°°° Chaotic Welcome °°° Kate was waiting at the airport for Sean’s arrival. Immediately she saw him, she heaved a sigh of relief. "Looks like you were spoiled in Kentucky," she joked as he walked to the car with his bags. "Hey Mom, I missed you too," he chuckled. Kate pulled him in for a hug as he tried to walk past her. He was a few inches taller than she was. She ruffled his tapered fade haircut and took his bag from him. "How was it?" she asked on the drive home. "To be honest, it was much more fun." and a lot more interesting than I thought it would be," Sean replied with a dreamy smile. "What’s with that smile?" Kate asked after a moment of observing him. She knew her son quite well, and she had not seen that smile variation in a while. "What smile?" Sean looked at her a bit confused. "That smile just now... "When you were thinking about... the smile teenagers in the movies have when they fall in love," Kate laughed as he tried to hide it. "What?" Sean couldn’t hel
°°° Psychologist °°° • Louisville, Kentucky • -May William’s Residence- The rays of light illuminated the room as the curtains were spread open. Karen’s well-oiled, amber-colored hair glimmered under the rays of the sun. She took a moment to take in the view of the almost empty streets of the city. She was clad in her school uniform. Her long-sleeved, collared white shirt was untucked. Her tie was sagging, and she was looking a bit down as well. The only thing that wasn’t a mess was her sparkling amber hair. After staring blankly through her window, she turned to her bed. A pair of black socks sat on the bed. She dragged her feet to the bed, grabbed the socks and put them on, then slid into a pair of black loafers. She walked to her dressing table and looked at herself in the mirror. She stared at herself with a blank expression for well over a minute before abruptly standing straight, tucking her shirt in, and adjusting her tie with so much speed, ene
°°° Flowers at Work °°° • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • -Carl’s Automotive Repairs and Accessories- The sun was up and hot like it was midsummer. The Wednesday traffic almost never had a shortage of vehicles rolling into the repair shop, but today was rather slow. The proprietor of the establishment, Carlos Wilson, a chubby Latino, sat outside the shop having a chat with a man in a black suit as his subordinates worked on the man’s car. "How’s the job hunt, amigo?" Carlos said, changing the topic from the car. The man gave him a look and then looked away. "Heh," Carlos chuckled, tossing a chip into his mouth. He crunched on it before he said, "I told you not to quit that job, Boris." He coughed dryly, almost choking on his chips. "Keep laughing, stupid," Boris wasn’t the least bit amused. "If that doesn’t choke you, I’ll do it myself." "Heh…" Carlos’ laughter died down as he drank from his water bottle. "I always knew you were a murderer," he chuckl
°°° Call °°° • Louisville, Kentucky • -Whites Residence- Jason stared at the books on his study table. It was Friday, and for the next two days, he didn’t have any papers, but he had been studying as though he had exams later that night. The evening breeze blew in from the windows he left open. He suddenly let out a frustrated sigh, pushing his black, high-back office chair away from the table. Getting to the middle of the room, he began spinning around in the seat, thoughts flowing unrestricted through his mind. "Sean," his thoughts suddenly halted at the thought of Sean. His eyes turned to his phone, and he began pushing his wheeled office chair towards the bed. He jumped off the office chair onto his soft mattress and pulled his phone out from under the pillow. He had switched it off to avoid distractions, so it took a while for it to come on. In a minute, he was scrolling through his contacts and reduced his scrolling speed when he got to "S."
