The New Age: Prologue

[Doaj]

THE RHEOPOCALYPTIC AGE

It was a Friday. School had been canceled due to a broken water pipe so, thanking God for the strange occurrence, Maika went back to bed. They struck while she was sleeping. She was awakened to the sound of shattering glass. Licking her lips, rubbing her eyes, she jumped from bed. She took her blanket with her, prioritizing above getting dressed but grabbing cover in case it was a false alarm. On her way out of the bedroom door, she grabbed a handful of her spells on the nightstand.
She ran into the living room and saw her younger brother, who was six years old, with surprise on his face. He was holding a small baseball bat, and the front window was broken, glass laying about his feet.
"What did you do?" Maika shouted accusingly. Almost immediately Alex's face teared up, his short black hair contrasting the redness in his face as he sobbed about how he didn't mean to.
Maika went back to her bedroom to get dressed, the adrenaline slowing down, but still preventing her from returning to sleep. She replaced the spells next to her door, and left her room to start the day. This time she heard the sound of a crash, metal into metal, breaking windows and breaking skulls. She ran into the living room again, past her sniffling brother, and opened the front door.
Regrettably, Maika pissed her pants as she stared outside. It was the first time she'd ever seen an animal. It was the first time she'd ever seen a pack of wolves. It was also, as it turns out, the first time she'd ever seen a man run from a wrecked Toyota Tacoma, his arm broken, and watch as he ran at her, staring in her eyes, pleading silently that he makes it to the safety of her home, but being pulled down and disemboweled less than two yards away.
Maika slowly closed the door, and made sure to lock the deadbolt.

[Aleister Black]

Trembling fingers slid the latch onto the door of a dirty public toilet in a run-down motel somewhere close outside the city. It took him several attempts to steady his breathing as he was sat on the lid of the toilet, the smell of which made him retch even more. Shivers ran through his body as he tried to think how the hell he had ended up here.


It was a regular day just like any other. The weekend was only one day ahead, and Robert was having fun trying to plan what he would do this weekend. With his smile and sweet words, he had conquered the heart of many a girl, and he was having trouble planning them all into the same weekend. He was going to have to run double shifts if he was to entertain them all! Geez, and to think that the weekend is supposed to be a time to relax... Robert thought as a grin spread across his features. Well, he'd have to let a few of them go, then. No big deal, he'd buy them a ring later, or something.


A howl from outside sent a ssudden shake across Robert's body. Fuck, they're close! How the hell was he ever going to get out of here? He couldn't stay in this shitty toilet forever! He checked the lock again, then pulled his feet up the lid of the toilet. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck...


His face showed no visible signs of it, but Robert tightened up when he saw a policeman walking down the street, the other way from where he was going. Their paths would meet in a few seconds. He knew he had nothing to fear. He radiated such innocense that even those who suspected or even know of his misdeeds would swiftly forget about those when he talked to them. No way a dim policeman would see through that and frisk him on the street. As he and the policeman crossed paths, the small wad of scrolls burned in his pocket. He was in the clear. Then, completely involuntary, he turned and said "Hey, sir, excuse me..."

The policeman turned. "Yeah? Can I help you?" Robert smiled apologetically at the cop and said "I think I'm kinda lost here... Do you know where I can find Bill's Diner? They said it'd be 'round here, but I can't find it!" After the policeman gave him directions to a place he would never, ever need to go, Robert thanked him and went on his way, the scrolls a reassuring weight in his pocket now that he had turned the corner. He grinned. He still had it.


Robert suddenly became aware of something sniffing. His eyes widened. Had he been found? There was no escape from here! Trembling fingers sought their way to his back, where he had put a small revolver in his belt, covered by his shirt. He never liked carrying it. He didn't mind running from the cops, but shooting people? Hell, he didn't even want to shoot a dog. But now, no matter how fucking stupid it sounded, a crazed dog was after him, and there was nowhere to run to.


Why couldn't the day have ended like it had begun; like a normal day just like any other? He was walking on the street when shit hit the fan. The shrill sound of sirens suddenly howled across the city, and Robert immediately came into motion. He ran into a small side street and slammed himself with his back to a wall, trying to steady his breathing so he could hear where the cops where coming from. How the hell did they know? Had that cop smelled the scrolles or something? Damn, he wasn;t going to get caught, was he?

But the sirens went by and past him. Just when he thought it was all clear, a second pair of sirens started, and then another. He didn't know what was going on, but he sure as hell didn't like the sound of it. He ran out the side street on the other side and there he was greeted with a gruesome sight. It didn't register at first. He just couldn't comprehend what it was that he was looking at. A man in a business suit was lying on his belly, trying to crawl away as over a dozen birds of various breeds sat on him and pecked into his flesh, tore his suit and flew around him. Only now did he hear the screams, and more sirens throughout the city.


The sound of paws on wet tiles was unmistakable now. Robert clutched his firearm in sweaty palms, his knuckles white and hands trembling. The beast outside came closer and closer. Robert held his breath.


He ran, looking back feverishly to see if anything followed him. At first, there had been more people around, all running for their lives, dropping when they were caught by something, but Robert never took the time to look. No one did; everyone fought for their own survival now.

He must have been running for hours. His T-shirt was drenched in sweat, and his stomach hurt like hell. His limbs felt as if they had been put through a meatgrinder and put back together after that. Houses were far and inbetween here; he was lucky to spot a Motel and Diner across the road - the lights had gone off. As he got closer, he could read the name in the receding sun - Bill's Diner. Yeah, great. Haha. Very ironic. Figuring he'd need to have some food and some rest, he went in. Once inside, he stuffed his mouth with old bread and cold eggs and some leftover on plates throughout the diner. People had left this place in a hurry, then.

I wonder how widespread this is, he thought. I hope... what was that? There was a sound outside. Robert's heart raced, and faster then he thought even he could move, he slid into the public toilet and
with trembling fingers, slid the latch onto the door of the public toilet in a run-down motel somewhere close outside the city.


Robert thought he'd die when he heard a paw scratch the door of the cubicle he was in. His already tense trigger finger tightened, and gunshots cracked through the toilets. 6 holes were in the door in front of him, the barrel of his revolver was smoking. Breathing hevaily, he heard a dull thud on the other side of the door followed by a whine that gradually faded.

After what seemed like ages, he opened the door. A dog was on the other side, obviously dead. It had a heart-shaped collar around its neck. Without taking it in, he read 'If you find mister Snuggles, please call...'

