Justin sits on the floor of the Browers’ living room and stares at a small picture in his hand. We traces the outline of the girl’s face with his pointer finger of his right hand before going back to staring at her green eyes. He shifts his gaze to the young human male standing next to her in the picture smiling brightly before looking up and staring at the same male as he lays stretched out on a couch with his eyes closed blocking out the world as he slept. Justin looks at the picture one last time before shoving it into the back pocket of his jeans. Maybe Jackson would forget about it for a little.
“Give it back to him,” a voice says from behind him and Justin turns his head around to look at JC who was sitting in a large red chair behind him.
“I’m…I’m not gonna keep it,” Justin says.
“Justin,” JC says firmly.
“I’m the one that has to find her,” Justin says, “I need it to ask people.”
“Justin,” JC says again.
Justin stares at him before rolling his eyes and standing up, “I need to leave this place.”
JC stares at him and shakes his head, “Can’t we just wait a few days.”
“No,” Justin says.
“Fine,” JC mumbles as Justin walks closer to him.
“You…you still have the scroll right?” Justin asks softly.
JC nods and pats his waist where the scroll rests hooked into his pants.
Justin nods and turns around quickly coming face to face with Kevin as he looks at him hard, “What?” Justin asks.
“You’re leaving?” Kevin asks.
Justin nods.
“I’ll tell the others then,” Kevin says since by now the day had given way to night and the others were all sleeping soundly, “I’m sure the Browers would want to help you more though. After all you did save Jordan.”
Justin shrugs, “They don’t have to do anything.”
Kevin nods, “Did you pack anything to eat or drink.”
Justin nods and motions with his head to the rucksack in the corner of the room.
“You’re using a cycle then?” Kevin asks.
Justin nods, “I’ll probably hot wire a car later out of the city though.”
Kevin looks at JC, “Keep it hidden. Keep it safe.”
JC stares at him oddly before nodding, “How…how do you know?”
Kevin smiles, “It’s a feeling.”
JC nods before standing up slowly, “Are we going then?” he asks Justin.
Justin nods before walking over to the corner and picking up the rucksack and slinging it on his back.
“Bye Kevin,” JC says as he walks towards the door as Justin follows, “Tell the others thank you.”
“You’ll see them soon enough,” Kevin says to JC.
JC smiles at him before walking through the door and out into the garage.
“Justin,” Kevin says before Justin walks through the doorway.
“Yeah,” Justin says turning to look at him.
“With what you have comes great responsibility,” Kevin says, “Make sure it is always in good hands.”
Justin nods slowly, “I will.”
“Make sure she’s safe too,” Kevin says, “We need her. Don’t get carried away with yourself either.”
Justin nods again, “You’re the leader aren’t you?”
Kevin shakes his head no, “Only the representative.”
Justin nods for the third time before walking through the doorway and into the garage where JC is waiting on the cycle.
“He knows us,” JC says to Justin as a helmet forms around his head.
“I know him,” Justin says as he pulls on the two discs and a helmet forms around his head.
“I didn’t tell him about the scroll,” JC says as Justin starts the cycle up.
“Neither did I,” Justin says sighing slightly.
“What did he tell you?”
“Nothing,” Justin says shrugging the question off before hitting the cycle into drive and taking off through the exit towards the dark streets of New York City.
Kevin stares at the doorway for a short time and smiles, “Good luck wanderer,” he says to himself before turning around and walking back towards his room.
Nick looks down at the dark New York streets below him from the balcony where the others and himself were crashing. It was the same apartment where Eli, Jackson, Pilar and himself had stayed before he had left to find Tacks and Nails, but by now the place seemed more vacant somehow. It looked as if someone had just recently run through it quickly grabbing everything at hand before running back out the door. Eli was asleep somewhere in his room while Tacks and Nails were asleep on a set of recliners in the living room. Nick meanwhile found it harder to find his peace of mind to sleep. Some force kept his mind wandering and his eyes wide open. Sometimes life just sucked, Nick had come to that conclusion over the past weeks.
Nick shudders slightly before looking back up at the night sky and the moon. He frowns slightly as a large cloud moves across the moon and blocks out a forth of it, then a half, then three quarters and finally the whole moon was blocked out as the city plunged into darkness. Nick stares at the dark sky waiting for the cloud to move for a few minutes before he realizes that it wasn’t going to move. He backs away from the balcony slowly before backing up towards the chair where Nails was sleeping.
“Nails,” Nick says softly, “Nails. Cal!” Nick yells.
“Huh?” Nails says as his eyes flutter open, “Why is it so dark in here?”
“Look outside,” Nick says as Nails stares at him.
“Alright,” Nails says shaking his head slightly to wake himself up before standing up and walking over towards the balcony, “Where’s the moon?” he asks staring at the sky.
