°°° Welcome to the Whites °°°
It was a long trip from Philadelphia. a trip that would have been made unbearable by Boris’ presence.
Kate had asked Boris to take Sean to Louisville, a request that grew into a long argument.
They had deliberated on how to get to Kentucky, and even before any suggestions were made, Kate ruled out the option of flight. She had developed a phobia for air travel over the years. a phobia, which she constantly denied and claimed was caution.
Sean was too young to rent a car, though he could already drive. Boris refused to drive, giving a ton of excuses as to why he couldn’t. He claimed that he had three job interviews lined up for Monday morning, and he didn’t want to return late and tired.
His joblessness had been a major problem to Kate, another excuse for Sean to disrespect him, and it had for the longest time been an excuse for him—Boris—to escape responsibilities. Once he said he had an interview, it ended any arguments.
Kate eventually got a colleague of hers to take Sean.
Sarah was also a nurse at the hospital Kate worked at. She was a young blonde, seemingly fresh out of college, and somewhat connected to the owner of the hospital, Crest Care.
Sarah agreed, as she was also planning on visiting someone there.
"What you going to eat, kid?" Sarah asked as they sat in the restaurant, Hillcrest Tavern, waiting for the Whites to come pick Sean up.
"Uhh..." he stared at the menu, feeling a bit pressured. Sarah was family, but she had done him enough favors already. He didn’t want to add this to it. "I... think the Buffalo Chicken Sandwich?" "Yeah, that one," he answered with a weird, uncomfortable smile.
"Alright," the waitress gave a smile that seemed printed. "Anything else?"
"No, maybe a bottle of Coke," he said, handing the menu card to her.
"Alright," she collected it from him and quickly penned down his request. "And you, ma’am?" She turned to Sarah.
"I’ll have the Tavern Triple," Sarah smiled with much familiarity. "Any drink would do." Sarah nodded to the waitress.
"What?" Sarah raised a brow at Sean, who was staring at her, shocked.
"It’s just…"
"I’m usually quiet, right?" she chuckled. "Well, I grew up here in Kentucky. "I feel really free whenever I’m here," she said, smiling at him.
Sean said nothing but gave a nod.
"People can have layers, you know," she smirked.
A few minutes later, they had been served and were eating.
Raising his head, Sean caught Sarah taking pictures of him on her phone. He quickly hid his face and stretched out his hands to cover her phone’s camera.
"What?" Sarah laughed, putting the phone down. "Your mom asked me to take pictures of you before we part ways," she explained.
"Oh, but why when I’m eating?"
"Because she said you wouldn’t agree to take a picture, not willing," she shrugged, picking a wing out of the basket of chicken wings on the table.
A smile crept onto his face, showing that his mother was right. He was happy that she was beginning to accept the rules he’d set up for himself.
"Hey smiley face," Sarah tapped the table. "Your friends are close," she informed him and gulped down half a glass of water.
"Alright. I’m done anyways," Sean smiled, taking his phone out of his bag.
Sarah waved at the waitress as soon as she noticed she was free.
"We’ll have fries to go, please." Two places," she placed the final order and asked for the rest of her food to be packaged as she collected the bill.
Sean tried to stop her from buying him anything else, but she simply ignored him.
Almost three minutes after they’d exited the restaurant for Sarah’s car, Sean heard a familiar voice. Turning around, his smile widened.
A grey Toyota Sienna pulled into the parking space, and Jason hopped out of the front passenger seat.
The chocolate-brown-haired Jason wore an unbuttoned navy blue jean jacket with the arms folded to his elbow over a plain white shirt. The beige chinos matched well with his white sneakers. With a fashion designer mother, anything less than that would be unacceptable.
"That's your friend?" Sarah asked, looking at the waving Jason.
"Yeah," Sean smirked. "Thanks Sarah," he smiled to her and picked up his North Face Base Camp extra-small 31-liter duffle.
"See you later, kid," she waved and entered her red BMW convertible and drove away.
"Hey Sean," Mr. White greeted after waving Sarah goodbye.
"Hello, Mr. White," Sean smiled, handing him his duffle bag to shove into the trunk. "Nice car," he commented.
"Heh… she’s new. "Dad got her last week," Jason’s brother, Andrew, blurted out.
"Andrew... I didn’t see you there," Sean laughed and ruffled the kid’s Havana brown hair.
"He threatened to run all the way here if we didn’t bring him along," Jason laughed and pulled open the door, letting Sean in.
"Thanks, bro," Sean smiled and hopped in.
