down this path.
“Hello there child.”
I glanced terrified in every direction. Up, down, left, right, and side to side. Nothing. The footprints behind me were in the shape of hooves yet they were abnormally big. At least double the size of my feet. I tried my hardest to locate where they stopped but it seemed like the hoof prints ended right in front of my body. I was dead. I was discovered and I was dead.
“Do not worry, I am above killing you.”
This creatures voice sounded horribly dry. As though with each word he tore his throat in two. I had no other choice but to imagine a creature with a mouth so chapped that his lips were falling off from his face. Yet oddly enough his voice was reassuring. He sounded like an bitter old man dieing in flames but his words were as enjoyable as drinking from a forbidden fountain. With that I relaxed.
“It’s good to see you survived your trip, what name do you go by now filius?”
I closed my eyes and breathed in and out deeply gaining my courage. “My name is Saul.”
The demon chortled with laughter. Each laugh sounded drawn out an pained as if he forgot the pleasure of a laugh. I gulped miserably. I felt hot breath on the back of my neck and I didnt dare open my eyes.
“That name suits you, but you’ll always be filius to me. Pick your side wisely. I wont always be so nice.” and with that the silence returned. I didn’t open my eyes for several minutes though. I was still terrified.
Cold sweat ran down my back as I began to get moving again. I have still yet to see a demon with my own eyes but from what I heard, let’s just say I have no more doubts about the reality of them existing. Whatever happened to this city, or rather world, is beyond me.
I can imagine the first contact with these creatures. There would be massive beasts destroying buildings entirely with one swing while legions of fighters move up and down the street like warriors from a time long ago. They would have raped, tortured and killed all in their sights. None would be spared. Except for the few who left their loved ones behind to be killed. Those like Levi.
I shivered at the thought. My feet were still marching forward with or without my mind to guide them. I felt as though I was on autopilot. I figured my eyes must’ve looked the same as the survivors ever since I met the demon who called me filius. There was something strange about that encounter. I couldn’t put my finger on it. It was probably because of the fact I was still breathing. Never mind that, I thought to myself. I had reached an entrance of a subway tunnel.
There’s not much I can say about it. It looked the same as ever just a little foreboding in the mist. I sighed again and took a step forward to look down the dark shaft of the tunnel leading to no where. The air was murky. It had a certain smell to it only comparable to a char house. Even the walls going down seemed blackened as if an explosion lit the entire subway system on fire. I figured I’d take that as a good sign. Maybe it’d mean the demons were done with it. Or maybe it meant survivors cleaned the tunnel out. I smiled at the unbelievable thought of anyone standing up to these creatures.
Then I began my descent.