Nick shrugs, “It just vanished.”
“It vanished?” Nails asks.
Nick nods, “A cloud just…it seemed like it almost swallowed it.”
Nails stares at the sky before turning his head towards the right quickly as his eyes widen.
“What?” Nick asks staring at him.
Nails stares to his right as his mouth drops slightly, “Jesus Christ.”
“What?” Nick asks walking over towards him quickly.
“Brooklyn just lost all its power,” Nails says as Nick reaches him and stares at the darkness over towards his right.
Darkness engulfed the area where Brooklyn was as his gazed shifted across the river. Parts of Manhattan went next, “What the hell is going on?” Nick asks
Nails shakes his head no not answering the question before the lights in the buildings around them start to flicker, “Shit,” he says quietly before the area around them plummets into darkness.
Nick stares at the darkness surrounding them before looking over his shoulder at the door, “The door,” he says running over to the door and grabbing a chair throwing it under the door handle.
“What?” Nails asks.
“The locks through the whole city are electronic,” Nick says to him, “Anyone can get anywhere now.”
Nails stares at him as his bright blue florescent eyes are the only light in the room, “We’re screwed,” he says softly, “We’re all screwed.”
“Huh?” Nick asks.
“Us. They’re all gonna be able to see our eyes. We can’t even hide now.”
Nick stares at him before looking at the ground quickly as the memory of the skinheads comes back to him.
“What are we gonna do?” Nails asks him.
Nick looks up at him again before sighing, “We need to find someone.”
“Who? Pilar?”
Nick shakes his head no, “A guy named Brian.”
“Brian who?”
“I don’t know.”
Nails stares at him as his bright blue eyes fill with a lost expression.
“I don’t know why, but I have to,” Nick says.
“And Pilar?”
“She’ll be fine,” Nick says.
Nails nods, “Ok. Where do we find this Brian?”
Nick sighs again, “Where do we start looking?”
Brian holds onto Stanton’s waits as the dark night wind blows against them as they make their way down the highway. The second cycle was by their side to the right with Cole and Evie on it as the wind blew her long blond hair underneath the helmet. The light of the sun was slowly rising towards the dark sky and the orange gold color was leaking over the ground now. Brian looks over Stanton’s shoulder as the sun rises higher in the sky and sunlight spills over them all sending a slight warmth through his body. He looks over at the horizon as the cycles come a slow stop by the side of the road.
“Take a break I guess,” Stanton says as his helmet folds back and he stretches out before shutting off his cycle and stepping off it as Cole does the same yawning more though.
“Where are we?” Brian asks stepping off the cycle as well.
“Don’t know,” Stanton says looking around, “We backed track, so I’m not sure.”
Brian nods before looking over at the direction they are going towards.
“What?” Cole asks walking over to his side and looking in the same direction.
“I don’t know,” Brian says squinting slightly as a faint figure appears in the distance.
“What is it,” Stanton says pulling out his gun.
“No,” Brian says putting his hand on the gun as the outline of a car can be made out.
“A car?” Cole says as the car gets closer and closer.
“It’s slowing down,” Stanton says as the car begins to approach them.
Brian stares at the car as it comes to a complete stop in front of them all and the drives side window rolls down to show a young brunette human male.
“Yeah?” Stanton says to him. “Um,” the male says, “What’s down that way?” he says motioning from the area they just came from.
“Bodies,” Cole says.
The male stares at him before nodding slowly.
“What’s up that way?” Stanton asks motioning towards the area he had come from.
“Bodies,” the young male says as his blue eyes look down quickly before looking back up.
Stanton nods slowly.
Brian looks at the male before his eyes lock on a younger dirty blond male sleeping in the passenger’s side seat. His blond curls were crushed against the window as his head lulled slightly as he slept. His brow tightens as he tries to make out his facial features.
“You ok Brian?” Cole asks him.
“Yeah,” Brian nods.
“You’re Rooks,” the brunette male says to Cole and Stanton.
Stanton nods, “Yeah.”
“You’re brothers are good people.”
“You know my brothers?” Stanton asks walking over to the window, “When did you see them?”
“About a day ago,” the male says, “Justin, my friend over there,” he says motioning to the sleeping young male, “He helped out your brother Jordan.”
“Is Jordan ok?”
The male nods, “A few cuts and bruises but that’s all.”
Stanton nods, “What’s your name?”
“JC,” the male says.
“Stanton,” Stanton says, “That’s Cole,” he says pointing to Cole, “And Brian and Evie.”
JC nods to them all, “You’re going back towards New York?”
Stanton nods, “No where else to go.”
JC sighs, “It’s hell up there.”
“It’s hell everywhere,” Stanton says.
JC looks at him before nodding, “We’ll see you around then?”
