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Literature Text
Broken Wings Chronicles
The Rise of the Fallen
Written by: John Kennedy R. Ozores
Prelude to the Awakening
Genesis
In ancient times, humans and angels walked the earth. It was a time of peace, prosperity and progress. Indifferences did not exist nor did boundaries or laws, except for one general law, which is to love and care for everything that one sees in thy surroundings. Millenniums passed as the people continued to live in such a peaceful pace. One night during the celebration of the star festival, an omnipotent being, descended from the heavens. The people of the world celebrated his arrival into this world, as they receive the power to create through imagination. The humans and the angels collaborated to improve life, as the world felt complete. Their collaboration heightened the way of living in this world into such unimaginable heights. Technological advancements constantly rose as the people’s demands climbed, as it kept catching up with the demands and most of the time it surpassed the expectation of the masses. Everyone thought that it would last forever…
Until the humans became ultimately dependent to technology and they grew envious of their angelic companions because of their state of being and the fact that they are closer to the creator himself. On the other hand, the angels felt the same for they are incapable of feeling intense emotions and the ability to reproduce. The indifferences grew little by little to the point that both races started despising each other. Although these problems started affecting how each race treat each other, they still tried living as harmonious as they can be. Therefore, each time they complete the seasonal cycle, they celebrate the day of their creation. As part of celebrating their creation, the humans have made a special day for their creator in a form of a festival gathering angels and humans alike. Everyone was having a great time with the festivities until a very unfortunate event occurred and scarred the relationship between the angels and humans. A human, found to be under the influence of an angel, has performed an act of pure intent to take the life of another human through murder. Life as they know it does not cease nor does it wither. The mortals started blaming the angels that they were the ones who took the life of that unfortunate soul. Therefore, began a war between the supernatural and the mortals. As time passes by the mortals noticed that they themselves are growing weak and vulnerable without the angelic blessing. While people started dying out of old age, the angels started to lose their physical bodies making them incapable of any physical contact, at the same time, invulnerable to the humans’ attempts to take an angel’s life. The angels started living as spirits; gaining influence through words of persuasion, they started possessing the mortals, which in turn made them demons. The mortals started fearing them as they started killing other people who they thought was possessed by these demons. During those dark times, the mortals feared their own kind. More and more mortals started taking sides there were people who joined the angelic ones gaining their immortality back as part of their pact. The others remained true to their kind continuing the losing battle against their life long enemy.
Generations passed the mortals and the angelic forces still battle for their right to rule this world. Then came a point in time where the humans gained a precious relic, which gave them hope for their future. The relic was powerful enough to provide everlasting life to its beholder. With such a powerful item at hand, the mortals kept it in secret. To protect the item, they hid it in a remote location which only the beholder and the elders know about. To protect the item, the elders placed the beholder into deep sleep right beside the item until the beholder becomes powerful enough to fulfill the prophecy the elders predicted with the ancient ritual that they use to foresee the future. The angelic forces felt desperate to stop this from happening in turn they gathered a group of people, which they have influenced to build arks. Right after the completion of the arks, the great flood arrived, wiping out every living being on the face of the world. With the exception of everyone in the arks, mortals started walking the world once more. As time passed, it divided the angelic forces in two as the angels and demons, which in turn brought another war, the war between good and evil. The battles were endless, as more and more people were enslaved. These forces ruled over the world making the mortals suffer out of indifferences. Numerous gods appeared here and there. The mortals confused on whom to believe, they started choosing gods, forming different religions. With no one questioning which is the real god, the people worshipped them faithfully believing that they will be saved after death. With the new war going on, the angels and demons started overseeing that an ancient prophecy is about to awaken to fulfill his duty.
Millenniums passed, the war between good and evil remained. The mortals continued to take sides as they in turn making them lose their memory on how they came to be. The world became so chaotic battles where millions of mortals died occurred everywhere. They continued slaughtering one another. The battles for good and evil seemed endless. As time pass by the mortals soon learned new knowledge. They learned about the knowledge on how they can create weapons of destruction, which then later on used to create chaos all over the world. The technological know how evolved until the science on how to take lives improved itself into weapons of mass destruction. With new technology at hand, all hope seemed lost. The world scorched into the darkness, is nearing its destruction in the hands of those who live in it. Having scarce resources, because of the endless war life seemed to be fading away just like the blessing from its creator. With this in mind, the task to protect humanity’s last hope for survival to a number of chosen individuals, specifically chosen because of their abilities and influence. These individuals await the awakening of the said prophecy foreseen by the elders of ancient times. The prophecy’s awakening drew near, as people continued fighting each other in the great wars that passed. The crusades, the First World War, and then the Second World War came. Finally, humanity’s desperation for salvation triggered an event that would change the world in the years to come.
Some time in October 1947 at Okinawa, Japan, deep in the forested area near a small town, people found a group of U.S. forces butchered. It was a horrendous scene. There were body parts everywhere. The investigators found a cave near the scene, based from their investigation the cave was sealed and it could have had explosives in them since it exploded as fragments of the rock sealing it spread outward. As they investigated further, they found reports that there were not any explosives inside that cave. The evidence just says it is negative. After 3 months of investigation, they found nothing that could possibly give them a lead to whether the cave neither led to one of the Japanese military bases nor was it connected to the town nearby. With the town fully secured before the time of the incident and no civilian or military personnel logged out of the town that day except for the scout team. Until this day, that case remained unsolved and the government gave honorary funeral services to honor the men who died on that day for serving their country.
Fifty-nine years later in an old apartment at 13th street, Manhattan, New York, a group of people held a meeting. They wore hoods and dark cloths, preventing recognition. Each of them spoke in such a low voice that it sounded like a whisper. They were all sitting around a big round table, which seated thirteen people. The room was dark and damp. There were thirteen candles one for each person who was in the meeting. The candles placed nearly a couple of feet or less away from each person, preventing the others to see the faces of the one nearest to them. The meeting took a very long pause. Silence reined the room except at times broken by water dripping from the faucet. Finally one of them spoke.
“He has awakened, finally the day of the prophecy draws near,” said by one of them.
“This war between good and evil has given us the chance to lay low. It is only a matter of time before he fully awakens. Until then we shall watch over him,” the man paused for some air then continued. “Darkness has ruled over us ever since we placed him into deep slumber. Light will once again rule this wretched world. Those who have been twisted by those demons will fall and then our rise will be certain.” The others nodded at him right after this statement.
One of the hooded figures spoke all of the sudden, “The question is, is it too early or was it too late for him to come to us now?” he asked. The other fell silent for a brief moment. Then the seemingly leader of the group spoke again, “It is not our task to question the prophecy, but to protect it no matter what the cost,” he said in an unwavering voice. The others merely gave a nod acknowledging the wise answer.
“For now we will wait a little longer, as for tonight, the meeting is done,” the leader of the hooded figures said, as the flames on each candles started flickering as each of them started turning into black smoke fading away into thin air as the flames dies at the same time. Moment later, right after the last candle dies with nothing left except an empty room, neither a soul nor shadow of the men who were in the meeting.
Later that evening, the building caught fire. Firefighters arrived at the scene and tried to put out the fire. They fought the fire for a couple of hours. The place burned down to the ground, reduced to rubbles because of the heat. Arson investigators could not find out what caused the fire but decided to close the case as an accident.
Chapter I: Awakening
Part I: Vincent Reeds
Five days later, a seventeen-year-old lad slept through the night. A young lad who has long platinum blonde hair, a pair of green eyes and a toned body defining his physique, he stands around a hundred and eighty-four centimeters tall. He woke up at the sound of the knock on the door. Getting up to his feet, he got off his bed quite alarmed right after seeing the clock on the table right beside his bed. He realized he is going to be late for school. He then spoke “Pierre, have the car ready and what will I have for breakfast today?”
