Cor: Episode 1 (Draft)

         
      Under the moon- directly overhead tonight- I cast no shadow. There was so little darkness it was almost eerie; all the streetlights made the night radiate like the day. Despite the sheer blue luminescence, it could still have been dusk if I hadn't seen the sun go sink below the horizon many hours ago. This city sure isn't what it used be though. Apparently, according to the people around here, there used to be a great library here- now it's gone. It was destroyed when the possessed took over. The information was viewed to be highly crucial to rebels and counter-effort groups. Some people that talked to me about it vividly remember the flames reaching up and licking the clouds. Pieces of paper flew through the sky, vanishing before their eyes. Vast amounts of knowledge destroyed forever- theological volumes, catalogs of history, and influential literature all the same. The demons were ruthless and belligerent. Some rebels were even thrown into the flames to prove a point- these new “leaders” would not hold mercy for resistance.
         After spending plenty of time on a stake out, I've been able to determine invaluable information about the target specifically: he's a young male, living on his own, with no living family. Earlier this week, he ran into some old “friends” who asked him how living outside the orphanage was. Logically, I was led to assume he went away on his own since, from what I've seen, he does everything on his own. Nobody called “Mom” or “Dad,” and no brothers nor sisters. He does his own shopping, he works at a small shop of some sort that is locally owned, and he lives off of his own paychecks. Despite his independence, his immaturity still shows- his bank account information was pathetically simple to obtain. In fact, this kid is really oblivious to people at all; I stood right behind him in line for the ATM and he didn't recognize me, despite the fact I'd been following him around all week. Or maybe he just doesn't care- might be naive.
         Even though he does everything on his own, he still attends a local school. It caught me off guard... It wasn't something I really expected. Even more surprising though is the fact that he never has any women in his home. It's rare in his situation to have anyone over, really. He's not a loner, but the kid sure isn't popular. An air of purity surrounds him and he just seems to be content. Considering the state of this city, this is the biggest surprise yet.  Regardless, I still can't help but think that Lizzie sent me off. I've wasted way too much time scouting this kid. He doesn't seem to have any potential. No signs of gifts, no talents... nothing. He almost seems useless.
         Anyway, so far I have not been engaged by the demons. My hikari is well-hidden, so no demon is going to sense me unless they're extremely close or extremely powerful. We'll see what happens as things progress though; hikari can't be concealed for too long. Tomorrow, when Zeruel gets here, I'm going to make a break for the kid and get back to Chernobyl. Nobody will likely realize he's gone, other than that one kid that always comes over. I don't remember his name, but the two are closer than seems normal. Anyway, Zeruel will be here and all three of us will be gone before the sun sets tomorrow. I can feel his hikari not too far off, though that worries me. The demons will surely sense his hikari...
         I moved off the roof of the building across from the kid's apartment and stepped into the alleyway where Zeruel would meet me tomorrow. Until then, I would pose as a bum living here. It didn't seem like I'd get any sleep because of the light from the city lights, which come even into here, the deepest of alleys. It's almost as if the demons are nervous about something. They had no idea we were coming, but could they already be sensing Zeruel coming? I hope he doesn't ruin the whole thing for us. Lizzie should've been intelligent enough to conceal his hikari for him. But if it isn't Zeruel... what could it be? ...It doesn't matter.
         “Levi?” a voice called from the end of the alleyway.
         I became suddenly alert, though it was clear to me who it was- nobody here knows my name.
         “How'd you get here so quickly?” I questioned, utterly confused why I couldn't sense him approaching.
         Zeruel stepped further in. A bird fluttered on his shoulder, obviously a guide to get him here successfully. He wouldn't have gotten here on his own with his sight issues.
         “You're underestimating my stamina,” Zeruel said.
         I agreed quietly and ignored that he obviously didn't understand why I was actually asking how he got here so quickly. And there wasn't really time to explain any more.
         “Glad you didn't bring that behemoth of a sword with you. Why not?” I said, wasting time. We couldn't move yet.
         “Are you retarded? This is a covert op mission.”
         “Yes, Zeruel. That's exactly why I asked. I am retarded.” I responded. Zeruel laughed, feeling clever.
         The sun started to come up over the horizon. Time was passing by quickly.
         “Where's this kid's apartment?” Zeruel asked me.
         I glanced up to the building straight ahead of us out of the alleyway. “Third floor. Front door is locked unless somebody opens it from the inside though.”
         Zeruel walked over across the street and to the door, then proceeded to wiggle the handle. It was definitely locked. I started to get nervous, being out of my element. The shadows were actually lurking here under the apartment complex’s overhand. There was no light at all.
         “See? I told you we couldn't get-” I started to say. I stopped short as Zeruel rammed into the door with his shoulder, knocking the door and part of the wall back through the building.
         “Problem solved!” Zeruel grinned. I shrugged. We were here at least; now we just needed to get out without attracting more attention. I dropped the thought of my whole plan; with Zeruel, there was no planning. I had to accept it.