Stanton shrugs, “I guess. Good luck,” he says to JC before backing away from the car.
“Same to you,” JC says before the tinted window rolls back up and the car speeds off back down the road at 130 mph.
“Your brothers are fine,” Brian says to Stanton, “I know they are.”
Stanton nods slowly, “Hopefully.”
“You wanna start up again?” Brian asks him.
“Would you mind?” Stanton asks.
Brian shakes his head no.
“Alright,” Stanton says, “Let’s go home.”
The world will plunge into darkness as day turns into night. The moon will hide during the troubled times as the seers are separated. The prophet will go towards the South as the wanderer grows more powerful and his dreams become reality. The Chosen One will gain more ground toward the truth of his destiny. The cycle of the world will be thrown off balance as heat becomes cold and cold becomes heat. Beware the false prophet and the anger that comes along with it.
“You missed the Rooks,” JC says to Justin hours later as they continue to drive down the highway.
“Huh?” Justin asks him as he looks back down at the words that appeared on the scroll.
“There were two Rooks by the side of the road with a human male and female, Stanton and Cole,” JC says as he watches the road.
Justin nods, “They going back north?”
“Yeah,” JC says.
“Who were the others?” Justin asks.
“The female was named Evie. She didn’t talk very much though. The male was named Brian…”
“Brian?” Justin looks at him.
“Yeah,” JC says, “Why?”
“What did he look like?”
“Short, tan, dirty blond hair, blue eyes, big jaw…”
“Southern?” Justin asks.
“Yeah you know him?” JC smiles.
Justin’s eyes get wide as he looks back down at the scroll.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Justin says as he looks out his window.
JC looks over at him quickly before shrugging it off.
Justin bites his lower lip before looking at his surrounds…trees. Miles and miles of trees, bushes, and shrubs. He hated nature he thinks as he sees a car in front of them parked beside the side of the road. He stares at it as his eyes snap shut and a flash of the girl being pulled into a car flashes through his mind, “Stop,” he says to JC, “Stop. STOP THE FUCKING CAR!” he yells as he holds his head.
JC hits the breaks hard and pulls over to the side of the road, “Are you ok? Justin?”
Justin opens the door and stumbles out of the car as he walks back to the other parked car.
“What is it?” JC asks walking up to him.
Justin stares at the car then into the woods.
“What?” JC asks.
Justin stares at the woods before walking into them with JC close behind.
“Justin wait up,” JC says as he follows him.
Justin looks over his shoulder at him briefly before continuing to walk through the woods. He stops briefly and puts his hand on a tree to rest briefly as his eyes snap shut again.
“Leave her here,” a voice says.
“What is someone finds her?” another says.
“No one will look out here for her,” the first voice says.
“What should we do?” the second asks.
“Tie her up…” Justin opens his eyes quickly as he feels the first snowflake touch his skin. He stares down at it before looking up in the sky as the storm of snow falls to the ground.
“Justin,” JC yells, “Justin are you seeing this. It’s snow. It’s fucking snow!” JC smiles.
Justin keeps walking through the woods before he reaches a small clearing. He sees a small figure slouched over tied to a large tree as the snowflakes catch in her dark brown hair, “JC! JC help me!” Justin yells as he runs over to the girl and lifts her head slightly, “Hey. Hey you ok?” he asks her and he unties the knots in the ropes and catches her body before it falls over.
“Justin, it hasn’t snow for decades,” JC says as he reaches the clearing, “Jesus this is amazi…who is that?” JC asks rushing over to him and looking at the girl.
“It’s a girl,” Justin says.
JC stares down at her, “Jesus she needs help.”
Justin nods.
“Is she conscious?” JC asks.
Justin shrugs as he holds the girl in his arms.
“C’mon we need you to wake up,” JC says to the girl as he lightly taps her cheeks.
“Her name is Pilar,” Justin says softly.
JC looks at the girl, “What?”
“Her name is Pilar,” Justin says as the snow continues to fall.
“It’s…it’s her,” JC says.
Justin nods.
“How did you know she was here?” JC asks.
Justin shakes his head no, “I don’t know. I don’t know,” he says as he looks up at the snow falling on the three of them.
…as the wanderer grows more powerful and his dreams become reality.
“It’s snowing!” Jordan yells running outside as the others follow.
Xander stares at the streets as they become blanketed with a layer of snow and shakes his head, “Amazing.”
AJ looks up at the sky and smiles, “Snow.”
Kevin stares at them all and smiles to himself, “Snow,” he says firmly.
“Jackson look at this,” AJ yells over to Jackson as he stands against a building wall as AJ runs around on the sidewalk with the others.
Jackson stares at them and sighs, “Pilar would like this.”
“They’ll find her,” Kevin says to him.
Jackson stares at him and nods. At least he could believe Kevin.