The man at the door spoke, “Bacon and eggs, young master. Which car will I ask to have ready for you?”
“The silver gray one... The RX-8 I used yesterday,” he answered while rushing to get dressed. He got into his uniform black pants paired with shiny black shoes and black coat with the schools emblem on the left chest area and a crimson red tie. Finally done getting ready, he left his hair a mess just as how he usually likes it. Pierre walked down the hall to have the young master’s request done.
The young lad ate his breakfast, stuffing himself with the toast as soon as he is done with his eggs. He hurried to his car. As soon as he got on, he turned on the engine, revved it and off he went. Arriving at Kite’s café – a popular spot for Gottfried students – near his place, he saw his friend sitting by one of the tables on the sidewalk obviously irritated. As soon as his friend looked at him, his friend gave him a glare as his friend stood up and approached him in his car. Knowing the reason why his friend is mad, he just unlocks the door and lets her in the car. As soon as the door opened, the girl spoke with a little tone of hostility, “You sure did take your time to get here, Vincent.” The girl has a straight-layered hairstyle, blonde hair, a fit and sexy physique and she was about a hundred and sixty centimeters tall. Vincent just said nothing and looked her straight in the eye. The girl just looked back and smiled then said, “OK, fine, I knew you would oversleep anyway.” She got on the car, closed the door and locked it. While she was about to put her seat belt on Vincent started driving again their way to school. Minutes later, they arrive at the parking lot of the school. They got off the car. Vincent is still not speaking a word. As they walk across the hall, they pass by a few students greeting them waving their hands at them. One of the girls approached them saying “Hi” to Vincent then turned to his friend then said, “Liz, here is the paper we need on our English class”.
“Oh, I almost forgot about that,” Liz replied and then smiled at her. “Don’t worry I’ve finished mine two days ago. Thanks to your report we should be done with this by the next day,” she added.
“Great, see you in class then,” said the girl. Right before Liz could reply the girl turned around and left the two at the hallway.
“Yup, see you in class,” Liz whispered. She then hooked her arms around Vincent’s and walked him through the hall towards their lockers. Arriving at their lockers, Vincent took a few things he might need in class. As for Liz, she placed the project report that the girl handed to her earlier inside her locker then closed it. Then they head to their classes. “Vincent, what is your next class?” said Liz.
“I’m having calculus then art class today. Better get going, see you later then,” replied Vincent. He waved then headed to his class. Liz did not have time to respond instead she just walked behind him and went to her class. Vincent and Liz are quite popular at school. Seeing that they are among the riches families in the country also, they are very pretty and handsome. Liz took a modeling job before for being one of the prettiest face in the state, Vincent is somewhat popular amongst the girls in his year.
A few hours later, Vincent got out of his class, headed to his locker, and returned the things he took earlier. He then looked around wondering if Liz would be around to help him later with the portrait he was supposed to finish later today for his art class project. Unable to find her he decided to head towards his classroom. Arriving at the classroom, he did not notice the girl who was taking a good look at his unfinished piece. He continued with his business and placed another canvas onto the stand to make a new piece. Only then did he notice the girl sitting beside him. He just looked at her and awed by her beauty. The girl has long straight jet-black hair reaching her waist; her face was symmetrically beautiful matching it with deep-set eyes with long eyelashes, green colored eyes and rosy lips. The girl looked right back at him and said, “Hi,” smiling elegantly at him. Vincent blushed all of a sudden not realizing why he was blushing in the first place. He has seen many beautiful women like her before at social parties at his place. He felt as if he is not like his normal self. After realizing this, he stopped blushing and said, “Hi,” back to her.
“I’m new here,” said the girl as she realized that the young man’s blush flooded his cheeks, she giggled.
Her giggle made Vincent aware of himself and gathered some confidence. “Oh, so you are a transfer student? Nice meeting you then,” he said. He has completely regained his composure. He took his palette and paint tubes, and puts some of it on the palette.
“So what are you painting?” the girl asked, staring at the blank canvas.
“Well I guess I really can’t start without a model for the portrait that I’m supposed to be painting,” he said bluntly, as his head turn to look at her.
“Let me guess, you want me to model for you?” she said.
“Ye… oh sorry, I shouldn’t really be doing that and I haven’t even introduced myself,” he said to her in a kind manner.
“It’s alright, I know who you are.” She giggled at him as she tried helplessly to stop her blush, which became very evident to the young lad.
“You do?” he said then looked her in the eye. He then realized that with a well-known reputation like his, she might have found out from other students. “You must have heard from the other students, huh,” he added.
“I guess so… well actually this is my first class for today. I missed my class earlier and, I saw this beside my locker,” she said, as she showed her hand holding a school identification card. “Your name is Vincent right? Vincent Reeds,” she said smiling at him.
Finally understanding what happened, Vincent blushed again. He smiled back at her and said, “Yes, that is my name.” He reached out to get his card. “I’m so sorry for not introducing myself earlier, err?” he added.
“Call me Sara, Sara Lane,” she smiled bowing slightly. When Vincent saw how graceful she was at introducing herself, he thought that she must have come from a prestigious family. Her smile landed deep into his thoughts, searing deep into his memory and into his heart. At that moment, he knew his heart skipped a couple of beats.
Vincent smiled back for the last time then he asked her to model for him. Sara agreed and posed in front of him. While painting the two talked all afternoon until he finished the portrait. The artwork astonished Sara because of the detail he put into his work. Vincent walked her to her locker, which was right next to his. They parted ways after saying good-bye to each other. Vincent went straight to his car where Liz waited for a couple of hours. Liz did not ask why Vincent took a long time. Instead, she said that she was sorry for not telling him that she could not model for him in his art class. They got on the car and gave Liz a ride to her place then hit the road again for the long drive to Weize’ manor, which is roughly a thirty-minute drive. He usually goes there after school, where his godfather gives him lectures about how to run the corporation after he graduates.
Weize manor’s ambience seemed orderly calm as the security personnel stationed at the gate saw a glimmer of light approaching the mansion. Moments later, Vincent arrived at the manor. As the gates open, he sees the main building still as elegant as it has always been. As his car passed through the gates the guards noticed that, his car had damages all over it. The left front fender bent, the head light shattered, and the rear bumper bent as well, with both taillights broken. His uniform ripped across the stomach area, his sleeves torn and missing, blood spatters on his cheeks and on his uniform. His vision started becoming blurry as he stepped out of the car. Moments later, he passed out, laid lifeless onto the ground right beside the car. The butler saw him and immediately called for medical assistance. The in-house family doctor and a couple of nurses rush to the scene to check on Vincent. They brought him to one of the guest rooms in the mansion for as arranged by the butler. The family doctor examined him that night and said nothing to anyone. His uncle however is not in the mansion since there was an emergency meeting at the corporate building with the board of directors. Being in such an incident, the family doctor suggested for him to take a couple of days off from school.
Chapter I: Awakening
Part II: Anna Lizette Crest
The next morning, Liz was waiting at the usual waiting place where Vincent always picks her up to go to school. She tried calling him on his mobile phone. However, she did not have any luck reaching him, as the voice messaging system kept answering it, saying that Vincent’s phone is out of reach. When she realized that she was about to be late from school she decided to go on ahead and thought that maybe Vincent must have gone ahead. She took a cab going to school. When she arrived, she rushed to her class, which has already started. After an hour and a half, the first break started. She went to Vincent’s class to check up on him. To her surprise, he is not there. Therefore, she decided to ask one of his classmates. She saw a couple of girls chatting next to her and overheard them. “Have you heard the news?” said the girl nearest to her.
“What news? You mean the accident at Lakeshore drive?” replied the girl next to her, who suddenly turned blue. Liz was stomped hearing what the girl said.
“Yeah, well it wasn’t an accident it was more like a massacre I saw uncensored pictures of it on the net. It was gruesome,” said the girl nearest to her. Liz leaned by the door thinking that Vincent might have been involved.