Suddenly, something howled outside the diner. For a moment, Robert was petrified. Then he dropped his depleted gun, and fumbled in his pocket for the wad of scrolls he kept in there for emergencies. With a shaking voice, he read aloud the unusual and unfamiliar European words. "Lichte Tred!" And soon, he was running at superhuman speeds along the road away from this hell on earth.

Little did he know that there would be no escaping this.

[professor13]

Apep fumbled with the banner's top-right corner, trying in vain to fasten it to the wall above the front doors. The banner read:

Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O LORD, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, in the Sanctuary, O LORD, which thy hands have established.

Exodus 15:17

The building Apep was putting the finishing touches to was Pentecostal Sanctuary, his church that he planned to open to the public on Sunday. Well, not just his church. The co-founder was standing at the base of the ladder, keeping it from spilling the above Egyptian onto the floor.

"You sure you don't want me to come up there and just do it myself?" Angela called up at Apep, giving the ladder a light shake and causing Apep to drop the corner.

"Hey now, don't make this any harder!" he replied with feigned agitation as he started the knot over. "And I won't have my lovely wife putting herself at risk doing a job that I-"

Apep was interrupted as the ladder shook violently. "Whoa! Take it easy, I'm about to-"

He stopped when he looked down and saw Angela try her best to keep the ladder from collapsing as the entire sanctuary shook.

"Apep, come down NOW! Tremors!"

Without wasting a moment, Apep leapt lithely onto the floor below, just as the ladder crashed against the tile. "What in the world?"

Just then, someone began knocking furiously on the front doors, screaming to be let in. Angela ran to the door and unlocked it. As she began to open the door, the man on the opposite side shoved his way in, knocking Angela onto her backside, and ran to the opposite side of the sanctuary. Apep ran to Angela and helped her to her feet, and then stared outside in disbelief.

Heading toward the church at an incredible pace was a stampede of buffalo. As Angela slammed the door closed and locked it, Apep hurried over to the man. He was crouched against the pulpit, cradling his right arm, which Apep then realized was pouring blood onto the carpet.

"Angela!" he shouted across the chamber, "Grab my scrolls from the office!" As she hurried to the back rooms, Apep turned back to the man. "My God, what happened? Where did those buffalo-?"

"Hell if I know!" he cried through gasps of air. "They just stormed the city! Trampled everything! Everyone! My... my wife! My... M-my d... d-daugh..."

Unable to continue, the man fell into sobs, as Apep looked at him with horror. "You have suffered more than anyone should," he said sadly, placing his hand on the back of the man's neck and bowing his head. "God, please ease the turmoil in this man's body. Help bring peace to his spirit; calm his soul."

The man was still weeping when Angela returned with the scrolls. Apep took one and brought it to the man's bleeding arm. "Mendi Fles" he spoke emphatically. No sooner were the words out of his lips than the wound sealed itself and the bleeding ceased.

The man looked with surprise at his arm. "I though that you God people thought magic was of the devil."

Apep grinned and stood up. "Magic is nothing more than enigmatic science, and science happens to be the second greatest enigma. Come on, we better get out of here."

As Apep hurried to the back door, the man turned to Angela. "What did he mean? What's more mysterious than science?"

She grinned as she replied, "God."

The man looked to his feet for a few seconds, and then looked determinately at Angela. "You two go ahead. I need to get back to the city."

When Angela gave him a confused look, it was finally the man's turn to grin. "When the animals attacked, my house caved in. My wife and daughter were inside at the time. Or at least, I assumed so."

"Then they may be-!"

The man shook his head. "I know my wife's dead. I saw her body in the rubble. But there's still a chance that Gracia's still alive. Even though it's near impossible, maybe something mysterious will happen. Thank you both."

After she watched the man run out the side door, Angela joined Apep in the back and the two ran for their lives.

[Doaj]

After Maika closed the door, things seemed blurred. Her mother and father, rushing from their bedroom, seemed otherworldly as they handled the situation. Her mother grabbed the car keys and jackets for herself, her two children, and her husband. Maika's father grabbed Maika and Alex, one under each arm and Laureen appeared from Maika's bedroom, mindlessly tucking the scrolls into the coat pocket of Maika's windbreaker.

Laureen opened the door and Paul went out first, children under wing, and hurried toward the car. Several wolves barred the way, and tears came to Maika's eyes as she feared what would happen. Her ears were then deafened and her eyes blurred as the sound of a shotgun going off next to her head ripped one of the wolves in twain. The other was clearly wounded, but refused to run.

Maika looked back and saw her mother standing with both feet firmly planted on the ground. One hand held the barrel of the gun at waist level while the other pulled the trigger. Maika covered Alex's ears, bracing herself for the sound-waves that would deafen her again momentarily.

As the second wolf's limbs scattered across the pavement, her father opened the backseat of the sedan. He threw his two children in, and ran around to the passenger side. He reached across and threw open the door as Laureen's shotgun blast caught a leaping gray beast, a third wolf, throwing it backward further than where it had leaped from.

She sat down in the driver seat and turned on the car, closing her door, and handing the shotgun to her husband. Maika finally came to her senses, shouting, "Mom, what's going on?"

"Maika, baby, I have no idea, but put your seatbelt on. I think we're a bit more likely to crash than any other day." Maika realized her mother was right, and did as she was told. She then helped Alex put on his own, because his hands were shaking too much for him to get it alone.

Flooring it in reverse, Maika's eyes widened as her mother flipped a bitch out of their driveway. They drove in the opposite direction of the crash that had happened in front of their home, and her father, who had rolled down his window, was tuning for a radio station.

Static led to nothing across FM, so he switched it over to AM where he didn't need to adjust the tuner. We cut in in the middle of a broadcast:

"-are not safe. Please understand that rescues are not possible. Everyone in the following counties, please reach the Tacoma Dome Station or the Seattle Sounder Station. Pierce County, King County, Snohomish County, Clark County, Franklin County, Kitsap County, Mason County, Grant County, Thurston County, Spokane County, Pacific County.

Please move quickly to those locations. They are the only places that can take you to safety. This is a national crisis. I repeat, your homes are not safe. Please understand that rescues are not possible..."

"Where is safety?" Paul wondered aloud.
"Honey!" Maika's mother shouted, and he had the barrel of the shotgun out of the open window before Maika could look to him. He let off a round, and whatever it was was pulled under the tire it had been so close. Maika twisted in her seat trying to look behind herself to seat it, but to no avail. They were moving too quickly and it was in too mane pieces and stained too many shades of red.

