“Why now?” I flicked some pebbles from the ledge where I sat, Grimm, who had appeared as a woman of mystery, stood behind me, her soft voice with almost instant replies. I leaned forward, looked over the edge of the building. If I had been alive the view of a 40 story drop would have petrified me, but as I discovered the truth of my current existence, dangling my feet over the edge of this height no longer brought sweat to my brow.
“Let's just say I have found interest in watching your soul, writhe in grief. You've never been...” she looked at me with a gleam in her black eyes, her face was that of an angel, but her eyes were those of pure evil. She snapped her fingers as if commanding some kind of action, “at peace.” I had my eyes fixed on her as she began to survey the surroundings.
She had found me on the road, in grief, which, as she tells it, is where my soul has been wandering aimlessly for almost 4 years now. Blake Cornelius Page, dead at the ripe age of 47, burned trapped inside a building only a year after I fell into one of the darkest parts of my life. After the death of my only friend, Amy, when we were 17 I was sent to the Angel Guard Academy, for future vigilantes.
I was hired by the richest power-family in the world, the Lingsteins, creators and sole owners of the formula for Z3-8 Gene, the immortal gene formula. I was meant to protect their prize possession, their daughter Angela, a simple task for an elite Angel Guardian.
She lived under my protection for 19 years before the incident; she had become like a daughter to me. Died is putting it too simply, she was murdered. I remember waking up on a road like the one Grimm had found me on, Angela had vanished, but her blood confirmed she couldn’t have survived. I woke up in a hospital made only for the Immortal, still employed by the Lingsteins. They all said they understood, Angela was not the only child they had lost, but she was their only daughter. The Lingsteins even offered to put me in their gene therapy to become an immortal, an Angel Guardian for the family, something only true Guardians aspire to undergo, but I couldn't face them after Angela's death. After my recovery in the clinic I became an AWOL for the next few years, I never saw myself as a true Guard again.
I hunted down the leads I could find surrounding Angela's murder, taking on the case to solve what happened to her, but that was revenge not justice. I once had the desire to become the last Zodiac, as every aspiring crime fighter did in this world. Society had these trained guards appear shortly after the move to Mars began, the common population came to call them Vigilantes. Among Vigilantes there rose 3 immortals, they are the Zodiacs as they all identify themselves by the corresponding constellations. The creation of the Z3-8 Gene formula allowed the Zodiacs to become immortal, untouched by disease and time itself. Centuries ago there was only one Angel Guard who stood out, fought more criminals than any of the others, we call her Leo, she was the first.
The Lingsteins created a gene therapy to extend the lifespan of humans, but through some unexpected error, they stopped aging all together. Leo was the first human trial subject. Through her supervision, select individuals were recruited and injected into the Angel Guard Academy to test their skills. Few pupils stood out, the first ones approached by Leo were a pair of Twins. They became her apprentices and after what was rumored to be years of training, they became the next patients of Z3-8 Gene therapy and shortly after they were introduced to the world as Gemini.
Everyone who enrolled in the Angel Guard wanted to join their ranks, be the next Zodiac. I had planned on aiming to be the last Zodiac, Sagittarius, after I returned Angela to her family. After her death I fell far from the path of a future Zodiac. I met my own demise the following year, chasing my leads. I was close, I knew the inner working of the criminal enterprise that worked solely to take the Z3-8 Gene therapy.
Working my way up the ranks I was discovered, recognized by one of the men who put the hit on Angela, and the trap was laid. They rumored that I had the Z3-8 Gene, and after weeks of torture, experiments, and trials, they discovered I, in fact, did not carry the gene. I was sentenced to death shortly after, but I made one last effort to escape . It didn't matter what I did or how many I killed.. they weren't taking chances. It seems that I never made it out.
I shook my head, disrupting my own train of thought. Watching Grimm, her eyes locked on me. She gave a sly smile as I stood and approached her, “Your offer, one more time.” Our eyes locked, our expressions serious and back to business.
“Your soul,” she reached her hand out towards me, I instinctively stepped away from her grasp. Offering me a sweet smile as she pulled her hand away with a little nod, “and in return you collect more for me. You make them accessible to me for reaping.”
“Cut the corners, you want me to kill for you.” A glint from her eyes confirmed, “Why not just take my soul, I'm already dead.” She scoffed at me with a look of slight disgust.
“I said it before, your soul was never at peace. You've been fighting me off for 4 years, I've mentioned that being an apprentice reaper makes it impossible for me to kill anyone. Your soul refusing to rest means you aren't ready to die.” Her reply was harsh as she continued, as if speaking about my soul left a bitter taste in her mouth.
“Your soul is useless to me.”
“If I accept, are you like a mission control director? Going to send me on missions?” I let out a soft chuckle, taking orders from the daughter of Death itself like a personal butler.
“No, nothing of the sort.” I watched as she pulled a small coin from her pocket
“Kill whoever you like. Your family, your old neighbors...Angela's murderers...Anyone will do. Simply put this on their person and I'll be there to collect their soul.” She tossed the small silver coin to me, It had a clock's face on one side and a skull on the other.
“Just go out murdering other people? Why make ME this offer?” I turned the coin in my hand, admiring its details.
“Oh you aren't so special Blake. I have many others who collect souls for me, this isn't the first time I've made someone this offer.” she scoffed. I pictured an army of faceless people behind her, minions of the reaper. “Sadly they don't last forever, so I do need to keep recruiting collectors. I can even offer you help.”
“Help? Like training from one of your minions?” She shook her head with an amused smile.
“Ever heard of the Dusk Butterfly?” I must have shown the surprise on my face. Everyone's heard of her. The only criminal able to avoid the Zodiacs capture. She's killed thousands of people all over Mars. “She's my favorite.”
“And I'll be a real boy again?” The expression on her face grew stern and cold, she grabbed my hand with a grip of iron. Her skin was ice cold, sending chills all over me.
“Take this seriously Blake, either you serve me or your soul will perish when I let go of your hand.” I looked in her black void eyes again. The seriousness finally struck me; I gave her a small nod as I returned her grasp and shook her hand.
“Welcome to the pack, and do play nice.” she released her hold on me and pushed me over the edge of the roof, the world fading to black around me as I fell.
YOU ARE READING
Dusk Chronicles: Among the Stars
Fantasy**These reads may be difficult and change now and then, they are still being edited** A fiction novel involving, good, bad, a reaper named Grimm, a fugitive named Papillon, vigilantes taking after the Zodiac signs, and a man seeking revenge. This wa...