°°° Resolve °°° • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • -Walker Residence- Kate stood before the mirror, putting on the final touches to her makeup. It was Sunday morning, and she was going to be twenty minutes late to church, her usual time of entry. She was clad in a beige body-con pencil dress. It looked like a simple high-waisted pencil skirt with a wide black elastic band that stopped immediately under her knees, complimented with a long-sleeved blouse that seems to have the wind blowing it from underneath. But it was, in fact, a gown. Her black, glossy hair was pulled to the front through the right side of her head, resting just below her breast. "It's not excessive, is it?" she asked herself as she dropped the lipstick after applying it lightly to her lips. She exhaled, happy with her look. For a woman in her late thirties, she was extremely beautiful, and her body was envied by most younger ladies in Oak Lane. She pulled open the doors of her room and walk
°°° New Leaf °°° The kitchen was a mess, but not as bad as when Dan, Jason, and Sean were baking back in Louisville. Sean was preparing dinner. He knew his mother would be going to work after church, so he wasn’t really in a rush. He brought out the ingredients for the Mac and cheese dish, arranging them disorderly on the kitchen island, which was also used as the dining table. After reading multiple recipes online and watching multiple videos, he was finally confident that he could do it. It was four thirty in the evening. The macaroni, canned evaporated milk—which according to his research, lends a creaminess to the mac and cheese—the half and half—a half-milk, half-cream that adds flavor and builds more creaminess—the eggs and seasonings, including paprika, onion powder, cayenne, salt, and pepper, were all on the island. Sean was busy grating the cheese. He was going to need about two cups of cheese for the dish, and pre-grated cheese wasn’t recommende
°°° Sacrifice °°° It was dark outside. It was one of those deceitful longer nights and shorter day periods. A red BMW convertible pulled up right in front of Kate’s place. The music was quiet and calming. It was a great atmosphere for romance. "You really should consider getting into a serious relationship," one of the passengers in the car, Kate, said, chuckling as the music came to an end. She was dressed in the beige dress she’d worn that morning, only she had her white lab coat over it. "If you know a store where they sell any such thing, hit your girl," her companion laughed. "Come on, Sarah. "I'll quickly whip something up for you before you leave," Kate got out of the car. "I know your lazy ass ain’t going to be cooking any healthy meals tonight." "You know me so well, baby," Sarah was already out of the car. "I am the goddess of takeout," she added, striking a pose as though she were a role model trying to show off her curves. "You better hope my son didn’t see any
°°° Drive °°° It was quiet, so Sean could hear the entire conversation. He was listening keenly until his phone rang; it was Jason. "Hey buddy," Sean picked it up. "Oh my God, Sean!" Jason was almost screaming. "What happened? I have been calling you for ages. You don’t return my calls, you don’t reply to my voicemails, not even on social media... "What the hell happened, bro?" "Calm your horses, son," Sean laughed. He was shocked by Jason’s reaction and laughed as he remembered that this kind of emotion was the same one Jason once said he would never show, a few months back. "…" Jason froze, then he exhaled loudly. "I’m sorry," Jason said after a moment. "I was just worried, that's all." It’s been a week now. "Yeah," Sean sighed. "And I’m sorry I couldn’t return your calls." Something came up and... "It’s Boris, isn’t it?" Jason’s caring tone was suddenly tainted by anger. "What? "No, well, yes... but... ugh," Sean was confused. "Let me explain," Sean exhaled and gave him
I would like to use this medium to honestly appreciate you for reading till the end, thanks a ton.I really had a hard time working this book till the end, it had a lot of twists and turns that I hadn't expected. With every research I made throughout the course of writing this piece, I kept seeing ways it could have been better, but despite the imperfection, you remained in the journey till now, thanks a bunch.I would also like to thank my grammar and punctuation editor 'Miracle Mgbe'. It was a crash program, editing over one hundred chapters in five days, thanks a lot.To everyone that supported this book with their reviews and comments, thanks a ton, for those who just added it to their library, thanks a ton, for those who just opened it to get a better look at the book cover, thanks a lot too lol.Anyways, book two is already in the works, I can't promise a release date as I would like to perform as much research as possible, but I will say this, "Bloody Horizon; Gods Amongst Us" w
°°° New Frontier °°° • Unknown Dimension • In a realm of pure terror, a hellscape unlike anything movies have made as their depiction of "hellish," a place where the laws of nature were twisted and contorted and reality itself was a malleable thing, the silhouette of a humanoid figure clad in a flowing robe walked. The realm was dark and foreboding, with twisted spires of obsidian jutting up from the ground, casting deep shadows across the landscape. The sky was a sickly orange hue, with no discernible source of light, and the air was thick with the stench of sulfur and brimstone. As the silhouette ventured deeper into the realm, the very fabric of reality began to warp and twist. The ground churned and groaned beneath his feet, as if trying to swallow him whole. Rivers of molten lava flowed freely, and great pillars of flame shot up from the ground at random intervals. A being sat in the center of this hellish expanse.Its presence carried immense power and chaos. It was surround
°°° Back In Control °°° The day was overcast and somber as people gathered at the cemetery to bid farewell to Carlos Wilson and Colonel Jennifer Moretti. It had been two weeks since the “Heart of Mexico” event, as the world has named it. Sean had made a remarkable recovery and was there, accompanied by his mother, Kate. Sarah, Malone, and a few other auto shop employees were also present. ColonelWilliams had come along with Karen, and May, the Colonel’s daughter, had come to pay their respects. Everyone lived in denial of what they knew to be true for the first few days following the Heart of Mexico event.Carlos had gone to Mexico to try and make some investments, and Colonel Jennifer had said she was going to have a get-together with some friends from the academy. Everyone wanted to believe that they had left Mexico in time, or at least that they weren’t within the range of the damage, but after the first few days, they knew the duo hadn’t escaped. Their hope for the next few