This was about when their luck ran short. Laureen braked the sedan violently, and it began to spin and fishtail as she struggled to keep the wheel, so they didn't make impact with anything. Maika looked forward from her seat, wanting to now why she had to stop.

The trumpet of an elephant shook the car, and her father stepped out. His eyes were hard, and Maika realized that the man she was looking at wasn't her father. She looked forward at her mother, who was switching gears, tears running down her face. Laureen couldn't look away from the man she fell in love with, and the sound of the shotgun was almost inaudible in comparison to the war cry being trumpeted by the tagged elephant. Maika stared at the tag, confused, until it dawned on her that this was one of the two missing elephants from the Point Defiance Zoo. It swirled its trunk in the air, and small holes appeared along its body, which gushed blood until they shrunk back into nothing. Maika rolled down her window, and realized the car had started moving.

"Mom, we can't leave Daddy!" She shouted forward, confused and horrified. She pulled out a spell from her pocket- any fucking spell and read it aloud, "Veytaluti Rapud!" And then roots sprouted around the elephant's feet, grabbing hold. It strained, but it was too massive and it pulled away with little resistance. All it did was give her father more time as the water materializing about the elephant's swirling trunk begun to flood down until he was up to his knees. The car splashed through the water, but it couldn't go as fast as Laureen had hoped.

Paul moved forward the entire time, his face emotionless, but his eyes full of grief, misery, fear, and love. The shotgun stopped firing, spent, and suddenly his face contorted into anger. He ran forward and the elephant stamped its front left foot three times causing a nearby building to bend at the fourth floor, the top half of it breaking away and falling atop Maika's father. Buried under rubble, the elephant trumpeted in triumph, and Laureen maneuvered around it, watching in the rearview mirror as she left her husband dead beneath the top half of the church they married in.

[Viorahn Ehllenfort]

Ehllen laid back on one of the couches in the airport and looked up at the ceiling, wondering how he ended up in the mess he's in.

"Why don't they understand that I only came here for a tournament and not to cause trouble, at least they let me keep my sword bag for now..."

A tired sigh echoes from his mouth as he hears the footsteps of one of the airports many guards gets closer to him, slowly he sits up and waves towards the guard, who throws his passport at him, much to his surprise the guard looked like he had been bitten in the arm by something, Ehllen slowly closed his eyes and said "What's going on? You look like you just left a fight with a dog or something like that."

"Heh, something like that, anyway you're free to leave, take your stuff and go, it doesn't matter anyway, not with what's going on now..." Said the guard as he walked over, sat down on the couch, pulled his sidearm and checked it's remaining ammo.

It took a few second for Ehllen to figure out that the guard wasn't joking, slowly he pulled himself from the couch, grabbed his bags, and headed towards the entrance of the airport, only to see what looked to him like hell through the glass doors. He took his ninja-to, put his sword bag over his shoulder and ran out, hoping to avoid who, or more precisely what caused all this.

[Ryvius]

This was fucking crazy. Like, some kinda of divine judgement Grandfather would have rattled on about. Jack wasn’t completely sure he was sane anymore. After all, he just saw a little boy being eaten by a fox. Funny, the fox was his kindred animal. He hoped it was just some terrible dream as he sped down the road on his Harley. Maybe it was because Jack was busy questioning his sanity that he just couldn’t react when a huge German shepherd appeared in front of him. He heard a sickening thud and crunch as he hit, and his attempt to swerve only ensured his wrecking. It happened so fast, he was already losing conscience as the still living dog limped towards him. The pain of its teeth sinking into his torso is the last thing he remembers before passing out.

Suddenly, Jack was awake. Awake and fine. He didn’t even feel sore. He lifted up his shirt to search for is injuries, but his toned stomach didn’t have a scratch. “Oh thank god, it was a dream.”

“What did you dream about?”

Jack looked up to see a young girl with blank eyes staring straight ahead at nothing in particular. Her ghostly skin and white eyes really made her look a bit freaky, and Jack almost made a noise in surprise but he caught himself. He felt bad for even his initial shock, he knew better than to judge by appearance and he tried to never do so. “I’m afraid the hell this place has gone to was no dream, and it appears that it isn’t just us.” A dark-skinned aged gentleman entered the room. Where was Jack anyway? He looked around, he was in a small room with a few computers, laying on some thick comforters. “We’re in a local library. It was the safest place I could treat you, But it’s by no means safe. We should leave as soon as possible if you’re feeling well now. There are others here that I advised to do the same…but they would not listen to me.” Thulani shook his head sadly. Jack sat up. “I’m fine. It doesn’t seem like I was ever injured.” Jack ran his fingers over his skin feeling for some sort of scar. “That’s because Papa healed you.” The girl spoke plainly, without moving at all. Her eyes still pointing at the wall across from her. The aged man let out a chuckle. “With the help of magic, a doctor is able to do some pretty amazing things. My name is Thulani, I couldn’t help but help you when I saw you about to become dog food. Saving lives is more or less my trade after all. The manner-lacking girl over here is my daughter Risa.” He said, walking over and wrapping an arm around the young girl’s shoulder. Her small arms wrapped around his.

“My motorcycle…” Jack didn’t even want to hear what had become of the only girl he ever loved. “Your motorcycle is gone I’m afraid.” Thulani pointed towards some objects on a nearby computer desk. “Anything salvageable is sitting right there.” Jack stood up and looked at what was left of his belongings, some knick-knacks that had been with him. He grabbed a phillips head screw driver and put it away in a jacket pocket. Then he grabbed a large wrench. “I owe you my life doc, so anything I can do to help you and your girl get out of this alive I will do.” He let the wrench fall into his hand and make a soft thud. “Friends call me Jack.” Thulani looked at this young man who was thrusting his life into his hands. He was certainly more able for combat than an old man and his little girl. He gave Jack an affirmative nod. “Let’s all get out this together Jack.”

Jack’s coat was a bit ripped, and his jeans already had a few tears anyway. His white t-shirt however, was badly ripped and blood-soaked. So he elected to just remove it and wear only his leather jacket. He left the jacket open, Jack certainly didn’t mind showing off the fruits of his hard work after all. This wasn’t the first time he had gone shirtless. Picking up a nice girl was the last thing on his mind right now though. He walked out of the computer room into the library, followed by Thulani and his daughter clasping tight to her Papa’s hand. There were quite a lot of people in the library, it seemed to have become a shelter of sorts. Jack could see that Thulani had been treating others’ injuries while Jack was asleep. He was a good man, and Jackson Akins would make sure he survived this.