“Did you download the pictures? Can I see them?” said the girl next to her; walking towards the girl, she was talking to, who took her mobile phone to show her the pictures. Frozen at the door, Liz heard an announcement calling for a name. It was only at the third call that she came to realize that they were calling her name. “Miss Anna Lizette Crest, you are needed at the counseling office,” broadcasted thought the school announcement center. Then the bell rang and the two girls disappeared from her sight looking for a place to sit for the next class that they have.
Liz went to the counseling office as soon as she can. When she approached her destination, she felt a sudden chill down her spine, which made her very nervous. She gathered all of her courage and opened the door. After stepping inside of the room, she saw two Caucasian men, who are about a hundred and eighty centimeters tall and wearing suits both of them are sitting by the table on the left side of the headmaster. The headmaster looked rather weary when she saw him. Then the headmaster spoke, “Miss Crest, we apologize for the inconvenience of asking you to come here knowing that you are pretty much busy at the time being,” the headmaster said calmly.
“Good morning headmaster Alstencrew, it is all right,” she replied. She hid her worries right away at the moment the headmaster spoke again. “These two gentlemen over here are investigators Smith and Rivers, they are here to ask you a couple of questions about yesterday’s incident,” the headmaster said as he gestured for her to take a seat.
“Good morning miss, I’m agent Smith,” he said while offering his hand to her. She took his hand and shook it as she sat down on the other side of the headmaster facing the two well-dressed men. “We should get on to business then. Ms. Crest we would like to know when was the last time you saw Mr. Reeds… Mr. Vincent Reeds?” he asked.
“Did something happen to Vincent?” she replied as her heart shrunk, knowing that the gruesome incident as described by the two girl may have involved Vincent. Then she thought if something happened to Vincent why they would ask for him. “Yesterday, right after dropping me off at my place,” she said while trying to contain her emotions.
“Do you know where he went after dropping you off? Did he tell you anything about his next destination?” agent smith continued the interrogation.
“After school he always heads to his uncle’s place, at the end of Lakeshore drive,” she answered. Her heart started pounding hard as if she knows that Vincent is involved in that incident she heard earlier. “Why are you asking me these questions? Did something happen to him?” she implied. Agent Smith knew this was coming so, he showed the items stored inside a big brown envelop that they brought with them. The brown envelop contained a school identification card a piece of clothing from the school uniform, all of which are enclosed in an air tight sealed bag. She stared at the identification card and saw Vincent face and his name. Tears started trailing down her cheek unable to contain her emotions. “He can’t be dead,” she said in such a low voice that even in a closed room no one heard her.
“Don’t worry miss, he is not dead, as far as we know he is just missing,” he said while trying to calm her. The headmaster remained silent and listening very intently at the interrogation that is going on. “We already tired going to the Reeds mansion but he wasn’t there. We also tried going to his uncle’s place and still no luck,” he sighed. “We fear that he might have been abducted or kidnapped,” he continued. Liz looked at him in fear. “Anyway, we are trying our best to find him. In any case that he contacts anyone of you, please inform us right away,” he said gathering the evidence that he has shown on the table and placed it back into the brown envelop. “Thank you for your cooperation Ms. Crest and headmaster Alstencrew,” He said to them after standing up.
“You’re welcome we are happy to help. I wish you luck with your investigation,” said the headmaster. Liz sat frozen stiff in her place and did not speak after the last statement she gave. The headmaster walked the investigators out of the office and told them the way back to the parking lot. Then, Liz stood up and decided to walk out of the room in shock. The headmaster tried to talk to her. He escorted out of the room as he failed to comfort her. He decided that the best way for her to calm down is for her to deal with it on her own. She decided to go back home instead of attending her next class.
On her way home, she stopped by the café where Vincent used to pick him up to go to school. She ordered a cup of non-fat latte and sat at the seat by the table on the sidewalk. She wondered about things and hoped Vincent is all right. She then took a sip from her drink. At that moment, she heard her heart beat clearly. She ignored it and took another sip from her beverage. She started hearing voices in her head and ignored it as she tried to enjoy her latte. A few moments later, after finishing her latte she started hearing the distinct voices a couple of people conversing. She turned around trying to find where the voices came from. “Why did we have to follow her she seems pretty innocent to me. You’ve seen her reaction when we interrogated her,” said the voice in her head. She looked around once more, confused whether it was just her imagination. As she tried to track down for those men, she finally recognized the other voice. “She is the only lead we have so that we can find Vincent. As far as I know, Vincent is not your ordinary student either. His prints are all over the scene when we investigated it. It is more likely that he has come to hiding. He is our primary suspect as of now,” said the voice. When she recognized it, her instincts took over and she looked at the black van across the street.
A second later, she saw through the vehicle and saw the two agents inside it. She heard their voices again “Why the hell is she looking at us, did she find out?” said Rivers looking alarmed as he looked at Smith.
“Somebody might have ticked us off,” as agent Smith sat still giving Rivers an inquisitive look and tried ignoring every possibility of discovery during a stake out.
“That’s impossible nobody knows about our assignment except the chief,” Rivers implied. Flames started to appear out of nowhere and engulfed the agent in an instant. The agents panicked and tried to get out and tried to get out of the van. The shut tight doors locked from the inside did not budge as they burn inside of the van. She heard nothing but screams as tears rolled on her cheek. Her eyes became weary from the sight she is witnessing and passed out.
She fell from her chair as the person sitting at the table next to her tried to help her. The waiter ran inside of the café to call an ambulance. Moments later, the ambulance came and took her to the nearest hospital. As the time passed, smoke emerged from the van where the two agents did their surveillance. Firefighters came to the scene to extinguish the fire, which engulfed the whole vehicle when they arrived. A few minutes passed, when they had extinguished the fire. As the authorities checked the scene, they found nothing inside the vehicle. They had to check inside since the thick smoke and ashes from the burnt upholstery heavily tinted the windows. The investigation progress fast as there were no other vehicles involved. The police however, did not find anything about the vehicle in their database. Which rouse suspicion that the vehicle’s owner either deliberately unregistered or stolen, since the license plate did not show in the records.
Liz stayed at the hospital for two days. She has been asleep ever since she arrived. Later that evening, she finally woke up. When she opened her eyes, she saw someone sitting right beside her. The person sitting beside her has fallen asleep. The person wore the school uniform. A moment later, she recognized her as her childhood friend who she has not seen for two long years. She decided not to wake her up and went back to sleep. She asked herself where she was and recognized the room as one of the private rooms of the hospital where she visited a distant relative of hers. Liz held her hand so that when her friend wakes up, she would know that she regained her consciousness. She stayed awake that night trying to recall what had happened to her.
Chapter I: Awakening
Part III: The Ghastly Visit
Liz spent the night thinking about what happened to her. However, no matter how hard she tried to recall the events, the memory just seemed to elude her. A moment later, the nurse assigned to her that morning, came in. “Good morning, Miss Cre–,” the nurse stopped as she gestured that the should stay quiet – so that they do not wake her friend up – and the nurse tried to close the door silently. However, despite her efforts, it was too late and her friend woke up and looked at her.
“Liz!” Sara nearly shouted. At that moment, he nurse placed a finger over her lip. She then hugged her before Liz could even say a word to her.
As the nurse checked Liz and with a second found out that, she was doing fine, she moved to the door. “I’ll be checking on you later then Miss Crest,” the nurse interrupted. Liz gave the nurse her approving nod as the nurse left.
“I haven’t seen you for ages. Well at least for me it felt like ages,” Sara said excitingly looking at her friend as she tightened her embrace.
Struggling to break free from her friend’s hug, she spoke once more, “I can’t breathe,” gasped Liz. Sara loosened her embrace and finally let go of her.