°°° Power of a God °°° • Dark World • Sitting in the blue-hued spotlight, Colonel Jennifer tended to her legs, awaiting her fate. Being in the Dark World was her safest bet; even if Carlos were to kill Oracle Janice like the Mother Omega had hinted, she figured there was no way he could figure out how to get there, and if he did, the odds were that the Mother Omega would not permit a stranger into the Dark World. But like before, she couldn’t be more wrong. A bright light appeared behind her, and she turned around eagerly, hoping it was a Silvered Sister, but when she saw it was blue, she hoped with all her might that it was Oracle Janice, but looking up, all her hopes were crushed. Standing in the light away from her was a starkly naked Carlos Wilson. “Killed by a naked man,” were the first words that escaped her lips as she shook her head and turned away from him. Carlos looked at himself and realized that he was actually naked. He'd been naked so much that day that he'd grow
°°° Heart of Mexico °°° • Mexico City, Mexico In the city, now made into a crater, there was nothing but silence and flames, but in the midst of the rubble, a boulder was “driving” itself through the rumbles, keeping to the shadows as it navigated the city. It kept moving until it arrived at the epicenter of the explosion. After a couple seconds, the boulder rumbled silently, and then it split apart from top to bottom, revealing two people. They both looked like they had been through hell, especially the bald African American, who needed to be supported by his partner. Blue and Madera slowly walked closer to the spot that was the source of the blast and halted, looking at it for a while. In front of them was the lifeless corpse of their organization's most powerful entity, in a constricting position. “He tried to save her in the end?” Blue muttered in a low and solemn tone. "Nothing remained of her blue, nothing," Madera said, her voice cracking."Why... why was she cursed in su
°°° Theories, Speculations, Facts, 2 °°° • Mexico City • The entire city was still up in flames, at least everything that survived the crushing force of the explosion. The explosion had brought down planes all over the country. The city was every teenager’s vision of the apocalypse and more. The spectacular glory of Mexico was now nothing but history, quite literally, as it would make history as the “World's Largest Crater." The entire city, over 500 square miles of land mass, is now the world’s largest "sinkhole." Colonel Jennifer, dressed in tattered black clothes, hovered above the radiation-filled city.The oracles that were supposed to assist her within and around the city were all within her range of power. Despite the fact that they had been there longer, she had not heard of any of the oracles being promoted.They were all still at mountain level. She had suffered some internal and external injuries as a result of being caught in the fading waves of the explosion's destructiv
°°°Theories, Speculations Facts°°° • Mexico City, Mexico • In the once busy and bustling city of Mexico, there was nothing in sight except death and destruction. The atmosphere was calm and serene, but the reason for this serenity was nothing The sound of the whirring blades of the “Blistering Truth” news helicopter invades the silence, bringing noise to the ears of the dead once again. The channel is a privately owned network dedicated to telling truths that other news stations aren’t permitted to tell. The camera pans over the site of the explosion, which was literally the entire city, but upon deeper analysis, the epicenter was discovered. It was around the city’s cathedral. The aerial view reveals a massive crater in the place of what used to be a tourist attraction, the Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral. The crater was several thousand meters in diameter and several meters deep, with debris scattered for miles around. The reporter’s helicopter hovers over the scene, safely
°°° Clash of Power °°° • Guerrero Landfill, Mexico Dirt and dust filled the atmosphere as both men collided, releasing wave after wave of timber-cracking shockwaves as they met themselves, fist for fist, kick for kick, until a blow to the abdomen sent him rolling into a rock, cracking it open. Blue huffed as he tried to catch his breath, struggling to push himself off the ground. “I was expecting that by now you would have been wise enough to know that going for head to head combat against me would be futile,” Carlos chuckled, and he began stalkily walking towards the struggling bald man. “If you had used your ability to manipulate the earth to create an armor, this fight would have been less damaging for you,” Carlos chuckled, but then his grin vanished as he suddenly felt a sinister, rage-consuming presence beside him. His eyeballs turned reflexively to take a glance, and standing beside him was the red-headed lady, Madera. “THOOM!!!” Dust filled the area as she slammed her
°°° The date before death °°° • Somewhere under Mexico "I never thought these tunnels would end," Cardinal Es chuckled as they exited the tunnel, which had shrunk so much that only one person could walk comfortably in it. They had arrived at a sort of underground bunker, just as the higher-ups had told them they would find. "Heh, Madera would be so pissed if she realized she took the wrong tunnel," he laughed as he walked towards the bunker's door. Five meters away from the door, he suddenly collides with an invisible wall and is pushed back a few feet. "Anything less, and I'd have been disappointed," Cardinal Es chuckled, taking a stance. “I really don't think you should be attacking a reflection force field,” Red called out, but Cardinal Es either didn’t hear in time or he didn’t care altogether, as he threw a punch at the force field. THOOM!!! An explosive shockwave cut through the air in the wake of his punch, and as expected, the force field absorbed and redirected the fo