The Darkmist: Death By Choice

Chapter 1

Chapter 1 ~ Rex:

The world is a cold place full of darkness, bitterness, lies, and manipulation everywhere; but in the stream of mist near the endless valley, the scars of this town run deep. Faced with a leader who only knows how to use money one way, everyone ended up poor while the military got stronger and more efficient. Everywhere you went was a battleground, even the playgrounds; little kids used abandoned barracks as obstacles for their imaginary games. This extreme militarization left the economy only a shell of its former self. Many lost their jobs, homes, and livelihoods; there was just no money left to invest in businesses or to pour into schools and public services and goods. My people were left with only a few options: Join the military, which would be irony incarnate; become a spice runner, which only pays you chump change; or become a bounty hunter, which believe it or not, causes more problems than it solves in a town where the number of criminals outnumbers the children by the dozens. My town here is full of scum and empty people with no hope, the low of the low-- but not me. I still have my hope; I'll get a low-risk job as a spice runner until I make enough to move to Kyvist in the upper levels where there is no war and happiness isn't a luxury. I am a little over 17 now and I was presented with the choice of military work or a slave to despair. Most people would hesitate, but my convection is as strong as it was 10 years ago when the war reignited after the year-long ceasefire due to an outbreak of "Breakdown." Breakdown is a drug that rapidly decays human bodies, but nearly every trace of the horrible drug was seized by the military at the request of the world leaders. It was a tragedy, but the world only came together when it jeopardized military power, their selfishness is repulsive that is why Kyvist is so great. It is an independent level above all the war. I am ready; I have made up my mind, no second-guessing, I am joining the spice running business. After joining the business, the profits increased within a year as the war included more participants looking for land and loot. While that sounded like a good thing, it made spice runs more difficult because we would become targets for a quick score. I would learn soon enough when I almost died by getting my plane shot down. I had to use the bulk of my money for a hospital in the upper levels of Riul, a city that specializes in medicine and spiritual healing. They told me that they found traces of a secret drug that was a rehash of Breakdown called "Dark Mist" and had unforeseen side effects. I was suddenly propelled into a new world and new abilities that I didn't ask for. The bad news just kept piling on: losing all my money, not being able to move away, these new abilities I don't even know how to control, and it's only a matter of time before the military starts abusing my power. This revelation along with a few other unexpected events opened my eyes to a new world behind the surface, this is where my story truly begins.

After surviving the incident, the government took me away from my average life in this eternal warfare age. I was forced to use my abilities in the service of the military. After I was "recruited" I was always training; being isolated and manipulated to the will of the military. 5 years of training later, they changed my name to Rex Mist, erasing my past and creating my future as a Soldier. The government moved me from isolation to a house with Erza Mist, Mark Mist, and Lever Mist. We are not related, but we are trained to be the perfect team. At first, our personalities were too different; Erza was overconfident and sloppy, meanwhile, she was joined at the hip with Mark. Mark always cleaned up her messes, which wouldn't be a problem if they were the only two on the team, but Lever, the team leader, was overbearing and too much of a dictator for my taste. She was no better than the military. I do not trust her and if it came down to it, I am sure without a shadow of a doubt she would discard us in a heartbeat for the military. Nevertheless, this was my chance to sneak out. I planned to pretend to be sick, then sneak out the window, knock out the guards, then make my way to the edge of the island. My plan was working until I was stopped by Lever and the rest of those idiots. She predicted my every move and knew I'd be slowed down by the snow lowering my visibility. But if it comes down to them or my freedom, I had no choice but to say, "I would love to knock that smirk off your face". I ready my guard, signaling readiness for combat and bloodshed. Lever laughed at first, but saw the determination in my eyes and changed her facial expression almost instantly like a kill switch was activated. Even with the snow falling, I can still see her cold, dead eyes; piercing the soul. She signaled everyone else to stay back; there was no time for hesitation and within a second, I was face-to-face with her, ready to strike. Even though I was so close, all my punches and kicks failed to connect; she moved so elegantly and so gracefully along the battlefield, I can tell she was at home here, like war was all she knew. Even still, never once did she attack back after hundreds of failed attempts, and I couldn't win, so it was time to use my ability. Despite practicing, I never actually used it against a human before, mostly robots. But she has left me no choice. I still had a feeling she knew exactly what I was planning on doing as she says, "Enough. You're not really gonna try that, are you? If you break rule 9, 'Attacking a teammate or higher-ranking officer with your ability,' I'll have no choice but to punish you." I attempted to use my ability anyway as she palm struck me in the stomach, knocking me out.