“I missed you for so long. I got so excited that I could not wait going back here as soon as mom allowed me to go to Gottfried University. Oh, I forgot I’m a student in your school now,” looking at her eyes fighting back tears that welled up on her eyes. “I also met your boyfriend on my first day,” she joyfully said as her tears backed up.
Liz did not understand what she meant, and then it hit her. “You mean Vincent? No, you are mistaken. He is not my boyfriend,” she blushed as her friend smiled. “Don’t tease me like that Sara,” she said before her friend could even speak another word.
“So that means, I can take him from you then,” Sara giggled. Liz stared at her as she remembered that something happened to Vincent. That he went missing. Tears started flowing down her cheeks. Sara was stunned looking worried that she may have said something unnecessary. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you or anything,” said Sara, as she tried to comfort her.
“No, it’s not that… It’s Vincent–,” Liz gasped, as she looked at Sara in the eye. “Vincent is gone,” she followed. Sara stared at her. Liz explained told her the story about the incident a couple of days ago. Sara just listened to her as she tried to explain everything that happened. However, she could not recall anything at all about the incident that made her lose her consciousness at the café. She just said that she was just not feeling well that day. Sara just nodded and said that she was just probably too depressed that day after hearing about Vincent.
“So Vincent has been missing ever since the incident?” asked Sara, looking rather unalarmed about the situation. Liz nodded at her question. “Well it’s nothing to be worried about I know Vincent is fine. Since, I saw him yesterday just outside of the school,” said Sara. Liz looked at her.
“You saw him?” said Liz. Before Sara could speak a word, Liz spoke once more, “Just outside the school… are you sure it’s him?”
“I’m not really sure… I just thought it could be him. I really didn’t see his face and all,” replied Sara. Liz just stared at her and spoke, “Well anyway, you still have class right?” she asked.
“Yes, in about thirty minutes,” Sara answered as she looked at her watch.
“I’d better go. I wouldn’t want Professor Rodriguez to get mad,” said Sara. Liz gave her a giggle, “I’d definitely agree to that,” she said.
Sara said her goodbyes and left Liz, as she promised to be back as soon as she can. The nurses came in to check on her after she left the room. She then rushed her way to school arriving just five minutes before her first class starts. The class started on time. As the classes progressed for the day, she kept wondering about what her best friend told her at the hospital. The professors constantly caught her day dreaming that day. When classes are over, the thought of Vincent missing kept haunting her mind. The mere thought of it makes her want to find out what really happened that night. She then decided to go to Vincent’s house. However, knowing very little about who he is she remembered that she does not know where Vincent lived and gave up. Arriving at her apartment, she realized one thing she should have thought earlier. She rushed to her room and picked up her phone. “Oh, crap I forgot I don’t know Liz’s number,” she sighed. “Oh, well I can visit her tomorrow and ask about it,” as she went back down and ate her dinner.
After eating her dinner, she went back up and decided to watch some television. She changed form channel to channel looking for something interesting to watch. Then, she decided to watch to the news a little. The newscaster was reporting about some explosion at a local mall.
“The explosion occurred at the second section of the mall at five thirty this evening. Rescuers at the site reported that four people died in this incident. In addition, eighty-nine people are injured. The local government says that they will pay for all of the medical coverage. Crime scene investigators say that based from the evidences that they have collected so far indicates that the bomb used by the terrorist were C4 class,” said the reporter who suddenly paused. “Breaking news just came in, another explosion occurred just now. Richard Conway is at the scene right now and will be reporting the situation at the mall,” said the reporter. “Thank you Michelle, I’m at the scene right now. The third section of the building had just collapsed from the explosion there still people inside. A couple of them are rushing outside the door right now,” said Richard. The camera focused at the people getting out of the building.
Sara’s eyes looked shocked as she recognized one of the people who rushed outside the door. “Vincent,” she gasped. Vincent’s clothes looked ripped and torn blood seemed to be flowing down his forehead. He then looked at the camera that focused at them. Sara stared at him through the television and froze then the lights went out. It was dark in her room. She thought of screaming but she felt breathless, as she tried to stand up, she felt that her strength drawn out of her that could not move an inch from where she sat. Her breath became heavier than it was earlier, as the darkness engulfed her heart filling it with despair. Tears started flowing down her cheek. The building’s emergency power did not start up. Thinking that this is the end, she closed her eyes thinking of happy memories. A few moments later, light started flowing through her eyelids, as she opened her eyes and saw the moon shining its brightest that night. Her breathing became light once again. She gathered her strength and tried to move from where she was, and then a series of images flashed right before her and passed out.
Moments later, she regained consciousness. She found herself at her bed, the lights on, the windows closed, the curtains draped and the door open. She stood up and walked towards the door. As soon as she touched the doorknob, she felt a sudden chill on her back. She turned around the images flashed once more. She recognized a couple of them one was an image of a church in the city and the other an image of the school library. She fell to the ground once more. She lay on the floor lifeless as a rug. Paralyzed but still conscious she heard footsteps approaching. Her heart raced as the footsteps grew louder as it got closer to where she lay. The footsteps suddenly stopped then she heard a gunshot right behind her followed by a loud thump that echoed in the room. She felt the blood flowing on the floor just right by her head. She closed her eyes and opened it once more, this time everything was back to normal. She was sitting on her bed watching the news about the explosion at the mall. The video coverage showed the rescuers treating Vincent’s wound as the camera returned to focus on other people coming out of the structure. Shocked on what she had just experienced, she tried to veer out of her thoughts. She turned the television off as she rushed out of her room. As soon as she got outside, she called for a cab and asked the driver to take her to the mall.
Sara arrived half an hour later because of the intense traffic and detours to the mall because of emergency vehicles. As she got through the crowed, she saw Vincent getting on a car. She cried his name but he did not hear her, as the sirens wailed here and there and dulled her call. Crowd control personnel all over the scene enforced people to back off to safety. She tried to get to the car with all her might but she failed miserably. The car already left when got through the tough crowd and she could not do anything more than to watch it leave. She decided to go back home and get some rest. With that, she gave up and decided to go back to her place.
On the way back, Sara walked as she noticed a white dog seemingly followed her. She stopped and looked at the dog. Dogs have always fascinated her. She smiled at it and offered it her hand. She called the dog to come over. The dog walked towards her. She started to notice its wolf like characteristics as it walked toward her. It had ice piercing blue eyes that gave her the shivers. As the dog got closer to her, it started growling. She tried to move away from the dog but no matter how hard she tried to, her body just would not respond. She looked at the dog in disbelief as its body started dissolving into white mist while it continued walking towards her. As it turned into mist that then vanished without a trace after it passed through her. Panic-stricken she ran back home without looking back, as the thoughts of the image that appeared right before her disappeared. She kept running until she arrived at her apartment. She locked the door and went to bed. She stayed up late that night, since the thought of that dog that she saw earlier hounded her. She kept saying to herself that what she saw was just a pigment of her imagination and nothing more. Until her eyes became weary that she fell asleep without noticing it.
The next morning Sara decided not to go to the hospital until later that day. Morning newspapers showed a couple of pictures from the bombing from yesterday. She went to school trying to keep her mind off the incidents that occurred last night. Right at the entrance of the school, she saw Liz who just got off a cab. “Liz! I didn’t know that you were getting out of the hospital,” she said smiling at her.
“The doctor said that I can go home yesterday evening. Since there was nothing wrong with me anyway,” Liz said laughingly. Sara smiled at her. “We better hurry, I have lots of catching up to do,” said Liz. Sara nodded as they head for their classes. The whole day passed by without Sara mentioning anything about the incidents last night to Liz. Since, she knew that Liz would not be ready for it and that she just came out of the hospital. She kept her mouth shut about the topic and decided to find out about what happened some other day. Even as she willed herself not to think about what happened last night, those images she saw kept haunting her.