         Darting through the building, I managed to clear the third floor in a matter of seconds. Zeruel just jumped through the building's ceilings... floors... whichever way you looked at it, Zeruel busted through them. He didn't even seem hurt by it. People must have been too frightened to come out of their apartments... or they slept like rocks. Again, it was irrelevant to me. Without the onlookers, it was significantly easier.
         In the strongly lit streets, I could hear demons gathering to come after us, almost slipping out of those shadows from outside the building. We just kept going. No time to stop; Lizzie wouldn't accept us to come back without the kid. As Zeruel burst through the door to the kid's apartment, I could feel some weak demons flooding the building.
         “Stay here and take them out. I'm getting the kid away from here.” I demanded.

***

         Levi whizzed past me and into the room, where I heard a kid start yelling “Who are you!?” as glass shattered and wind rushed into the room. This prompted the door directly behind me to slam shut. From down the hall, footsteps erupted. Outside, people were screaming.
         “Subtlety is for punks.” I thought, darting down the hallway, carefully avoiding the hole I smashed in the floor earlier.
         Barely visible to me, a fist flew through the air which was clearly aimed towards my face. I swiftly snatched it out of the air and threw it and its owner through the wall at the end of the hallway.
         “How can he fight blind-folded like that?” I heard one grumble. I snickered. This evidently pissed him off or something because I heard the distinctly familiar sound of metal unsheathing.
         Sirens wailed outside.
         Another sword unsheathed inside the building.
         A baby cried in an apartment next to us while a kid cheered with glee.
         All of these sounds whizzed through my head, just noticeably, but one really stuck out, though it was just another familiar sound from the room with the kid and the baby.
         “Super-Mega-Captain-Awesome!” I punched a hole in the wall. Surely enough, my favorite show was on. I listened to the theme song as it played. The kid's gleeful cheers stopped and the baby was silent. Then, the mother of the two children screamed. From behind, I felt the touch of cold metal on my back. I spun around and grabbed the sword. It wasn't difficult to snap into two pieces.
         “Wanna try some other stupid move?” I snapped.
         “Who are you?” one demon asked, intimidated.
         “Zeruel. You don't need to bother remembering though.”
         They started to run, their footsteps still echoing in the half-destroyed hallway. I stomped on the floor, rupturing it and breaking off the staircase.
         “Only way out is down!” I chuckled.
         They didn't have time to find another option. They fell- or rather were forced- down three floors like purple watermelons. I heard them slam into the concrete landing below. Hopefully it wasn't a mess because I jumped down after them, landing with a thud as well and cracking the ground. I walked towards what seemed to be the door outside.. Levi must have been out there now, because I could hear wind rustling vigorously. That was his method of occupying enemies. As I stepped out, Levi noticed. He shouted and appeared next to me- and I mean literally appeared.
         “How many left?” I asked him.
         “Enough.. Have fun.” he told me, a cunning tone to his voice.
         “I can do that; no problem!”
         Levi took a deep breath, then a warm gust passed over the area.
         “There are 17 demons, but about 63 bystanders crawling out of their homes and apartments and wondering what is going on. Watch your aim.” he warned; then I heard the air rustle again and sensed him vanish. I moved forward confidently, crushing one demon quickly with a point-blank punch to the jaw. The rest began moving at me in an offensive pose.

***

        After the blurriness wore off, I could make out the features of the guy, named Levi if I’m not mistaken, sitting facing me but with enough distance to notice I was awake. I don’t remember when I passed out, however. A woman, maybe in her mid-20s, kneeled above me. A magnificent work of religious art hung above her painted onto the ceiling. It looked Russian Orthodox in origin, a rarity in these days. I remembered seeing examples in school.  It was beautiful and not a piece of it was missing, something I found odd.
         “Welcome, Xander. A little cliche, yes, but I couldn’t think of anything better.” Lizzie said with a motherly smile.
         “So the kid is finally awake?” Levi grunted, standing up.
         Lizzie rolled her eyes. “You say that like he had no reason to be unconscious.”
         Levi paced. “Do you mean to tell me that you know why he passed out?” Light shone down nearby, a perfect beam glaring down onto an altar.
         “A cathedral? In perfect condition? How did you guys manage to find this place?” I spat in a mixture of shock and joy.
         Lizzie turned to him and shoved him back down. “Sit, Xander. You really should continue to rest. I haven’t finished healing your body” she said, clearly trying to be nice to me but not suggesting to disobey. I didn’t try to cross her.
         Meanwhile, I noticed Levi looked upset to be interrupted. He spoke, scathingly, “Anyway do you know exactly why he was unconscious?”
         Lizzie turned, her motherly smile turning into a sisterly grin. “You mean to tell me you, all-knowing Levi, couldn’t sense it?” she teased. “I sense it was just a rush of adrenaline that he wasn’t used to. His system tried to slow down much too quickly and well... He passed out.”
         “That doesn’t explain-” Levi started, but he cut himself off. “Kid, do you remember anything?”