Whatever the hell, this was.

[professor13]

Apep and Angela were crouched behind an abandoned Mustang, breathing as softly as they could after having run for about half a mile. They were still in the city, and were looking for anyone that was still alive. They had two reasons. One, if there were minor injuries hindering a person's escape from the city, Apep would be able to get them mobile again. Two, they would feel a whole lot safer traveling with other humans.

Which is why they were currently huddled across the street from one of the city's local libraries. It was a pretty sturdy building, and easy to defend. There was little doubt that someone would think to take shelter there, even if temporarily. Unfortunately, several foxes were walking the street between the library and the pair.

"Angela, did you-"

"Grab my scrolls? Yeah," she finished for him, pulling out two of them. "When I stashed these, I thought I'd be using them as a make-shift recording studio. Well, things are quite a bit different now aren't they?"

Opening one, she whispered, "Projec Reverba." She then began to scream, except her scream was coming from down the road. The foxes all turned toward the noise and started walking in that direction. Angela then opened the second scroll and whispered, "Silencia Reverba." She grabbed onto Apep's arm and the two hurried silently across the street and into the library.

As they walked in, it became apparent that their suspicions were correct. Many people, in fact, were scattered about the floor, recovering very well from whatever injuries they may have had. They walked a bit further in, then Apep called as quietly as he could, but with enough volume to be heard by everyone in the library, "Excuse me, is there someone I can talk to around here?"

[Ryvius]

“What makes you so certain we should leave? “ Jack enquired, as the walked out of the computer room into the main of the library. It wasn’t a large place for a library and it was sturdy with only a few entrances. Jack could see why people chose it as a shelter; there were certainly better places to make a shelter out of, but nowhere nearby. Trying to cover enough distance to go somewhere else would mean death likely. Thulani simply smiled and shook is head. “It seems smart to stay here, they have food stockpiled and a few guns, but…” he trailed off, looking around the library. “….Too many windows and skylights. Have you seen the tenacity of some of these animals? They can see people in here, that glass might be thick but it’s still only a matter of time.” Jack looked up, and sure enough saw dead birds laying on the skylight that had killed themselves trying to get in. “I am not familiar with this city, perhaps you can help us find our way Jack?”

"Excuse me, is there someone I can talk to around here?"

Thulani didn’t wait for a reply from Jack as he turned away and walked towards the couple that had just arrived. “Hello, my name is Thulani. There’s precious little medical supplies here, but if you are injured I can assist you. I am a doctor by trade.” Thulani smiled warmly at the young couple. Then a little girl’s voice chimes in “They’re not hurt Papa. Anyway, I thought we were leaving. You’ve been healing all day. I don’t like it here.” As she spoke, her blank eyes were pointed right at Apep. “Risa, it’s important that we help those in need. We’ll leave soon enough” the old man turn to the couple. “I apologize for my daughter. I have yet to be able to teach her any sort of manners. It’s not her fault, she just doesn’t know how to deal with people.” If Risa heard her father, she didn’t show it. Her blind gaze stayed fixed and Apep. The contrast of her ghostly white skin against her father’s as she clung tightly to his hand was startling. Even for his race he was dark. Just then Jack sauntered over and stood beside the doctor and his daughter, black wrench in hand. "It is true that we are about to leave, but I will gladly help you in any way I can first. Do not hesitate to ask for what little I can do for you." Thulani knew though, that if his daughter said they were uninjured it was almost certainly true.


The trio looked out of place. Jack seemed intimidating, his leather jacket open to reveal his fitness. Wrench in hand, a strong expression that was the heritage of his people. Thulani, dark-skinned and white-haired; clad in a white collared shirt and khaki pants that seemed entirely too clean given the situation. He made a stark contrast against Jack’s shirtlessness and ripped-up blue jeans. Most of all though, it was Risa that made them seem strange. Where the two men were tall and well-built, she was small and dainty-looking. Their darker shades of skin made Risa’s paleness even more apparent. She just seemed like she didn’t belong, clinging close to the Egyptian man. Like her father, her clothes were still clean. She had on black boots, black pants, and a long sleeved turtle-neck. It was hard to tell whether the shirt or her face was whiter, and her jet-black hair only made things more contrasting. Her facial expression remained constant as her white eyes seemed to stare right through Apep.

[Viorahn Ehllenfort]

Ehllen had gotten lost shortly after leaving the airport, and seeing what the animals were doing him sobered his senses, he dare not yell in case he attracted unwanted attention, but at the same time he knew that continuing alone was a big mistake, he needed to find some people, and he needed to find them fast, Listening to the radio broadcast he said to himself silently,

"I wonder where the library is? Could do with a map right about now."

The street Ehllen was walking down was abandoned, and apart from a news stand and a few cars completely empty, slowly and cautiously Ehllen walked towards the news stand, his gut telling him he should go in any other direction,

"I wonder how that guard is faring now..."

He thought, edging closer to the stand, he could now see from about fifteen foot away that there was a tour map left in the stand, weather beaten, but still in one piece, carefully he walked closer until he could just about reach it with his arm stretched out, and he carefully he pulled the map from the holder on the stand.

Ehllen sighed now that he had a map, but as he tucked it into his jacket he started to hear a dog's growl, then another, and another, knowing he couldn't fight three off he made his choice and ran away as fast as he could towards a nearby hospital that was shown on his map, with the dogs barking right at his heels.

[Aleister Black]

A lone figure sat haddled silently in a shed at the edge of a town. His breathing was hoarse, and he would have been surprised if you told him you weren't able to hear his beating heart over the normal background noises. But the background noises weren't normal - not at all. He heard sounds he had grown used to not hearing. The chirping of birds sounded innocent enough, but Robert knew better by now. He cradled his left arm in the other one. Several sratches and small wounds ran across it, and his face, too, showed marks of some kind of scuffle.


Following the shooting of mister Snuggles, he'd ran off. He hadn't kown where, just that he wanted to get the fuck away from whatever evil was brewing in his own town. Well, it hadn't just been his own town. When he had come to the next town, all he had been able to find were bodies and car wrecks. He had come across a cop, but he wasn't much help, which was largely due to his head being halfway across the street.

Although he wouldn't admit it to anyone, Robert vomited. All his hastily scrounged foodstuffs and snacks from Bill's Diner came out again in that outburst of disgust and exhaustion. He had ran for miles, and even though he had used two of those foreign scrolls to help him, his legs still felt as if they were made of acid, eating away at his bones.