The Rise of the Fallen
Written by: John Kennedy R. Ozores
Prelude to the Awakening
Genesis
In ancient times, humans and angels walked the earth. It was a time of peace, prosperity and progress. Indifferences did not exist nor did boundaries or laws, except for one general law, which is to love and care for everything that one sees in thy surroundings. Millenniums passed as the people continued to live in such a peaceful pace. One night during the celebration of the star festival, an omnipotent being, descended from the heavens. The people of the world celebrated his arrival into this world, as they receive the power to create through imagination. The humans and the angels collaborated to improve life, as the world felt complete. Their collaboration heightened the way of living in this world into such unimaginable heights. Technological advancements constantly rose as the people’s demands climbed, as it kept catching up with the demands and most of the time it surpassed the expectation of the masses. Everyone thought that it would last forever…
Until the humans became ultimately dependent to technology and they grew envious of their angelic companions because of their state of being and the fact that they are closer to the creator himself. On the other hand, the angels felt the same for they are incapable of feeling intense emotions and the ability to reproduce. The indifferences grew little by little to the point that both races started despising each other. Although these problems started affecting how each race treat each other, they still tried living as harmonious as they can be. Therefore, each time they complete the seasonal cycle, they celebrate the day of their creation. As part of celebrating their creation, the humans have made a special day for their creator in a form of a festival gathering angels and humans alike. Everyone was having a great time with the festivities until a very unfortunate event occurred and scarred the relationship between the angels and humans. A human, found to be under the influence of an angel, has performed an act of pure intent to take the life of another human through murder. Life as they know it does not cease nor does it wither. The mortals started blaming the angels that they were the ones who took the life of that unfortunate soul. Therefore, began a war between the supernatural and the mortals. As time passes by the mortals noticed that they themselves are growing weak and vulnerable without the angelic blessing. While people started dying out of old age, the angels started to lose their physical bodies making them incapable of any physical contact, at the same time, invulnerable to the humans’ attempts to take an angel’s life. The angels started living as spirits; gaining influence through words of persuasion, they started possessing the mortals, which in turn made them demons. The mortals started fearing them as they started killing other people who they thought was possessed by these demons. During those dark times, the mortals feared their own kind. More and more mortals started taking sides there were people who joined the angelic ones gaining their immortality back as part of their pact. The others remained true to their kind continuing the losing battle against their life long enemy.
Generations passed the mortals and the angelic forces still battle for their right to rule this world. Then came a point in time where the humans gained a precious relic, which gave them hope for their future. The relic was powerful enough to provide everlasting life to its beholder. With such a powerful item at hand, the mortals kept it in secret. To protect the item, they hid it in a remote location which only the beholder and the elders know about. To protect the item, the elders placed the beholder into deep sleep right beside the item until the beholder becomes powerful enough to fulfill the prophecy the elders predicted with the ancient ritual that they use to foresee the future. The angelic forces felt desperate to stop this from happening in turn they gathered a group of people, which they have influenced to build arks. Right after the completion of the arks, the great flood arrived, wiping out every living being on the face of the world. With the exception of everyone in the arks, mortals started walking the world once more. As time passed, it divided the angelic forces in two as the angels and demons, which in turn brought another war, the war between good and evil. The battles were endless, as more and more people were enslaved. These forces ruled over the world making the mortals suffer out of indifferences. Numerous gods appeared here and there. The mortals confused on whom to believe, they started choosing gods, forming different religions. With no one questioning which is the real god, the people worshipped them faithfully believing that they will be saved after death. With the new war going on, the angels and demons started overseeing that an ancient prophecy is about to awaken to fulfill his duty.
Millenniums passed, the war between good and evil remained. The mortals continued to take sides as they in turn making them lose their memory on how they came to be. The world became so chaotic battles where millions of mortals died occurred everywhere. They continued slaughtering one another. The battles for good and evil seemed endless. As time pass by the mortals soon learned new knowledge. They learned about the knowledge on how they can create weapons of destruction, which then later on used to create chaos all over the world. The technological know how evolved until the science on how to take lives improved itself into weapons of mass destruction. With new technology at hand, all hope seemed lost. The world scorched into the darkness, is nearing its destruction in the hands of those who live in it. Having scarce resources, because of the endless war life seemed to be fading away just like the blessing from its creator. With this in mind, the task to protect humanity’s last hope for survival to a number of chosen individuals, specifically chosen because of their abilities and influence. These individuals await the awakening of the said prophecy foreseen by the elders of ancient times. The prophecy’s awakening drew near, as people continued fighting each other in the great wars that passed. The crusades, the First World War, and then the Second World War came. Finally, humanity’s desperation for salvation triggered an event that would change the world in the years to come.
Some time in October 1947 at Okinawa, Japan, deep in the forested area near a small town, people found a group of U.S. forces butchered. It was a horrendous scene. There were body parts everywhere. The investigators found a cave near the scene, based from their investigation the cave was sealed and it could have had explosives in them since it exploded as fragments of the rock sealing it spread outward. As they investigated further, they found reports that there were not any explosives inside that cave. The evidence just says it is negative. After 3 months of investigation, they found nothing that could possibly give them a lead to whether the cave neither led to one of the Japanese military bases nor was it connected to the town nearby. With the town fully secured before the time of the incident and no civilian or military personnel logged out of the town that day except for the scout team. Until this day, that case remained unsolved and the government gave honorary funeral services to honor the men who died on that day for serving their country.
Fifty-nine years later in an old apartment at 13th street, Manhattan, New York, a group of people held a meeting. They wore hoods and dark cloths, preventing recognition. Each of them spoke in such a low voice that it sounded like a whisper. They were all sitting around a big round table, which seated thirteen people. The room was dark and damp. There were thirteen candles one for each person who was in the meeting. The candles placed nearly a couple of feet or less away from each person, preventing the others to see the faces of the one nearest to them. The meeting took a very long pause. Silence reined the room except at times broken by water dripping from the faucet. Finally one of them spoke.
“He has awakened, finally the day of the prophecy draws near,” said by one of them.
“This war between good and evil has given us the chance to lay low. It is only a matter of time before he fully awakens. Until then we shall watch over him,” the man paused for some air then continued. “Darkness has ruled over us ever since we placed him into deep slumber. Light will once again rule this wretched world. Those who have been twisted by those demons will fall and then our rise will be certain.” The others nodded at him right after this statement.
One of the hooded figures spoke all of the sudden, “The question is, is it too early or was it too late for him to come to us now?” he asked. The other fell silent for a brief moment. Then the seemingly leader of the group spoke again, “It is not our task to question the prophecy, but to protect it no matter what the cost,” he said in an unwavering voice. The others merely gave a nod acknowledging the wise answer.
“For now we will wait a little longer, as for tonight, the meeting is done,” the leader of the hooded figures said, as the flames on each candles started flickering as each of them started turning into black smoke fading away into thin air as the flames dies at the same time. Moment later, right after the last candle dies with nothing left except an empty room, neither a soul nor shadow of the men who were in the meeting.
Later that evening, the building caught fire. Firefighters arrived at the scene and tried to put out the fire. They fought the fire for a couple of hours. The place burned down to the ground, reduced to rubbles because of the heat. Arson investigators could not find out what caused the fire but decided to close the case as an accident.
Chapter I: Awakening
Part I: Vincent Reeds
Five days later, a seventeen-year-old lad slept through the night. A young lad who has long platinum blonde hair, a pair of green eyes and a toned body defining his physique, he stands around a hundred and eighty-four centimeters tall. He woke up at the sound of the knock on the door. Getting up to his feet, he got off his bed quite alarmed right after seeing the clock on the table right beside his bed. He realized he is going to be late for school. He then spoke “Pierre, have the car ready and what will I have for breakfast today?”