         I thought hard. Not much came to mind. “It all happened so quickly. First, I remember seeing you taking off and being surrounded in this wall of... It felt like pure energy. An invisible wall of pure energy.”
         Levi scoffed. “Invisible? It wasn’t invisible.” He turned to Lizzie, taking a matter-of-fact tone. “I put him in the Seven Shell.” Lizzie nodded, seeming to understand.
         Confused, I assured him it was invisible, and also explained that I felt like I had more energy than I ever remembered. As if my body was soaking in energy from the shield. I feared I scared them. The moment was cut short as the gargantuan double doors to the cathedral flew open. Levi brandished his short swords and Lizzie unsheathed a switch-blade hunting knife. I had a hard time believing the latter weapon at first, but sure enough, it was a switch-blade hunting knife.
         Through the open doors, the rumbling of a motorcycle, much louder than the ones I am accustomed to, flooded in. Along with the noise, some twilight slipped in, giving an even more mystic mood to the cathedral. He pointed right at Levi.
         “You left me in the middle of combat!” Zeruel shouted. “You left the blind guy a thousand miles away with no way to get back!”
         His voice echoed through the chamber. I couldn’t tell whether he was seriously mad or not.
         Levi shrugged. “I left you the dagger. It would’ve got you back with no problem.”
         “Oh, I got the dagger all right. But how did you expect me to get here? Walking?” Zeruel replied.
         Again, Levi shrugged. “You figured it out.” This was followed by a frustrated groan from his comrade. “Good to see you though. Glad you’ve arrived. The kid has just regained consciousness.”
         “Oh, Jack?” He looked at me, as if he were talking about me. Then I realized he was.
         “My name is Xander.” I informed him.
         “Whatever you say, Balthazar.” Zeruel sighed. He sat down in a pew, seeming to need to catch his breath. “My stamina is still pretty good. So what’s the tension all about? Did you think I couldn’t sense it?”
         Levi and Lizzie looked at each other and then back at Zeruel. Lizzie got to the news first “We will have a new member added to our group, starting now.”
         I was slightly hurt by Zeruel’s annoyed reaction. This didn’t seem to be what he wanted to hear. He stood back up and left the room, walking angrily down the stairs. Levi went after him, though he didn’t seem too happy about all of this either. Lizzie remained behind with me, and I stood up to talk with her.
         “I’m sorry if I’m causing any trouble... I don’t really know what’s going on.” I told her.
         She smiled and this time didn’t force me back down to rest. “Make yourself at home with the boys. Keep in mind that I make it sound easier than it is. I’ll begin finding you some room to make your own. There’s not much to spare, but this place seems to have a life of its own. I’m sure what we need will be found.”
         “Really? You mean, you guys are really going to keep me here? But what about school? And work? And everything back home?” I asked, frantic now. I hadn’t thought they were seriously going to keep me.
         “You’ll find that you’re beginning a new life now. It’s not something to be afraid of. At first, it’s frightening, but you’ll soon learn you were meant to be here... It was determined far before you could even believe” she assured him. “We, of course, won’t hold you here against your will, but I encourage you to stay for one night. You won’t be able to make it back from here without making prior preparations.”
         “Oh... I see...” I mumbled, somewhat discouraged. I wanted to go home, but she was right.
         She turned her back to me, walking towards the stairs to the lower chambers. She halted for a moment.
         “What are we forcing you to leave behind?” she asked, a subdued tone to her voice. “I’m sure you have many people who will miss you, no? And many people you will miss? How does it feel to have many friends and a family?”
         I stuttered, unsure how to respond. Words came to my mouth though, ones I normally would not be able to admit were true. “I... I don’t. I have one good friend, but even he didn’t seem to care for me that much. He just watched over me... If something ever happened, he was right there. Other than that, no family... No friends... nobody...”
         “I see... Well, I’m sorry to ask. I just imagined... Your reluctance to stay... That perhaps. Forgive me, I’ve clearly pressed too far.”
         She took off quickly down the stairs, still maintaining a discrete poise. She was clearly disturbed. I wish I could have helped her somehow.

***

         “You didn’t even stop to think that I might have not known the dagger you threw at me would get me home, or that I might not have known it was even there?” he growled.
         “You’re not that dumb, Zeruel. I knew you’d figure it out” Levi said. “By the way, how’d you get the motorcycle?”
         “I stole it after I found your dagger. Some grunt leader had one for patrol... Well, let’s say it wasn’t difficult to get it. I figured a normal motorcycle wouldn’t be able to hold me up for long.” Zeruel explained, an unusual eloquence to his tone.
         “Wow, you had deep thought? You’ve even surpassed my expectations.” Levi joked, with his usual sarcastic and low voice. It was almost a murmur.
         “Ha ha. Anyway, the thing will need some tune ups. It’s not very reliable. Stalled on me twice for no reason.”
         This, I felt, was the perfect point to jump in. I was very handy at fixing things.
         “I can repair it for you. Then maybe we can use it to get me home!” I suggested, coming out from around the corner.