Reluctantly, he had taken the officer's pistol, cursing himself for just dropping his own. Some further research of the rather scattered body resulted in his acquiring of some extra ammunition and a tazer. He really didn't want to lok any further. He had wiped the blood off his hands when he'd heard the sound of birds.

It had come unnoticed. Only after a while did he become aware of the chirping of birds all around him. While this sounds is normally associated with peacefull situation, Robert's heart was beating in his throat. He knew this wasn't a fucking Snowwhite story. The birds wouldn't be lovely and blue and sweet. The first bird assailed him as he tried to run away into the street. It flew into him and started pecking at his face. Robert slammed it away with his arms and ran on, unable to get his hands free long enough to get a scroll. "FUCK, FUCK" he shouted without even noticing words were coming out of his mouth. Birds were all around him now, and his vision was nothing but feathers and beaks and claws.


Somehow he had gotten away. He had ragged himself to this shed and closed the door behind him, breathing as if he'd just run a marathon. Which he had, possibly even twice.

With trembling fingers he took out his all but forgotten cell phone. Trevor? Neil? Peter? ... Mom? Dad? Grandma? School? 911?

The line was dead. No one picked up the phone. Robert's lip trembled. What if everyone was dead? What if he were the only one still left alive? What if-

The ominous sound of singing birds was abrubtly cut off by the noise of a low-flying aircraft. Robert almost dropped his cell phone as he jumped at the sudden noise.

If there were aircraft here, there was bound to be an airfield as well. He'd have to follow its sound... he hastily fumbled for his scrolls, trying not to lose the sound, which was rapidly decreasing already. In a state of near despair, he yelled: "Lichte Tred! Transparantie!" His body suddenly took on the colours of the environment around him. It was almost as if you could see right through him. He slammed open the door of the shed, and his feet carried him across the landscape, faster than a racecar. He gave it his all, putting even more effort into it than the scroll could give. His vision blurred at the sides, and eventually all he saw was straight ahead, and after the sound he went, the now useless scrolls near the shed miles away the only evidence he'd been there just a few seconds before.

[professor13]

"You don't have to apologize for her. She's quite right," Apep replied with a warm chuckle. He looked down at the girl that seemed to be staring right through him. There was little doubt in his mind that the girl was blind. Having an entire family devoted to the Ministry familiarizes one with many of the afflictions the world has to offer.

Apep lowered himself onto his haunches and smiled at the girl. "You know, the Bible cites several instances of those without physical sight being far more perceptive than we that rely on our eyes. Though, as bright as you are, you may just put them all to shame."

While Apep busied himself with the girl, Angela sighed and turned to Thulani. "It would appear I'll have to apologize for my husband. He's sweet, but has the attention span of a goldfish."

She smiled and continued, "Like your daughter and my husband said, we have been fortunate getting here, so we won't need to take any of your supplies. Actually, we're looking for people to move with. You mentioned before that you were heading out. Do you mind if my husband and I travel with you? He has some scrolls that can keep us healthy, and I've got a few that are good for a distraction, I suppose."

[Viorahn Ehllenfort]

Ehllen slid under the partially collapsed entrance of the hospital, knocking what was propping it open clean from the doorway, collapsing the door down on one dog, trapping it in the rubble, the rest of the pack outside, and Ehllen inside the building.

"Well... That was hellish, glad I got away..." He said, slowly getting up and wiping the sweat off of his brow from his sprint. "I guess there is nowhere left to go but farther in."

Ehllen dusted himself off and started to explore the dark, abandoned hospital floor, trying to find a safe place so he can rest and study his new map.

[Ryvius]

"You know, the Bible cites several instances of those without physical sight being far more perceptive than we that rely on our eyes. Though, as bright as you are, you may just put them all to shame."

“It has nothing to do with being bright. Nothing is easier to smell than blood.” Risa said flatly. “I’ve never read any bibles. I’m better because Papa made me better.” She said, a twinge of pride in her voice.

Thulani turned his attention to the woman. “Likewise, no need to apologize. Perhaps my odd daughter and your odd husband will make the best of friends.” Thulani chuckled at his own lame joke. “Of course you may travel with us. Perhaps you can help guide us to a safe place, me and my daughter have only been here for a few days. Are you natives of the city?” He asked, seemingly forgetting he had been in the middle of asking Jack the same question before the couple had walked in. “I don’t know the city extremely well.” Jack forced his way into the conversation “but I’ve been here plenty of times. I know how to get to the airport, at least. I somehow doubt plains are flying out though. Name’s Jack, by the way” He said with a nod to Angela. Thulani then realized he had not introduced himself. “Oh, how rude of me, I forgot to give you my own name. I am Thulani,” He motioned down with his arm towards the young girl. “and this is my daughter, Risa.”

[Aleister Black]

Well, there he was. He'd run for miles and miles, and now he was drained to the core. Even when he was lying completely still, he trembled and shook as his muscles tried to cope with the enormous effort he had demanded of them. There was nothing to tell; he had had no encounters. No animal had assailed him; hell, they'd hardly known he was there. By the time they would be aware of a funny smell or sound, he'd be far out of their reach again.

He had kept following the sound of the plane until he had come to an airfield. The plane was right there; and he simply couldn't manage another step. Fuck, he could hardly even manage another breath. A hoarse grunt escaped his lips as he tried to call out; it was easily lost in the sound of the wind and the kerosine pump. You have got to be fucking kidding me, Robert thought. I ran my legs off and now I can't walk those last few dozen meters. He grunted as he turned over, every muscle in his body aching with overuse, and then tried to at least sit up.

His efforts got him as far as a big rock, where he slumped again and almost fell over. Somehow, he didn't know how he managed, he got upright again and put step after agonising babystep in the direction of the small airplane. It wasn't a big passenger flight as he had hoped; it was a simple propellor airplane, probably to fertilise fields or something. The hell if he knew what went on outside the city. His muscles screamed at him every passing second and every passing step.

After what seemed like ages, he arrived at the airplane. The pilot, a short, wiry man with a checkered shirt, just looked around as Robert approached him. Had he been in a better condition, Robert might have laughed about the man's expression. It radiated such a fright that he wouldn't be surprised if he'd actually shat his pants. All he managed was a wordless croak before he fell to the ground and passed out, his muscles finally giving way to his exhaustion.


---


Robert awoke to a very strange sensation. It was as if he was sitting in a vibrating chair or something. He kept his eyes closed and shifted to be more comfortable, but then his eyes went wide open as he remembered what had happened yesterday. Everything came flooding back, and he frantically looked around for any threats, or a way to escape wherever he was.