The man at the door spoke, “Bacon and eggs, young master. Which car will I ask to have ready for you?”
“The silver gray one... The RX-8 I used yesterday,” he answered while rushing to get dressed. He got into his uniform black pants paired with shiny black shoes and black coat with the schools emblem on the left chest area and a crimson red tie. Finally done getting ready, he left his hair a mess just as how he usually likes it. Pierre walked down the hall to have the young master’s request done.
The young lad ate his breakfast, stuffing himself with the toast as soon as he is done with his eggs. He hurried to his car. As soon as he got on, he turned on the engine, revved it and off he went. Arriving at Kite’s café – a popular spot for Gottfried students – near his place, he saw his friend sitting by one of the tables on the sidewalk obviously irritated. As soon as his friend looked at him, his friend gave him a glare as his friend stood up and approached him in his car. Knowing the reason why his friend is mad, he just unlocks the door and lets her in the car. As soon as the door opened, the girl spoke with a little tone of hostility, “You sure did take your time to get here, Vincent.” The girl has a straight-layered hairstyle, blonde hair, a fit and sexy physique and she was about a hundred and sixty centimeters tall. Vincent just said nothing and looked her straight in the eye. The girl just looked back and smiled then said, “OK, fine, I knew you would oversleep anyway.” She got on the car, closed the door and locked it. While she was about to put her seat belt on Vincent started driving again their way to school. Minutes later, they arrive at the parking lot of the school. They got off the car. Vincent is still not speaking a word. As they walk across the hall, they pass by a few students greeting them waving their hands at them. One of the girls approached them saying “Hi” to Vincent then turned to his friend then said, “Liz, here is the paper we need on our English class”.
“Oh, I almost forgot about that,” Liz replied and then smiled at her. “Don’t worry I’ve finished mine two days ago. Thanks to your report we should be done with this by the next day,” she added.
“Great, see you in class then,” said the girl. Right before Liz could reply the girl turned around and left the two at the hallway.
“Yup, see you in class,” Liz whispered. She then hooked her arms around Vincent’s and walked him through the hall towards their lockers. Arriving at their lockers, Vincent took a few things he might need in class. As for Liz, she placed the project report that the girl handed to her earlier inside her locker then closed it. Then they head to their classes. “Vincent, what is your next class?” said Liz.
“I’m having calculus then art class today. Better get going, see you later then,” replied Vincent. He waved then headed to his class. Liz did not have time to respond instead she just walked behind him and went to her class. Vincent and Liz are quite popular at school. Seeing that they are among the riches families in the country also, they are very pretty and handsome. Liz took a modeling job before for being one of the prettiest face in the state, Vincent is somewhat popular amongst the girls in his year.
A few hours later, Vincent got out of his class, headed to his locker, and returned the things he took earlier. He then looked around wondering if Liz would be around to help him later with the portrait he was supposed to finish later today for his art class project. Unable to find her he decided to head towards his classroom. Arriving at the classroom, he did not notice the girl who was taking a good look at his unfinished piece. He continued with his business and placed another canvas onto the stand to make a new piece. Only then did he notice the girl sitting beside him. He just looked at her and awed by her beauty. The girl has long straight jet-black hair reaching her waist; her face was symmetrically beautiful matching it with deep-set eyes with long eyelashes, green colored eyes and rosy lips. The girl looked right back at him and said, “Hi,” smiling elegantly at him. Vincent blushed all of a sudden not realizing why he was blushing in the first place. He has seen many beautiful women like her before at social parties at his place. He felt as if he is not like his normal self. After realizing this, he stopped blushing and said, “Hi,” back to her.
“I’m new here,” said the girl as she realized that the young man’s blush flooded his cheeks, she giggled.
Her giggle made Vincent aware of himself and gathered some confidence. “Oh, so you are a transfer student? Nice meeting you then,” he said. He has completely regained his composure. He took his palette and paint tubes, and puts some of it on the palette.
“So what are you painting?” the girl asked, staring at the blank canvas.
“Well I guess I really can’t start without a model for the portrait that I’m supposed to be painting,” he said bluntly, as his head turn to look at her.
“Let me guess, you want me to model for you?” she said.
“Ye… oh sorry, I shouldn’t really be doing that and I haven’t even introduced myself,” he said to her in a kind manner.
“It’s alright, I know who you are.” She giggled at him as she tried helplessly to stop her blush, which became very evident to the young lad.
“You do?” he said then looked her in the eye. He then realized that with a well-known reputation like his, she might have found out from other students. “You must have heard from the other students, huh,” he added.
“I guess so… well actually this is my first class for today. I missed my class earlier and, I saw this beside my locker,” she said, as she showed her hand holding a school identification card. “Your name is Vincent right? Vincent Reeds,” she said smiling at him.
Finally understanding what happened, Vincent blushed again. He smiled back at her and said, “Yes, that is my name.” He reached out to get his card. “I’m so sorry for not introducing myself earlier, err?” he added.
“Call me Sara, Sara Lane,” she smiled bowing slightly. When Vincent saw how graceful she was at introducing herself, he thought that she must have come from a prestigious family. Her smile landed deep into his thoughts, searing deep into his memory and into his heart. At that moment, he knew his heart skipped a couple of beats.
Vincent smiled back for the last time then he asked her to model for him. Sara agreed and posed in front of him. While painting the two talked all afternoon until he finished the portrait. The artwork astonished Sara because of the detail he put into his work. Vincent walked her to her locker, which was right next to his. They parted ways after saying good-bye to each other. Vincent went straight to his car where Liz waited for a couple of hours. Liz did not ask why Vincent took a long time. Instead, she said that she was sorry for not telling him that she could not model for him in his art class. They got on the car and gave Liz a ride to her place then hit the road again for the long drive to Weize’ manor, which is roughly a thirty-minute drive. He usually goes there after school, where his godfather gives him lectures about how to run the corporation after he graduates.
Weize manor’s ambience seemed orderly calm as the security personnel stationed at the gate saw a glimmer of light approaching the mansion. Moments later, Vincent arrived at the manor. As the gates open, he sees the main building still as elegant as it has always been. As his car passed through the gates the guards noticed that, his car had damages all over it. The left front fender bent, the head light shattered, and the rear bumper bent as well, with both taillights broken. His uniform ripped across the stomach area, his sleeves torn and missing, blood spatters on his cheeks and on his uniform. His vision started becoming blurry as he stepped out of the car. Moments later, he passed out, laid lifeless onto the ground right beside the car. The butler saw him and immediately called for medical assistance. The in-house family doctor and a couple of nurses rush to the scene to check on Vincent. They brought him to one of the guest rooms in the mansion for as arranged by the butler. The family doctor examined him that night and said nothing to anyone. His uncle however is not in the mansion since there was an emergency meeting at the corporate building with the board of directors. Being in such an incident, the family doctor suggested for him to take a couple of days off from school.
Chapter I: Awakening
Part II: Anna Lizette Crest
The next morning, Liz was waiting at the usual waiting place where Vincent always picks her up to go to school. She tried calling him on his mobile phone. However, she did not have any luck reaching him, as the voice messaging system kept answering it, saying that Vincent’s phone is out of reach. When she realized that she was about to be late from school she decided to go on ahead and thought that maybe Vincent must have gone ahead. She took a cab going to school. When she arrived, she rushed to her class, which has already started. After an hour and a half, the first break started. She went to Vincent’s class to check up on him. To her surprise, he is not there. Therefore, she decided to ask one of his classmates. She saw a couple of girls chatting next to her and overheard them. “Have you heard the news?” said the girl nearest to her.
“What news? You mean the accident at Lakeshore drive?” replied the girl next to her, who suddenly turned blue. Liz was stomped hearing what the girl said.
“Yeah, well it wasn’t an accident it was more like a massacre I saw uncensored pictures of it on the net. It was gruesome,” said the girl nearest to her. Liz leaned by the door thinking that Vincent might have been involved.