         Levi stood up quickly, preparing for an enemy to jump out. Then, he said “Oh, it’s you. Forgive me, I’m not used to you being here yet.”
         “It’s fine, I understand.” I said, though I didn’t quite understand his instant reflex to jump to battle quite yet. I thought I seemed non-intimidating enough.
         Then, Zeruel decided to stand up from the table they sat at. The room opened up more to me and I found that this area, though dank and somewhat cold being surrounded by stone, served as a kitchen and dining area. This large round table probably was where they usually ate. As Zeruel approached, I felt his eyes scanning me up and down, though I wasn’t sure if he could really see me or not.
         “You can fix a motorcycle?” Zeruel asked in disbelief. “You seem like you would hardly know anything about anything other than house-cleaning and reading and the sort.” I assumed he meant to point out things he felt weren’t very manly.
         “I was trained very well to fix many things. I can build and fix well. I’m not so good at scientific things or inventing, but things that have already been invented, not a problem.” I said, asserting my skill, though quite intimidating by the hulking behemoth standing over me.
         “I’ll bring it into the sanctuary and you can start working on it, then. I want it done quickly, Johnny.”
         “Xander!” I asserted.
         “Don’t try, kid.” Levi said, quietly but in a very demanding tone.
         Zeruel stared down at him still. I don’t think he’d moved an inch since he came over to me.
         The whole room stood still for a moment, when at last Lizzie broke the tension and began shuffling around the kitchen area.
         “Zeruel, I’ll start getting food ready so you can cook us all a nice dinner. What shall I prepare?”
         Zeruel walked past me towards the stairs behind me. “Just wait for me to get back. It won’t take long to move the motorcycle inside.”
         Lizzie smiled and shrugged. “Okay, then.” She then motioned to a chair, “Sit down, Xander.”
         I happily obliged, still a little woozy from earlier. Lizzie herself took the same seat she sat at earlier. She looked me in the eye and spoke in a serious tone, “Can you explain further what you remember about the other day?”
         I thought hard. Not much was coming to mind. “Well, I remember him- Levi right?- grabbing me from my apartment and Zeruel came out of the apartment building a little later... I think I passed out around then, though I remember vague little things, like Levi saying something and being surrounded in that prison. That’s when I really started to wake up though. I felt like the shield was giving me strength. As if it were flowing into me.” I said, unsure of each word.
         Levi nodded. “That’s enough for me.” Lizzie nodded as well. “I highly encourage you to stay here more than one night. It is dangerous for you to go back. Those creatures we were fighting are demons. You probably have seen them your whole life and not even paid them attention, but that’s because for years they have been working to desensitize the world into that. You probably never knew why you’d been placed in Alexandria, but it’s because it’s one of the demon capitals. They’ve been keeping an eye on you because they were suspicious of you. Now that we’ve assured them that you are who they thought you were, when you return they will not let you be.”
         My head spun. “What are you talking about? I am who they thought I was... I’m nobody. I mean nobody.”
         “I know. You have few friends, no family, a simple job and you go to school and vanish. You have plenty of money to get you by because you hardly spend any of it. You keep to yourself and that’s it” Levi explained.
         “That’s not true! I have-” I started, but cut myself because I remembered I had told Lizzie the truth earlier. She looked critically at me, as if I needed to tell the truth to Levi too, and not to be afraid. “Okay, they’re true.”
         “I know they are. I have been following you for awhile now” he told me.
         “Well, that’s comforting.” I replied.
         “It’s foolish to go into a place you are unfamiliar with looking for somebody you know nothing about.” Levi explained.
         “Okay then.” I said. “So you’re saying I can’t go home now?”
         “Unless you want to die, no you cannot.” Levi explained.
         I looked at Lizzie, pleading for consolation. She put her head down.
         “So you entirely ruined my life because you think I’m somebody. Based on a whim!?” I yelled.
         Levi didn’t seem to like this and stood up.
         “We are offering you hospice and a family. Would you turn us down? Would you rather return home? If you want to then just go. Do not waste my time.” Levi spat.
         I sat, unsure of what to do. In little more than one day, my entire life had changed and I had no way to go back to how it was.
         “A family...” I thought. “A home...”
         Finally, Lizzie spoke up. “I told him he must stay here at least one night. Can you wait until tomorrow for his decision, Levi?”
         Levi turned and left the room, breaking off down some corridor, which seemed to lead down into pure darkness. He vanished into the shadows. Lizzie stepped over to me and I stepped up to meet her. She gave me a friendly and reassuring hug, something I hadn’t received in almost my whole life. I almost teared up, but held it back.
         “That’s his way of saying ‘Yes’. They’ll both warm up to you, I promise.” she told, still hugging me tightly.
         “Why are you being so nice to me?” I asked, very confused and breaking free of the hug.