"Wow wow WOW! Damn! We're in a freaggin' plane, we're safe here! No dog can jump this high, believe me!"

As Robert's eyes focussed he recognised the pilot from the airfield. Suddenly, things started to become clear. More level-headed now, he took a look around and only now noticed he was in the co-pilot seat of the cockpit of the small plane. Clouds drifted gently past, and far beneath them the wide landscape stretched ahead to an equally low and vast horizon. He felt a calm such as he hadn't felt since this whole hell started. As the pilot recounted his own tale of the past few days, Robert learned that this was going on just about everywhere. The pilot had managed to take off just in time, but had to watch a friend get mauled by wild dogs just as he started the engine. Ever since then, he had been flying, jumping from airfield to airfield, refuelling whenever he felt he had the chance. He had given up looking for survivors; every other airfield he'd been too was abandoned. Robert had been a bit of a surprise to say the least.

"Well, and I'm listening to the radio all the time, see if there's some kind of backup plan - seems there kinda isn't. They tell people to go to the Tacoma Dome station or the Seattle Sounder station. I don't have much faith in that, though. 'sides, can't land in a city."

Robert stared ahead into the endless blue and white of the clouded sky. The army had weapons, lots of them. They could hold their own against some rabid dogs, right? I mean, the birds and dogs and stuff have all gone mad, but they've got guns! He said so to the pilot.

"Well, they haven't exactly been trained for that kinda stuff have they? Other humans, sure. But I don't think the army gets taught anti-animal tactics, boy. Look, there's the city. We'll make a low flyover to see what it's like down there."

The airplane swooped down and flew low over Seattle. The silence was disconcerting. Normally, the city would surely be filled with sounds, engine roars, car horns, sirens, that sort of thing. Now, nothing. Silence ruled the city now. Robert looked down and saw abandoned cars, bodies and all signs of the kind of chaos you get when a lot of people panick all at the same time, with fucking mad aggressive animals thrown into the mix. The result was frightening to the core.

"Where's that station? Think you can find it from up here?" Robert asked.

"Sure I can, boy. We just need to get our bearings and then find some place we can put her down. You sure you wanna get off? I ain't stoppin' here. I'm headed east, myself. Maybe things are better on the east coast."

Robert thought about it. He didn't get much time. Before he could reach a decision, his thoughts were interrupted by the pilot. "What the- what are they doing?" Robert looked around the airplane, the relatively good mood he had quickly evaporating. He could hear from the pilot's voice that something was wrong. And then he saw them. Birds, flying all around them, but instead ot evading the plane, they seemed to aim for it; converge on it. Robert could hear sickening cracks as the birds, big and small, flew into the plane and bounced off dropping dead to the ground below.

"Holy mother of Jesus!" the pilot yelled as the plane rocked under them. "If one gets in the propellor, we're gonna be dead meat! We need to-"

Robert never got to know what it was they needed to do. Suddenly, a horrible tearing sound was instantly followed by a spray of blood on the cockpit window. Robert could hear the engine faltering under the stress, and then the propellor gave up. The plane went down fast, and the reduced visbility didn't help matters either.

---

Robert awoke to a smell of smoke and dust. His mouth was dry, and his body seemed to ache all over again. He tried to move and, against all expectations, succeeded. The area around the crash site seemed blessedly clear of birds or any other kind of animals, but he wasn't gonna take any chances. He'd be out of here as fast as he could. He already put a few steps away fromt he plane when he remembered the pilot. He hastily went back, but even he, not medically schooled in any way but the street school of drugs, saw that the man was beyond saving. Robert had been extremely lucky; the pilot less so, as his legs were bent at odd angles and his face was bloody all over. A bubbling groan passed the pilot's lips as he held out his hand beseechingly.

Robert must have stood there for minutes, not able to decide what to do. All the time the pilot seemed to beg of him to save his life, or end his suffering. "What do I do?" Robert muttered under his breath. "Shoot him? But I need the bullets. And I can't help him. And he's gonna die soon anyway, he's losing blood all the time, and there's animals around..." That thought brought him back to reality. The crash site was clear now; that wouldn't be the case anymore very quickly though. Again, he retrieved one of his spells, and read it out aloud. "Extase," he muttered, and directed the spell to the pilot. Almost immediatly, the man's eyes dimmed and his mask of pain seemed to soften a bit. His hands now rest on his lap and his breathing was slower and more regular. The pilot would remain under the intoxicating influence of this drug-mimicking spell for a while, and wouldn't feel as much pain. The man would surely be dead by the time the spell lost its power.

Now it was time to get to that safe spot... the Seattle Sounders station. He hoped he'd find soldiers there, and more survivors. As Robert walked away from the wreck, he couldn't help but think that he'd never even known the pilot's name.

[Doaj]

Maika's mother couldn't find any parking at the Tacoma Dome Station. She left the car in a strip of grass. Her children held each of her hands, and the three of them hurried toward the mass of converging people. The were many animals around, and Maika fumbled with the slips of paper in her pocket. She saw a large buck charging a man, throwing him over its antlers. Electricity cackled between them, and it reared up on its back legs, sending a shower a small bolts down at the man, sending his body into hysteric seizures.
Maika saw the man in pain, and she said, "Aquarious Groethe!" A large bubble of water formed several feet above the deer, and it was distracted with killing the stranger. His brown hair was curling at its tips now, and Maika screamed out, a mental order to cause the bubble to drop. It was large, the size of an oven, and probably weighed more than one. When it collapsed onto the deer it broke the animal's neck, as well as all of its legs. It died almost instantly, and Laureen ran over to the injured man.

She had not stopped crying since driving away from her husband, however she still helped the stranger to his feet. He was wearing a leather jacket, and had a helmet strapped to his hip. There didn't seem to be a motorcycle nearby, but it was implied he lost it, and that is what likely caused the head wound that was still bleeding beneath heavy bandaging.

"Thank you..." He said softly to Laureen, and then nodded toward Maika as if to reiterate. Laureen welcomed him and then walked past him, where the trains were pulling in. There were two of them there at the time, and nobody got off. Everyone, however, wanted on. There were many policemen wearing riot gear, and they were ensuring, or attempting so, that everyone get's on in an orderly fashion. The man introduced himself to Maika. "I'm Bud. Thank you for saving my life. You seem quite capable with magic. It doesn't scare you?"