“Did you download the pictures? Can I see them?” said the girl next to her; walking towards the girl, she was talking to, who took her mobile phone to show her the pictures. Frozen at the door, Liz heard an announcement calling for a name. It was only at the third call that she came to realize that they were calling her name. “Miss Anna Lizette Crest, you are needed at the counseling office,” broadcasted thought the school announcement center. Then the bell rang and the two girls disappeared from her sight looking for a place to sit for the next class that they have.
Liz went to the counseling office as soon as she can. When she approached her destination, she felt a sudden chill down her spine, which made her very nervous. She gathered all of her courage and opened the door. After stepping inside of the room, she saw two Caucasian men, who are about a hundred and eighty centimeters tall and wearing suits both of them are sitting by the table on the left side of the headmaster. The headmaster looked rather weary when she saw him. Then the headmaster spoke, “Miss Crest, we apologize for the inconvenience of asking you to come here knowing that you are pretty much busy at the time being,” the headmaster said calmly.
“Good morning headmaster Alstencrew, it is all right,” she replied. She hid her worries right away at the moment the headmaster spoke again. “These two gentlemen over here are investigators Smith and Rivers, they are here to ask you a couple of questions about yesterday’s incident,” the headmaster said as he gestured for her to take a seat.
“Good morning miss, I’m agent Smith,” he said while offering his hand to her. She took his hand and shook it as she sat down on the other side of the headmaster facing the two well-dressed men. “We should get on to business then. Ms. Crest we would like to know when was the last time you saw Mr. Reeds… Mr. Vincent Reeds?” he asked.
“Did something happen to Vincent?” she replied as her heart shrunk, knowing that the gruesome incident as described by the two girl may have involved Vincent. Then she thought if something happened to Vincent why they would ask for him. “Yesterday, right after dropping me off at my place,” she said while trying to contain her emotions.
“Do you know where he went after dropping you off? Did he tell you anything about his next destination?” agent smith continued the interrogation.
“After school he always heads to his uncle’s place, at the end of Lakeshore drive,” she answered. Her heart started pounding hard as if she knows that Vincent is involved in that incident she heard earlier. “Why are you asking me these questions? Did something happen to him?” she implied. Agent Smith knew this was coming so, he showed the items stored inside a big brown envelop that they brought with them. The brown envelop contained a school identification card a piece of clothing from the school uniform, all of which are enclosed in an air tight sealed bag. She stared at the identification card and saw Vincent face and his name. Tears started trailing down her cheek unable to contain her emotions. “He can’t be dead,” she said in such a low voice that even in a closed room no one heard her.
“Don’t worry miss, he is not dead, as far as we know he is just missing,” he said while trying to calm her. The headmaster remained silent and listening very intently at the interrogation that is going on. “We already tired going to the Reeds mansion but he wasn’t there. We also tried going to his uncle’s place and still no luck,” he sighed. “We fear that he might have been abducted or kidnapped,” he continued. Liz looked at him in fear. “Anyway, we are trying our best to find him. In any case that he contacts anyone of you, please inform us right away,” he said gathering the evidence that he has shown on the table and placed it back into the brown envelop. “Thank you for your cooperation Ms. Crest and headmaster Alstencrew,” He said to them after standing up.
“You’re welcome we are happy to help. I wish you luck with your investigation,” said the headmaster. Liz sat frozen stiff in her place and did not speak after the last statement she gave. The headmaster walked the investigators out of the office and told them the way back to the parking lot. Then, Liz stood up and decided to walk out of the room in shock. The headmaster tried to talk to her. He escorted out of the room as he failed to comfort her. He decided that the best way for her to calm down is for her to deal with it on her own. She decided to go back home instead of attending her next class.
On her way home, she stopped by the café where Vincent used to pick him up to go to school. She ordered a cup of non-fat latte and sat at the seat by the table on the sidewalk. She wondered about things and hoped Vincent is all right. She then took a sip from her drink. At that moment, she heard her heart beat clearly. She ignored it and took another sip from her beverage. She started hearing voices in her head and ignored it as she tried to enjoy her latte. A few moments later, after finishing her latte she started hearing the distinct voices a couple of people conversing. She turned around trying to find where the voices came from. “Why did we have to follow her she seems pretty innocent to me. You’ve seen her reaction when we interrogated her,” said the voice in her head. She looked around once more, confused whether it was just her imagination. As she tried to track down for those men, she finally recognized the other voice. “She is the only lead we have so that we can find Vincent. As far as I know, Vincent is not your ordinary student either. His prints are all over the scene when we investigated it. It is more likely that he has come to hiding. He is our primary suspect as of now,” said the voice. When she recognized it, her instincts took over and she looked at the black van across the street.
A second later, she saw through the vehicle and saw the two agents inside it. She heard their voices again “Why the hell is she looking at us, did she find out?” said Rivers looking alarmed as he looked at Smith.
“Somebody might have ticked us off,” as agent Smith sat still giving Rivers an inquisitive look and tried ignoring every possibility of discovery during a stake out.
“That’s impossible nobody knows about our assignment except the chief,” Rivers implied. Flames started to appear out of nowhere and engulfed the agent in an instant. The agents panicked and tried to get out and tried to get out of the van. The shut tight doors locked from the inside did not budge as they burn inside of the van. She heard nothing but screams as tears rolled on her cheek. Her eyes became weary from the sight she is witnessing and passed out.
She fell from her chair as the person sitting at the table next to her tried to help her. The waiter ran inside of the café to call an ambulance. Moments later, the ambulance came and took her to the nearest hospital. As the time passed, smoke emerged from the van where the two agents did their surveillance. Firefighters came to the scene to extinguish the fire, which engulfed the whole vehicle when they arrived. A few minutes passed, when they had extinguished the fire. As the authorities checked the scene, they found nothing inside the vehicle. They had to check inside since the thick smoke and ashes from the burnt upholstery heavily tinted the windows. The investigation progress fast as there were no other vehicles involved. The police however, did not find anything about the vehicle in their database. Which rouse suspicion that the vehicle’s owner either deliberately unregistered or stolen, since the license plate did not show in the records.
Liz stayed at the hospital for two days. She has been asleep ever since she arrived. Later that evening, she finally woke up. When she opened her eyes, she saw someone sitting right beside her. The person sitting beside her has fallen asleep. The person wore the school uniform. A moment later, she recognized her as her childhood friend who she has not seen for two long years. She decided not to wake her up and went back to sleep. She asked herself where she was and recognized the room as one of the private rooms of the hospital where she visited a distant relative of hers. Liz held her hand so that when her friend wakes up, she would know that she regained her consciousness. She stayed awake that night trying to recall what had happened to her.
Chapter I: Awakening
Part III: The Ghastly Visit
Liz spent the night thinking about what happened to her. However, no matter how hard she tried to recall the events, the memory just seemed to elude her. A moment later, the nurse assigned to her that morning, came in. “Good morning, Miss Cre–,” the nurse stopped as she gestured that the should stay quiet – so that they do not wake her friend up – and the nurse tried to close the door silently. However, despite her efforts, it was too late and her friend woke up and looked at her.
“Liz!” Sara nearly shouted. At that moment, he nurse placed a finger over her lip. She then hugged her before Liz could even say a word to her.
As the nurse checked Liz and with a second found out that, she was doing fine, she moved to the door. “I’ll be checking on you later then Miss Crest,” the nurse interrupted. Liz gave the nurse her approving nod as the nurse left.
“I haven’t seen you for ages. Well at least for me it felt like ages,” Sara said excitingly looking at her friend as she tightened her embrace.
Struggling to break free from her friend’s hug, she spoke once more, “I can’t breathe,” gasped Liz. Sara loosened her embrace and finally let go of her.