         “Because that’s the part I play. I’ve grown accustomed to it and have welcomed it every day. When you find your role in this world, you will understand, I assure you. Levi and Zeruel still haven’t learned this, but they were both left alone their whole lives. I bet they see a lot of themselves in you. Otherwise, Levi wouldn’t have mentioned anything about getting a family or a home. He wouldn’t have even given you a chance, Xander. And Zeruel is even giving you a test. He wouldn’t test anybody unless he thought it was worth a shot. They’re being kind to you, but they’re both young- or at least younger than me- and still very insecure with themselves.”
         “You make everything seem so much simpler than it looks.” I said.
         “Or perhaps you make everything so much more complicated than it is.” she responded. I had nothing to reply with... Maybe she was right.
         A voice called down from up the stairs in the sanctuary of the cathedral, “Hey, kid, bike is ready. Get it done soon!”
         Lizzie nodded to me, and motioned to the stairs. “Later, I’ll give you a tour of the place... So you can feel at home. Today is a new day, Xander. Embrace it. There is no reason to fear.”
         “Thank you, Lizzie. A lot.” I told her, and jogged up the stairs. Zeruel was shouting again, angrier this time.

***

         Almost right after I finished fixing the bike, Lizzie called everybody for dinner. I was stunned when I got down to the kitchen to see that the kitchen was littered with all sorts of exquisite cuisine. Zeruel was finishing up plating some of the dishes with unbecoming grace. Each piece of the meal was designed in such a way that it would be hard to not eat some of everything served.
         It also was hard to say no because Zeruel was staring me down as I took each bite, which was strange because I thought he was blind. I still haven’t figured that whole thing out yet. Anyway, it was still intimidating. Luckily, it was all so delicious I had no beef with Zeruel... get it? Beef? Because we’re eating dinner? Okay, maybe it wasn’t that funny.
         After we all finished eating Zeruel’s meal, which was filled with plenty of awkward silences and empty mumblings, Levi and Zeruel left me and Lizzie alone... again. She told me to expect it for awhile.
         “Are you ready to go to your room?” she asked. I nodded and followed her out of the bright kitchen-like room and down a staircase to warm, dry, stone hallway. From that hallway, we crossed a beautiful pavilion area, which caught me off-guard because we were underground. Lizzie told me that I would understand later. I felt the earth moving around me as we passed some catacombs, in which all of the compartments had been cleaned out- which pleased me because dead bodies would put me off a bit- and then finally to the door to my room.
         “It was a bit longer of a walk than I expected.” I said to her. She shrugged, saying she must be used to the underbelly of the cathedral so she didn’t notice. I wasn’t sure how to interpret her statement. She opened the door and inside was a bright room, almost as large as my apartment. Then I realized that it was my apartment. I don’t know how, but most of the furniture was almost exactly the same, lacking of course a couple stains and tears from use. My table with the chairs that never got used lining it was the same table and the desk over in the corner where I did most of my work was the same desk.
         “How did you...?” I asked in confusion.
         Lizzie just kept that same smile she had worn since I arrived and told me that she has her ways of making sure everybody feels comfortable. I felt that there was something suspicious lurking in the comment, but she didn’t seem the type to be suspicious of. We both stepped in and I started scanning through the drawers, finding most of my clothes, socks, shoes, and hats. The only thing that was missing was my workroom with all the gadgets and tools and machinery I used to pass my time. I was extremely disappointed. Lizzie noticed.
         “I’m sorry that we couldn’t get your tools. They’re unsafe to bring though, as many of them were electronic and easily could’ve left trails to follow. We’ll make it up for you soon enough if you decide to stay, though, trust me.” Lizzie said.
         “I appreciate it, but I’m still completely caught off-guard. Is this the stuff from my apartment? Or is it a copy? I don’t understand.” I asked.
         Lizzie stepped over to the kitchen counter, which sparkled more than it did when I was at home in Alexandria. She slid her finger across it and held it up to me. There was a dazzlingly radiant substance on her hand that seemed like it was barely a solid.
         “It’s different. This is hikari, the material us ‘gifts’ use to thrive.” Lizzie explained. “It can be used for many things, including creation of new materials.”
         I stood for a moment, feeling like I was in an anime of some sort. After all, those shows always have some sort of energy that they use to do things with that other people can’t access. I decided to push the question.
         “So, the hikari made all of it? Or you used hikari to make all of it? And somehow, that material makes an object? I don’t understand.”
         She said nothing, but snatched my arm and put it down upon the countertop. My hand slammed down hard on top it. It was as real as the one I’d lived with for many years. The warmth of the countertop seeped into my hand, and I began smelling familiar scents from back home. It was almost like the sounds were drifting in through an open window; the bustle of people in the street below and the movement of modern life. It was interesting that just by coming into contact with this, I could somehow draw all these memories out of it. It seemed like an empty replica and yet there was something to it that made it feel alive.
         “It’s energy in its finest state. Levi can probably explain it better.” Lizzie told me.
         “Why do I need to know this?” I asked.
         “Well, we need to make sure you make an informed decision about whether you will stay here with us or not. It wouldn’t be fair to you to not tell you what would happen should you stay.” Her smile widened a bit, and I could tell I had no choice in this.