"So," Mr. White said, starting the car. "How was your trip here?"
"It wasn’t a treat, that’s for sure," Sean joked. "Over twenty hours on the road... it was a rough ride."
"I imagine you’ll be sleeping as soon as we get home," Andrew chipped in.
"Nah… "I slept most of the way here," Sean said and buckled up.
"See Jason," Mr. White said as the car began moving. "Your seatbelts are important." "I didn’t have to ask Sean before he put his on."
"What?" Jason exclaimed confused.
"Yeah... hey Andrew, what do you say we switch your brother for Sean?" Mr. White asked with his eyes on the road.
"Hell yeah!" Andrew shouted, throwing his hands in the air, triggering a round of laughter.
"Quiet down, genius," Jason said unamused. "Your seat belt isn’t well buckled," he said, rolling his eyes.
"Give me a break, bro." "It's not like you could do this at my age," Andrew chuckled, struggling to fix his belt properly.
"Let me," Sean offered and pulled in to aid Andrew. "Are you guys always like this?" he asked, quite amused.
"Hehe... this is just the tip of the iceberg," Mr. White laughed. "Welcome to the Whites."
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BLOODY HORIZON CHAPTER FOUR
°°° Blackmailed to Blackmail °°° The rest of the drive to the Whites was uneventful. They’d given Sean quite a tour of downtown Louisville. The Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory was one that Mr. White and Andrew were most excited about. Mr. White promised to visit with them before Sean leaves, but Sean and Jason weren’t that excited. When they passed by the Muhammad Ali Center, they both could hardly contain themselves. They immediately made the decision to visit, no matter the cost. Arriving at the Whites, Sean immediately went up to Jason’s room. It was a shared attic bedroom. Initially, Jason and Andrew shared a room until Andrew decided he was ready to have a room to himself. Jason loved the idea of an attic bedroom and decided to move out, insisting on the shared attic bedroom design he’d seen online. He was relentless with asking and finally got his wish after convincing Andrew to help him out by asking their parents to sleep in his room every now and then. Seeing
BLOODY HORIZON CHAPTER FIVE
°°° Feets °°° Sean woke up to a knock on the room’s door. "Jay, you are going to be late for school," Ann’s voice followed the knock. "I almost forgot." Jason still has school this week,’ Sean yawned and turned in his bed. Jason wouldn’t be able to skip school until tomorrow, when his class’s excursion trip begins. "Funny how time and events aligned for this visit," Sean said, rubbing his eyes as he sat up. "Yo! "Jay, Jay!" he called out, standing up. "Jason!" he yelled, peeling the blanket off Jason’s body, forcing him to open his eyes. "Hey... what gives?" Jason cried out, squirming in his bed. "Dude, you are going to be late," Sean said, throwing the blanket back on Jason. "No… "I just need a little bit more," Jason groggily said and yawned, hugging the blanket. "What the hell, bro... "Are you still bed wet?" Sean said with a tone of dipalm. "Huh?... What are you?" Jason spoke with sleep still in his voice, then stopped as the words sank in. "What?" he yelled, sitting
BLOODY HORIZON CHAPTER SIX
°°° Interrogation °°° "Hey Mom," Sean slumped into a sofa in the living room, earphones plugged into his phone. "Sean… "How are you doing?" His mom’s voice came through the speakers. "I’m great. How are you? How’s work?" He smiled, staring at the ceiling. "Hey, I called you..." "I'll be the one asking the questions here," Kate replied, sounding stern, before bursting into a round of laughter, making Sean laugh at her inability to pretend. "How’s the hood?" Sean shuffled into the leather sofa. "Hope no burglar came knocking?" "Well, one did last night. "He said he needed your help to break a friend out of holding," she replied, successfully pulling off a serious tone. "I told him you’d get back to him when you returned from your current jailbreak in Kentucky." "Damn ma… "You've been practicing!" Sean laughed. "Your lying skills are getting really good." "What can I say… "I learned from the best," she chuckled. "And who’s that?" Sean asked with pride in his voice. "Who e
BLOODY HORIZON CHAPTER SEVEN
°°° Behind the Scenes °°° The tweeting of birds up in the trees and the calm winds built an atmosphere of calmness in him. Sean had been jogging since he left the house. In sixty-five minutes, he had visited every route connected to the one Dan had asked him to take. He figured that not only was Jason inconsistent with his runs, he was also a lazy runner. He never spent more than fifteen minutes on any route, going to and fro, at least according to Feet. "Deactivate in-ear instruction," Sean said, sitting under a tree. The electronic voice went silent, and at his command, the sound of 50 Cent’s "I don’t know officer" track ended as well. He opened his bottle of water and drank from it, steadying his breathing pattern. The arm band suddenly beeped, and he looked at the screen. ||Your sugar level needs a boost|| The words kept flashing with an annoying beep. He sighed, as it was at least the fifth time, and the beeping was much louder and the light brighte