“I missed you for so long. I got so excited that I could not wait going back here as soon as mom allowed me to go to Gottfried University. Oh, I forgot I’m a student in your school now,” looking at her eyes fighting back tears that welled up on her eyes. “I also met your boyfriend on my first day,” she joyfully said as her tears backed up.
Liz did not understand what she meant, and then it hit her. “You mean Vincent? No, you are mistaken. He is not my boyfriend,” she blushed as her friend smiled. “Don’t tease me like that Sara,” she said before her friend could even speak another word.
“So that means, I can take him from you then,” Sara giggled. Liz stared at her as she remembered that something happened to Vincent. That he went missing. Tears started flowing down her cheeks. Sara was stunned looking worried that she may have said something unnecessary. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you or anything,” said Sara, as she tried to comfort her.
“No, it’s not that… It’s Vincent–,” Liz gasped, as she looked at Sara in the eye. “Vincent is gone,” she followed. Sara stared at her. Liz explained told her the story about the incident a couple of days ago. Sara just listened to her as she tried to explain everything that happened. However, she could not recall anything at all about the incident that made her lose her consciousness at the café. She just said that she was just not feeling well that day. Sara just nodded and said that she was just probably too depressed that day after hearing about Vincent.
“So Vincent has been missing ever since the incident?” asked Sara, looking rather unalarmed about the situation. Liz nodded at her question. “Well it’s nothing to be worried about I know Vincent is fine. Since, I saw him yesterday just outside of the school,” said Sara. Liz looked at her.
“You saw him?” said Liz. Before Sara could speak a word, Liz spoke once more, “Just outside the school… are you sure it’s him?”
“I’m not really sure… I just thought it could be him. I really didn’t see his face and all,” replied Sara. Liz just stared at her and spoke, “Well anyway, you still have class right?” she asked.
“Yes, in about thirty minutes,” Sara answered as she looked at her watch.
“I’d better go. I wouldn’t want Professor Rodriguez to get mad,” said Sara. Liz gave her a giggle, “I’d definitely agree to that,” she said.
Sara said her goodbyes and left Liz, as she promised to be back as soon as she can. The nurses came in to check on her after she left the room. She then rushed her way to school arriving just five minutes before her first class starts. The class started on time. As the classes progressed for the day, she kept wondering about what her best friend told her at the hospital. The professors constantly caught her day dreaming that day. When classes are over, the thought of Vincent missing kept haunting her mind. The mere thought of it makes her want to find out what really happened that night. She then decided to go to Vincent’s house. However, knowing very little about who he is she remembered that she does not know where Vincent lived and gave up. Arriving at her apartment, she realized one thing she should have thought earlier. She rushed to her room and picked up her phone. “Oh, crap I forgot I don’t know Liz’s number,” she sighed. “Oh, well I can visit her tomorrow and ask about it,” as she went back down and ate her dinner.
After eating her dinner, she went back up and decided to watch some television. She changed form channel to channel looking for something interesting to watch. Then, she decided to watch to the news a little. The newscaster was reporting about some explosion at a local mall.
“The explosion occurred at the second section of the mall at five thirty this evening. Rescuers at the site reported that four people died in this incident. In addition, eighty-nine people are injured. The local government says that they will pay for all of the medical coverage. Crime scene investigators say that based from the evidences that they have collected so far indicates that the bomb used by the terrorist were C4 class,” said the reporter who suddenly paused. “Breaking news just came in, another explosion occurred just now. Richard Conway is at the scene right now and will be reporting the situation at the mall,” said the reporter. “Thank you Michelle, I’m at the scene right now. The third section of the building had just collapsed from the explosion there still people inside. A couple of them are rushing outside the door right now,” said Richard. The camera focused at the people getting out of the building.
Sara’s eyes looked shocked as she recognized one of the people who rushed outside the door. “Vincent,” she gasped. Vincent’s clothes looked ripped and torn blood seemed to be flowing down his forehead. He then looked at the camera that focused at them. Sara stared at him through the television and froze then the lights went out. It was dark in her room. She thought of screaming but she felt breathless, as she tried to stand up, she felt that her strength drawn out of her that could not move an inch from where she sat. Her breath became heavier than it was earlier, as the darkness engulfed her heart filling it with despair. Tears started flowing down her cheek. The building’s emergency power did not start up. Thinking that this is the end, she closed her eyes thinking of happy memories. A few moments later, light started flowing through her eyelids, as she opened her eyes and saw the moon shining its brightest that night. Her breathing became light once again. She gathered her strength and tried to move from where she was, and then a series of images flashed right before her and passed out.
Moments later, she regained consciousness. She found herself at her bed, the lights on, the windows closed, the curtains draped and the door open. She stood up and walked towards the door. As soon as she touched the doorknob, she felt a sudden chill on her back. She turned around the images flashed once more. She recognized a couple of them one was an image of a church in the city and the other an image of the school library. She fell to the ground once more. She lay on the floor lifeless as a rug. Paralyzed but still conscious she heard footsteps approaching. Her heart raced as the footsteps grew louder as it got closer to where she lay. The footsteps suddenly stopped then she heard a gunshot right behind her followed by a loud thump that echoed in the room. She felt the blood flowing on the floor just right by her head. She closed her eyes and opened it once more, this time everything was back to normal. She was sitting on her bed watching the news about the explosion at the mall. The video coverage showed the rescuers treating Vincent’s wound as the camera returned to focus on other people coming out of the structure. Shocked on what she had just experienced, she tried to veer out of her thoughts. She turned the television off as she rushed out of her room. As soon as she got outside, she called for a cab and asked the driver to take her to the mall.
Sara arrived half an hour later because of the intense traffic and detours to the mall because of emergency vehicles. As she got through the crowed, she saw Vincent getting on a car. She cried his name but he did not hear her, as the sirens wailed here and there and dulled her call. Crowd control personnel all over the scene enforced people to back off to safety. She tried to get to the car with all her might but she failed miserably. The car already left when got through the tough crowd and she could not do anything more than to watch it leave. She decided to go back home and get some rest. With that, she gave up and decided to go back to her place.
On the way back, Sara walked as she noticed a white dog seemingly followed her. She stopped and looked at the dog. Dogs have always fascinated her. She smiled at it and offered it her hand. She called the dog to come over. The dog walked towards her. She started to notice its wolf like characteristics as it walked toward her. It had ice piercing blue eyes that gave her the shivers. As the dog got closer to her, it started growling. She tried to move away from the dog but no matter how hard she tried to, her body just would not respond. She looked at the dog in disbelief as its body started dissolving into white mist while it continued walking towards her. As it turned into mist that then vanished without a trace after it passed through her. Panic-stricken she ran back home without looking back, as the thoughts of the image that appeared right before her disappeared. She kept running until she arrived at her apartment. She locked the door and went to bed. She stayed up late that night, since the thought of that dog that she saw earlier hounded her. She kept saying to herself that what she saw was just a pigment of her imagination and nothing more. Until her eyes became weary that she fell asleep without noticing it.
The next morning Sara decided not to go to the hospital until later that day. Morning newspapers showed a couple of pictures from the bombing from yesterday. She went to school trying to keep her mind off the incidents that occurred last night. Right at the entrance of the school, she saw Liz who just got off a cab. “Liz! I didn’t know that you were getting out of the hospital,” she said smiling at her.
“The doctor said that I can go home yesterday evening. Since there was nothing wrong with me anyway,” Liz said laughingly. Sara smiled at her. “We better hurry, I have lots of catching up to do,” said Liz. Sara nodded as they head for their classes. The whole day passed by without Sara mentioning anything about the incidents last night to Liz. Since, she knew that Liz would not be ready for it and that she just came out of the hospital. She kept her mouth shut about the topic and decided to find out about what happened some other day. Even as she willed herself not to think about what happened last night, those images she saw kept haunting her.
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