         “So, when am I going to see Levi?” I asked timidly. I didn’t like being forced into things, and it seemed to be happening a lot today.
         Lizzie just smiled that smile and ushered me out of the room and shut the door. “Let’s move along. Levi is rather impatient after dinner.” She urged.

***

         A violent gasp was what I woke up to in the morning. The faux windows in my room gave me no hint that the sun had fully risen yet, but sure enough Zeruel and Levi were standing near me, clad in their respective full battle armor. A full set of armor, made of leather, were prepared for me. They were quite unlike Levi’s; his were leather, but were dyed black and had many straps and buckles and strings that dangled rather than padding for taking blows. Mine was more suited for hand-to-hand combat and covered all the vital organs and many of the others. It was carefully studded to provide some extra resistance. Zeruel’s armor seemed scaled, much like a snake, though with long strips of metal instead of small circular-shaped plates. It almost seemed alive as it formed to his every movement. He obviously took much pride in it because I could see my reflection magnified in it.
         Zeruel picked me up and hoisted me over his shoulder with such force that I was almost positive he had shattered one of my ribs. They moved me out of the room, barely clothed, despite all my hollering protests. When we finally got to the kitchen area, Zeruel dropped me- quite literally- and before Lizzie. She smiled that same smile and forced the armor onto me gently. Despite how impossible it sounds, Lizzie is the person that would be able to manage to do it. She was beginning to really intimidate me.
         “Breakfast?” she asked. I couldn’t manage to refuse, but was greatly disappointed when she handed me a duffel bag full of dry wrapped food. Zeruel laughed and Lizzie hit him. “Excuse him; he’s just glad that he isn’t the one holding it for once.” She explained and shot him a menacing glare. That was the first time Lizzie showed any sense of malevolence around me. However, I was glad it was shown in the effort of sticking up for me.
         Levi walked out the door, Zeruel chasing shortly behind. “That’s Levi’s way of saying ‘Let’s go’” Lizzie explained, urging me to follow. Outside, the sun was barely shining over the horizon and I got the first glance of the world outside the cathedral. Having lived in Alexandria my whole life, the silence of the city around us made me very uneasy.
         “Where are the people?” I asked. “The cars? Where is the life? This city is dead!”
         Levi turned sharply. It looked like he was ready for a monologue. “The city has been lost in time for years. Welcome to Chernobyl, the forgotten city.” Inside, I wondered if that seriously was a monologue to him, but he intimidated me too much to ask. “This city was destroyed by carelessness and ambition. By the means of technology, unchecked by caution, that nuclear power plant destroyed everything here. Naturally, the radiation has cleared out in the last hundred years, but the demons have built up the idea that-”
         I interjected, “Evil spirits of the dead still haunt the land. I remember this now. We learned about it in one of my history classes. I never heard the story about the nuclear power plant though. They claimed it was bombed by rebels who threatened the government of America.”
         “America? What have you learned about America, kid?” Levi asked.
         “It is the pride of the world and one of the most advanced civilizations of the human race. They created the technology and law structure that the rest of the world now uses. It’s one of the most astounding things, really.”
         “You’ve got a lot to learn. Anyhow, this was indeed the site of a nuclear explosion. Since then, obviously, nuclear power has been further researched to avoid any further problems, but this is one of the first warnings of the danger of technology. That warning went unheeded and naturally the demons would rewrite history so that nobody went looking. Now, they keep people away because they know we’re here. We are those evil spirits they say that live here.” Levi explained.
         Zeruel looked up from the spot on the ground he was so intent on observing during the course of the monologue. “Kid, give me a granola bar.” I was happy to oblige. I then continued with Levi, “So, if the demons know you’re here, why are you still here? Wouldn’t you want to remain safe and hidden if they’re as evil and deceptive as you claim?”
         Zeruel grunted. “No, I said give me the granola bar, Leroy!” he yelled, handing the granola bar I gave him back.
         “It’s Xander and that is a granola bar.” I said sternly. Zeruel was plain pissed now.
         “This is not a granola bar. This has cinnamon in it! Now give me the granola bar or I’ll just get it myself!” he yelled.
         I handed him the bag angrily while he muttered something about me being useless. He pulled out a cereal bar and put the granola bar back in. Afraid he would smash me for telling him he should have said cereal bar, I kept my mouth shut.
         “Are we quite done?” Levi asked, eyeing the two. Zeruel smirked, as if it were an inside joke between them. Levi continued, “Trust me, kid, the demons are evil. I know it’s hard for you to believe, but it’s just as hard for me to explain. We both have seen two entirely different worlds, but keep in mind that Zeruel and Lizzie have both seen the same one I have. It’s not just some strange vendetta; we all know the same thing.”
         There was a moment of silence- well... near silence. Zeruel was chewing like an aborigine. The wind was blowing gently, slithering through the group of us and into the cathedral silently.
         “So why did you bring me here? To show me how evil the society I am from is? To show me how much better than me you guys are?” I asked.