Maika shook her head no, and said, "I've been using it even though it's bad. It couldn't help..." She stopped. She had thought she was fine, but when she tried to talk about him, she found her chin trembling, her eyes watering. He was gone. Her chest heaved in attempts not to burst into tears, and Bud picked her up in his arms. Maika didn't realize how large the man was until he carried the thirteen year old girl. She felt infantile, being carried by a stranger, trying not to cry, putting her faith in someone who she saved. Alex was ahead of Bud, at his mother's side ever still.

"Children and women first, please. Children and women first." The officer was saying. He had a hardened face, but his eyes told how he really felt. Frightened. Depressed. Perhaps he'd lost family, or friends, or other officers whom he cared for dearly. He was in over his head.

"You'll be okay," Maika told him from her position in Bud's enveloping hold. The policeman took a deep breath and looked at her with genuine appreciation.

"You're with them?" The officer said to Bud. He nodded and went with us onto the train. "Be safe..." The officer said as they walked past him.

The four of them sat down together in a booth, and Bud and Laureen exchanged names. The ride was long, and soon enough they were exchanging stories. Bud was only twenty. He was a pot-smoking dropout who lived with his parents. They were dead, and his house burned to the ground. He'd been traveling with his girlfriend, but when goats toppled the bus they were on he ran and left her. He went back for her not even ten minutes hence, but couldn't find her. He helped some other survivors and they traveled in a group three miles until they made it to the station.

Then, the lights flickered ominously. The driver's voice came through statically, "Please disregard the shaking. The tracks are damaged ahead and we'll be pulling to a stop. Anybody with magic is requested to come aid in defense and repairs. Please be calm, and we'll try to move as quickly as possible. Maika looked up at her mom, who nodded. Maika wondered why her mom hadn't said anything in so long, but she stood and began walking to the other end of the train. Bud followed her, telling Laureen that he'll make sure she's safe. Alex stayed loyalty by his mother's side.
But he looked scared.
Laureen looked cold.

[professor13]

Apep's grin broadened at the girl's reply. "Then I am very fortunate to have come across your papa. He seems like a very good man."

After Jack introduced himself and Thulani did so for himself and Risa, Angela replied, "Nice to meet you, Jack, Risa, and... erm... Thulani! I'm Angela, and this skeleton of a man is Apep. Quick word of caution: don't give him a hug, unless you want to bruise yourself on that bony frame."

Apep looked up from where he was crouching and frowned. "Don't say that. No one ever hugs me after you say that."

Apep's lanky frame has always been the fodder of jokes between the couple. Apep didn't mind. He was glad to naturally possess a source of Angela's amusement.

"Anyway," Angela continued, "we'd be more than happy to follow your lead, Jack. Despite how long we've lived in the area, my husband and I haven't found occasion to get familiar with the city. We'll be counting on you."

"Geez, you don't have to sound so dramatic..." Apep muttered with a sigh.

[Viorahn Ehllenfort]

Ehllen had been wandering around the hospital for about an hour, lost in the dark hallways, he had just managed to fumble his way up a flight of stairs onto the second floor when he started to hear the voices of some people arguing.

"Heh, looks like I'm not the only one in here, lucky me..." he muttered to himself, crouching down and closing his eyes, listening carefully to what they said.

"... Dammit WHY can't we use your radio!?!" Asked a young woman, possibly one of the doctors of the hospital,

"Because it's military property, and because I SAID so, back off!" Shouted a rather deep voice, an officer perhaps?

"Fuck you!" Said a young, and rather rash sounding man, "I'm taking that radio and..." there was a loud thud as the man slumped to the floor unconscious, Ehllen had heard enough, he slowly crept towards the door and carefully opened it, peering inside, from there he made out two soldiers, a nurse, and the man slumped on the floor, blood seeping from his temple, rifle aimed at his head.

"Dammit, what are thinking!?" Ehllen said to himself, and after a moments thought, he got up, opened the door, and was blinded as several flashlights shone on his face, despite him covering his eyes he couldn't see a thing.

"Who are you!?" Demanded one of the soldiers, his voice shakey, obviously not the one who knocked out the young man.

"I'm literally a tourist, I flew in from the UK." Ehllen replied, "Would you mind not aiming the lights at my face, I can't see." he continued, the lights were turned off but now Ehllen could see something he would rather not have, rifles aimed at him, children huddled in a corner, and staff tending to the man on the floor.

"Why don't you let the use your radio? surely there are..." Ehllen was interrupted with "Because we're under orders to not be found, by anyone got that?"

After taking a few steps, listening to the tone in the soldiers voice, he could tell he was scared, more than the rest, "Oh I understand, you think that if you get on the radio you'll take on dead weight, you don't think that there are survivors do you?"

"Of course there aren't any others apart from us!" barked the soldier, adamant that he was right,

"Wrong, the airport has some survivors, a guard and a few other people, now please, give me the radio." Said Ehllen calmly.

"Fuck you!" the soldier swung his rifle's butt at Ehllen, who ducked, jabbed the him in the gut with the hilt of his ninja-to, knocking the wind out of him, Ehllen then took the radio from his pocket and said, "Thank you, now stay still and recover." Ehllen turned the radio on, and slowly adjusted the channel until he heard something other than static.

"See? More survivors, asshole..." He set the radio on the side, stood beside it, and listened, everyone seemed to calm down upon hearing more voices.

[Ryvius]

Jack wasn’t very comfortable with people counting on him. He didn’t consider himself very dependable, whatever others may think of him. “Well, I’ll do my best not to get us killed then.” Jack said in a low unenthused voice. Thulani shook his head “To put forth the effort to try to save a life is all one can do. We are only humans after all. We hope that no one ever dies before us, but the reality is you can’t save every life. If you can save just one person, you’re doing well.” There was a brief quiet after the serious moment, interrupted by Thulani laughing. “Anyway, if trouble comes are way we’ll all just hide behind you!” He said, giving Jack a hearty slap on the back. “And Apep, if you find yourself in dire need of a hug, I’ll just have to give you one.” He flashed a white smile at the man. “Though we may be very different men, our purpose is more or less the same is it not? If people ever needed saving, it’s now. They say friendship is stronger than adversity, so let us all become very good friends very quickly!” The dark man laughed heartily. Whatever humor he seemed to find in his “jokes”, it obviously didn’t translate well. Jack gave Thulani a skeptic look. “I have never heard anyone say that….”
Risa remained quiet, focused on a scene at the other end of the library. People could be seen looking up at a skylight, and a small crowd had gathered there. They were too far off for someone to hear what they were saying. Unless of course, that someone happened to be a little girl named Risa.