BLOODY HORIZON CHAPTER EIGHT
°°° Self Sabotage °°° The rest of the day went by quickly. By 6:45 pm, Ann and Dan were both home and were seated at the dining table alongside Jason, Andrew, and Sean. Ann had prepared her mom’s signature black rice with chicken and salad. "So…" Ann started a conversation as the dinner was oddly quiet. "How was school today, boys?" She looked at both Jason and Andrew. Andrew lifted his head up and stared at his brother to know if he should speak and what to say. Seeing that Jason wasn’t going to reply, he spoke up. "School was... well, school was school." "Today was actually tasking." "Huh." "Well, I’m all ears," Ann smiled. "It wasn’t teaching in the academic sense." It’s more of a social thing. "You probably wouldn’t understand," Andrew tried to select his words carefully. "Try me," Ann challenged with a smile. She knew Andrew was trying to keep something from her; she didn’t know why, but she knew that challenging him would get him spewing details. A smug smile slo
BLOODY HORIZON CHAPTER NINE
°°° Bad Decisions °°° Sean could barely sleep throughout the night. He kept having recurring dreams about the snatching event. Either he was crushed under the wheels of Melvin’s car, sandwiched between Melvin’s car and the store, stabbed to death by the slow one who’d intentionally dropped his pace so as to take him unawares, broken his head, neck, or spinal cord from his double flip stunt, missed the tree and fell endlessly, or the one with the bag shot him dead. The dreams woke him up almost every eighteen minutes into each sleep. He heaved a sigh of surrender and decided to use the opportunity that sleeplessness presented to pack up his things. In a few minutes, he was done. He wore a black hoodie over a white inner shirt. His dark blue jeans looked black in the absence of light, as did his dark brown footwear. He walked to Jason’s bed and took a picture of the napping boy, laughing softly at the funny face he was making in his sleep. He quietly walked o
BLOODY HORIZON CHAPTER TEN
°°° Grim Truths °°° Sean highlighted the SUV a few seconds after they got back to the house. He grabbed his bag, feeling a bit ashamed of his actions, and walked to the door. "Sean," Dan called out. "Come with me." "There's something you should know," he said, tilting his head in the direction he wanted them to take. "Boys, you too." His smile was calm yet alarming. Jason looked at Sean, who was equally confused. The trio shrugged in unison and walked after Dan. In a minute, they were at the back of the house. They hardly ever came back there, but they made sure it was always neat regardless. "Come on," Dan beckoned on them. The three boys slowly walked to him. He was standing, hands on his waist, staring at a group of garden gnomes that were placed in a circle on the grass with a sleeping beauty toy in a miniature glass coffin. It looked like a Snow White and the Seven Dwarves scene, only there were twelve gnomes. "Hey… "I remember that," Andrew smiled, taking a step
BLOODY HORIZON CHAPTER ELEVEN
°°° Not so Pleasant Surprise °°° The rest of the morning was peaceful. Andrew threw tantrums after finding out he had to go to school without Jason, whose class would be going on a field trip. Since it held little to no academic value, he decided to sit out the two-day trip. Sean reminded Andrew of the gain and attention he’d enjoy, as most kids would want to know what new heroic saves Sean had made. A smug smile was plastered on Andrew’s face throughout the drive to school, a smile that Sean was sure would last throughout the day in school. It was almost eleven fifty in the morning, ten minutes before Ann would be back from seeing a client. The kitchen was a mess; flour was scattered everywhere. In the pans were the dishes Ann had washed after breakfast, the floors, and the boys—Sean, Jason, and Dan—who had called in sick to work. Sean was supposed to be in charge of taping the baking experience, which soon became a flour fight. They had all covered themselves and
Latest Chapter
Author's Note
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
Epilogue
°°° 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
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & TWENTY ONE
°°° 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
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & TWENTY
°°° 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
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & NINETEEN
°°° 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
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & EIGHTEEN
°°° 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
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & SEVENTEEN
°°°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
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & SIXTEEN
°°° 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
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & FIFTEEN
°°° 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