         “You sure are defensive, kid.” Levi responded, completely ignoring my question. I gave up but it almost seemed as if Levi had planned for the question. As he spoke a stray demon strolled along the stone wall. The demon was entirely unaware that there were three people watching him, let alone a cathedral.
         “This is why we took you out. Ever since we got here, the demons have been following, but they’ve never been able to find us. It’s almost like the cathedral has it’s own sort of stealth ability; like it’s protecting us. Of course, Levi worked on it a bit to bolster it’s power- gave it some defense mechanisms and what-not” Zeruel said. I looked down at him. His cereal bar had entirely vanished, which I thought was astounding. He was wiping his mouth as he spoke. “What? You think I’m entirely oblivious to how things work here?”
         I was afraid to nod. “You’re speaking as if the cathedral were alive.”
         “We never said it was alive, but it sure has a life of its own.” Zeruel said. “Levi, I think we should get moving.” Levi seemed to agree.
         “W-wait!” I stammered, “There are demons out there. If they attack, how do you expect me to fight them off?”
         “Stay close and if in danger, just try to do something.” Zeruel said.
         We ventured out from the court out front of the cathedral. I thought I caught a glimpse of a shadow peering down through an upper-level stained glass window of some saint or other. Levi had us each put on these small lotus flowers, which he explained would provide some minor cloaking from the demons as we scouted through the city. Doing anything to draw attention to ourselves would negate the effect though. I was curious how Zeruel’s sword wasn’t breaking through the cloak.
         The first place we sneaked off to was what appeared to be some sort of library. I had never heard of any of the books on the shelves. They had titles like Paradise Lost, Republic, Metamorphoses, Frankenstein, and The Divine Comedy. There were also huge books in another section of the library. Levi explained that one was the Bible and another was called the Qu’ran. Again, I had never heard of any of the texts. Again, Levi explained that they’d all been burned by the demons when they won government control in each region. Naturally, since nobody lived here, they didn’t need to burn the books. It made sense; even if people knew the library was still intact, nobody would come near. The city was taboo.
         After the trip to the library, from which Levi carried off two books he intended to use for “restorative purposes”, we traveled to an abandoned apartment building. It was shabby from disrepair. The most haunting part were the remnants of the disaster. People had literally dropped everything and ran. There were plates and dishes out on some of the tables. Many couches and beds had blankets thrown over them, as if somebody jumped out of bed. Windows were shattered and some doors were knocked off their hinges. It was disturbing to imagine all the people evacuating like a pack of animals. There were bones in some places, probably from people who were trampled in the stampedes. Levi and Zeruel were entirely unaffected by the scenery but I was beginning to be overcome by despair. We left. Zeruel and Levi wanted to check the nuclear plant but I don’t think I could manage to be there. Just standing outside of the colossus, I heard screams and explosions in my head. The two were agitated, but agreed to let me stay outside after I displayed my stubbornness. In hindsight, that was a bad idea.
         Shortly after the two had vanished into the darkness of the nuclear plant, I heard rustling in the building next to me. I was smart, though, and started moving away into a more hidden place. Out of ignorance though, I failed to look where I was going. Stumbling over a trashcan, I managed to attract plenty of attention. Demon lackeys blocked off the alley, calling in for their superiors.
         “Whoa, there’s no reason to treat me as an enemy!” I said, trying to keep calm.
         The demon spawn stared at me, trying to figure out exactly what was going on. Behind the front wall, I could still hear one pouring coordinates into a sonic-emitter. Understanding some of the technology from back in Alexandria, it would be broadcasting messages to all demons within whatever radius he chose. My survival instincts were kicking in and I was beginning to think that maybe Levi, Zeruel and Lizzie were right about the demons. Maybe they really were more sinister and devious than anybody ever realized.
         It was when they started moving in towards me that the real surprise came. One grabbed me on the shoulder but recoiled instantly. He was screeching in pain and the hand he touched me with disintegrated. Naturally, the rest of the demons looked in wonder. Now agitated, the single-handed demon pulled out a gun with a violet clip and aimed it at my heart. I may have gotten a miracle with physical contact, but it was extremely unlikely I could get lucky with a gunshot.
         My heart started racing. I was trying to figure out how I could get out of this predicament. I heard a voice hollering loudly for reinforcements quickly and the voice on the other side was demanding information. The demon with the gun stared down the top of the pistol at me.
         “What’s your name, kid?” he asked.
         Knowing I might be able to keep him talking, I was happy to oblige. “Xander,” I answered.
         “And why are you here? Don’t you know it’s haunted?” he asked with a sneer.
         I tried to hold my wit back; deep down inside, I wanted to say “By who? You?” but I thought that might get me killed. “That’s why I’m here! I wanted to see the ghosts.”
         All the demons looked confused. “Ghosts? Who said anything about ghosts?”
         Inside, I really was beginning to ask myself if these demons were the ghosts. “There have been... Stories. I’m sure you know of them. Stories about apparitions of the people who died here.”