“Wow, it’s really trying to get in. Do you suppose it can get through that window?” a refugee said, pointing up to the mangy canine snarling and scratching at the glass.” Another man turned to him “We’re not waiting to find out. Ashley went to get Bryan, he’s got a gun. We’ll blow that thing away. Nothing’s getting in here.”

“Idiots.” Risa said flatly in the midst of Thulani’s warm joking. “Papa, we have to leave now. There should be less animals outside the main doors. Anyway, in a minute everyone still inside here will be dead.” Thulani looked at his daughter, and started to mouth a question. “We have to go NOW Papa.” She grabbed his hand and tugged. Thulani nodded. “If she says we must go, then we must go. Quickly everyone! Run to the main doors.” He said leading his daughter to the exit. When they got to the doors a rough-looking man with a shotgun barred their way. “Nobody leaves. It’s too dangerous.” Thulani wasn’t going to waste anytime with conversation. “The time for talk is over. We must leave.” He grabbed the man’s gun with one hand, and his wrist with the other. He wrenched the gun away from the man as the sickening sound of his wrist twisting until it broke could be heard.

A nearby man who had been sitting nearby with a pistol got up to intervene, but Jack’s reaction time was much better than his and without thinking his knocked the man soundly unconscious with his wrench. It would be a lie to say this was the first dangerous situation he had been in. It was strange, but the first thing Jack thought when he saw the way Thulani dealt with the door guard was that he was impressed. Jack may be a doctor, but he was a strong man too. Thulani kicked the thick library door open. Even as he did, the sound of a gunshot and glass breaking could be heard from the other side of the library. They had shot the dog, and triggered the animals’ cunning trap. Others who were prepared to get involved with the group had their attention ripped away, as animals poured in through the broken skylight. Dogs, cats, foxes, even bobcats and large predators jumped down into the library, ripping through the refugees in an expanding circle of blood and death. A few gunshots went off amidst the screams and animal sounds. Thulani grabbed his daughter and ran out the door, assuming the others would follow without having to be told.

[professor13]

"Stop! WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?!" Apep yelled as a foolish man pointed a gun at the skylight. Despite his protest, the man fired the gun, showering glass and animals onto the library floor. As the animals began killing everyone in a growing radius of death, Apep tried to run toward the center to help, only to be stopped immediately by a hand gripping the back of his collar and pulling him toward the exit.

"Angela! Let me go! They're dying!" He yelled, trying to fight himself free of her grip.

"You will too, you moron, unless we get out of here! And stop resisting. You know I'm stronger than you," Angela replied curtly.

After one last, intense look at the slaughter inside, Apep gave a shout of frustration and ran outside after the others. God, please have mercy on those left behind... that I left behind... please forgive my cowardice...

"Don't be conceited," Angela said firmly, as if reading his mind, "you're only human. You couldn't have helped them."

Despite her words, Apep's face was still dark with guilt as he ran after Thulani and the others.

[Aleister Black]

Robert had never been so glad to hear gunfire. While the sharp cracks usually signalled shit hitting the fan, now it was the sound of salvation. His spirits almost lifted until he realised that even though gunshots indicated the presence of people, it also indicated the presence of things dangerous enough to warrent gunfire. Slowly, he moved through the empty streets, dreading to be jumped by a wild animal every passing second.

Robert grew able to discern more sounds as he drew closer. He could now make out shouts and cries and the unmistakable sound of people panicking, permeated by the growls and cries of attacking animals. And as he turned a corner, his eyes met a horrible tableau worthy of any medieval painter of depictions of Hell.

There was only chaos. The animals, grown aware of the large numbers of people headed this way, had grouped together and were now attacking the station en masse. Cops and soldiers and civilians were all scattered, firing their guns blindly into the mass of animals, seemingly not caring whether they'd hit a human, too. Between that all, people tried to get to the station and into the already crammed trains.

Robert knew he did not have much time; if he waited long enough the train might leave without him, and he was pretty sure this was the last one. No one else would be getting on here. Almost instinctively, his hand reached for the scrolls he usually kept in his pocket, to get the Speed spell. But he had used all of them chasing that airplane. All he had left was one drug-imitator and two spells that would sharpen his senses to rediculous degrees (the drug-spell and the senses-spell taken together made for an awesome high). Neither of these would be particularly handy, he thought.

After a moment's hesitation, though, he decided that any edge might help him get through this alive, and he reached for his senses-spell. Whispering the foreign words to himself, he immediately noticed the effect, and he was sure he'd never get used to the barrage of new impressions he received after activating it. The world somehow felt more real, as if a veil had been lifted. He could feel the individual fibres of his clothing and the bruises on his skin and the seeping of blood from a superficial wound. He could taste the salt of sweat on his lips. He smelled not only himself and his blood, but the overwhelming smell of animals and blood and residue from the pistols. He heard every individual sob and cry, saw every strand of hair.

For a moment he stood mesmerised by this all, but then a sudden input from his nose brought him back to his senses. He had caught the smell of animal fur behind him, and at the same moment heard the pattering of paws on asphalt. Without looking back, Robert moved almost as if he had just activated a speed-spell, running for his life. An almost invisible flash of fire, white like he had seen it in a science class sometimes, went past his ear and singed his hairs. It hit a man right in the face. He didn't even scream as his face was burned off, so suddenly it happened. Robert couldn't bear the sight of it and ran on, but the smell stuck with him and it was all he could do not to vomit.

As he reached the train, a man stopped him.

"Are you alone?" he asked. Robert nodded. The man went on, "Do you have any magic, or a gun? There's people out there who need help!"

Robert hesitated. The man's voice was crystal clear, his scent that of sweat and blood, like most people now. Robert looked behind him, and saw what was merely a carnage in disguise. None of those people would survive against the onslaught.

"No, I have no magic, sir. Not since it was banned. No weapons either. I'm glad I got to where I am now without dieing, sir." Robert said, glad that he had put away the gun under his shirt. No fucking way I'm going out there, he thought. I didn't get all this way to get slaughtered right next to the train out of this hellhole. The man looked him in the eyes, and he looked straight back. After a second, the man nodded him through and gestured to the trains. "I'd get in quickly if I were you," he said, "the trains are leaving soon. I don't think there will be many more survivors," he said, his expression grim.

Robert got on the train, without looking back at the carnage. Not long after, the train started to move, slowly at first, but increasing speed until they were well out of there. For the first time in what had seemed years, Robert started to breathe again.

He was safe. For now.