         “Any stories of ghosts you’ve heard are just myths. There are no ‘ghosts.’” it told me.
         Then, I did something stupid- and I didn’t even mean to! “So are you the ghosts? Are you the people haunting the town?”
         I shut my eyes in fear as he fired a warning shot over my shoulder. The heat of the bullet singed the hair on my neck and my blood ran cold. Time seemed to stop and everything went quiet- even the conversation that had been running over the sonic emitter. Slowly opening my eyes, the demon’s eyes had been replaced with thrown daggers. In front of me, Levi solidified as if he was moving at the speed of sound.
         He held an open palm just above his chest and kept his head down. “Shatter” he said. He brought his hand to a fist sharply and the demons in the alleyway all froze. Cracks formed in their form, which climbed up from their feet to their heads. Piece by piece, each one fell to the ground. Body parts littered the filth below.
         “Let’s go.” Levi said, clutching onto my arm. It felt as if a meat hook had been shoved through my navel while the alleyway vanished. Moments later, we were on the rooftops. Zeruel was below meeting blow with blow for the demons around him. I counted about twenty before I lost count- they seemed to be swarming from various places around the city.
         “Copy me. I want to teach you one of the most important things you’ll learn. It’s called a dogma.” Levi demanded, a sense of urgency in his voice. He held his hand out, open palm once again but facing outward now, and began reciting an incantation. I followed, phrase by phrase, but I did not get enough time to really process what was being said. When we both had finished, we closed our fists. A bolt of bright light shot out to the edge of the rooftop before dissipating into the daylight.
         I felt a rush of energy flow through me; it was something I’ve never felt before. I was capable of doing something and felt the confidence that I might have some sort of ability. I could fight- I could survive. Levi seemed to be able to understand how I felt and smiled uncharacteristically. Then he noticed I saw him and it faded instantly as he- seemingly- teleported to the battlefield below. At first, I felt blinded by some strong energy and was forced to squint. Gradually, my eyes adjusted and I could really comprehend what was happening below.
         Zeruel and Levi fought back to back, taking down the army of enemies surrounding them with amazing teamwork. It almost seemed choreographed it was so beautiful to me. I’d never seen combat that seemed so artistic and perfect before. Zeruel would make a swipe with his sword- which I must say is ridiculously large such that no normal person should’ve been able to swing it so easily- and Levi would cover him from the back with his dual blades. As each one made an opening, the other was conscious of it and instantly filled in. And then something clicked in my head: they were fighting for me! Maybe they really did care for me after all.
         Before long, the army had been completely massacred. Then, once again, a hand grabbed me on the shoulder. It forced me to the ground on my stomach, then rolled me over and mounted me so I could not move. In my face was a vicious-looking demon. Heat radiated from his flesh- well, I can only describe it as flesh- and his breath was almost molten. I began chanting the dogma Levi had taught me quietly.
         “Xander, Xander, Xander,” the monster growled, “You’re getting ahead of yourself. I didn’t offer you a time for last words!” He laughed and his flesh turned to magma which slow-cooked my lower abdomen. I finished the words and the flash of light ripped through the demon’s body. Its eyes opened wide and he slowly began to disintegrate like the hand of the other demon. Air returned to my lungs and the weight faded away. I laid my head back, howling from pain that I was not feeling any more but would’ve been a minute before. Zeruel and Levi must’ve been nearby, because I heard their voices.
         “Was that a... No, it couldn’t have been.” Zeruel mumbled.
         “It had the same feel, though. And no lackey demon would be able to use heat energy...” Levi replied.
         “Should we get back to the cathedral?” Zeruel asked.
         I felt Zeruel pick me up and it felt as if his energy seeped into my skin. The fear and desperation subsided. Everything around me seemed less... intimidating. I heard Zeruel’s thoughts inside of my head; some of them frightening and some of them calming.
         I am not sure how we got back to the cathedral, but somehow we were back there quickly. They set me down in a chair in the kitchen area. Lizzie approached me, noting in particular the scorched clothes where the monstrous magma demon had mounted me. She placed her hand over it and what felt like aloe formed on the scarred and burnt skin. Then, Lizzie began scolding Levi and Zeruel for allowing me to be attacked, but with one sentence Levi shut Lizzie up. “Lieutenant.” was the only word I could make out. The room was still spinning a bit.
         After a few moments of breathless silence, Lizzie turned around and stared into the other side of the room. “A lieutenant? Were they expecting...?” she asked, pure worry in her voice.
         There was no answer. I heard Lizzie’s footsteps coming back over to me. “Xander? The room is going to get dark, okay? Everything will be okay, though. You will wake up in your bed tomorrow morning. Please don’t fight it and don’t fight me when I tell you tomorrow that you will be staying with us indefinitely. It is no longer safe for you elsewhere. Training starts in two days.”
         None of it made any sense at the time. I couldn’t get the image of the demon out of my mind- that putrid, acidic breath and burning aura was stuck in my head. The room began to fade away and I welcomed it. Everything just... went dark.