The Survivors [Volume 1]

Epilogue

          Everything was ablaze in scorching, blazing red fire. It was hard to breathe with all the billowing smoke in the air, as well as being hard to see where the attackers were, the glowing red intruders blending in with the glow of the embers all around them. He had known that there was a war going on, it was talked about every day, all the time. But he hadn't been ready for this. None of them had been.

          The young boy ran as fast as his short legs would let him, surrounded by four other children, varying in age to him, within a year apart that is. They were following the woman in front of them, her long black hair ending in strands of hyper blue, the same color that her eyes dimly glowed. The woman was the five of theirs mother, and was doing the best she could to get them away. She occasionally had to stop, her large, blue war hammer swinging in heavy arcs, cracking into the heads and torsos of figures that leaped out from the clouds of smoke, being sent away into the obscure background in shockwaves of crackling blue energy.

          The day had started out just like any other. Waking up, eating breakfast, going out to train, coming home and studying, the usual. Although they didn't get past the studying part, today. As the five were sitting in the study, looking over the books that pertained to medical related alchemy, a wolf like figure had burst through the window, having two glove-like weapons on his squared hands, each having four glowing red claw-like blades on them. Within moments their father was there, almost before the figure landed on the floor. He teleported to the sound of shattered glass, swinging the sizzling blue scythe, the blunt of it connecting with the wolf man, sending him into the bookcases, papers flying everywhere. For the kids, most others their age would have been crying. But then again, they weren't normal children. Their mother had then arrived, large hammer in her hands, ready to bash down anyone that was in their home. That's when father had told her to get them five of them out of the village, and as far away as possible. For the middle child, though, something had felt odd about the way he seemed to look directly at him when he had spoken. 

          And now she was doing exactly that, leading them to the border of the village. Under their feet, the feeling of rough, uneven dirt was replaced by the smoothness of stone bricks. They had made it to the bridge, the main way out of the village. No one was there, no one in the way. They were gonna make it... or they would have, if a sparking arrow with crackling red energy hadn't been fired out from the smoke, struck the bridged right in the middle of the group, and erupted in a powerful flare of sparks and energy. The middle child, a five-year-old boy with black hair, with two shades of glowing blue eyes, was flung back onto the dirt path, along with one of his younger sisters, and his second oldest brother. His mother, and two other siblings, had been hurled across to the other side, the bridge between them now shattered in two, it's edging a hot, sizzling red.

         Everything hurt. It felt like they were on fire, but not burning, and they were definitely in shock. So much so that at first, they hadn't even realized they were moving. Their legs dangled below them, the smoke stinging their young eyes as they were carried through the chaos, heading back through the village. By the time they had any sense of what was going on, they could partially recognize where they were through the haze. The portal way. It was where many portals had been set up, some leading to other dimensions, while others lead to whole other universes. The boy did his best to focus on who was carrying him, being able to make out some details. The figure wore a white cloak, which was now smudged with ash and soot. He couldn't see anything under the figures hood, just two, glowing red eyes against a seemingly black abyss. Slung over his back seemed to be a red version of his fathers' scythe. Looking over to the side the best he could, he saw what seemed to be a skeleton of sorts, donned in a purple cloak, carrying his younger sister, two glowing red sickles bound to his waist. When looking the other way, he spotted his brother, being carried by... some sort of black mist like person, with brightly glowing eyes. Across his back were two glowing red blades, being a bit thicker and longer than normal swords.

          After a moment, they entered the portal way, the haze being a lot less thick here, the stinging in his eyes beginning to leave. As he blinked the tears from his eyes, he saw four more figures standing before them, one with his back turned to them. There was the wolf man from before, now with a sizzling blue cut across his chest, more than likely from his father's scythe. There was another skeleton, this one seeming to be withered. He had tattered black and gray clothing, with black wings folded down against his back. There was another man of black abyss with glowing red eyes, this one covered by a deep red cloak with gold accents. And finally, the last figure seemed... normal... at least until he turned around, shining his bright white eyes. He wore a plane cyan shirt, with dark blue pants and gray shoes. The white eyed man approached them, looking into the children's eyes for a long moment.

          "Yes. These are the right three. I can sense it within them... they underwent the experiment." He finally said, taking a step back, his hand rubbing his chin, his expression still blank. 

          "Good. So how do we make sure that you know what doesn't come true then." The withered skeleton asked. The boy had no idea what they were talking about, but he could feel the slight unease as the obvious choice hung in the air. It was clicking of what they wanted, though, and why they wanted them specifically, and not anyone else. He had heard the village leader warning their parents about this.

          "Well," the white eyes man continued after what felt like an eternity of stressful silence, besides the sounds of muffled screams and explosions from the village behind them. "They don't know how to use what they have yet. As long as they never figure that out, things will work out for us." He stepped back again, and an eighth figure approached. He wore a sort of dark gray suit and had a dark brown mask that covered the entirety of his face. "We make sure they can't learn their powers alone and ensure that no one can find them to teach them. Or even remind them that they have power." As the new figure kept approaching, the boy did his best to do anything. To use spikes, to teleport, anything at all. But with the fear, pain, and confusion coursing through him... he couldn't even mange to speak. Suddenly, the three figures holding them took hold of the back of their sweatshirts, holding them forward, and diverted their gazes. The masked figures hand rose, taking hold of the bottom of it, as the white eyed man spoke of the last time. "Blank slate them."

          The figure lifted the mask off his face, revealing a black and white swirl that seemed to pulse with energy. As soon as the three saw it, their minds began to fog. Their memories of training, gone. Their studies? Gone. The details on their village, their friends, the experiment, even each other began to disappear. Their eyes began to grow dim, losing the soft glow that everyone with powers had, until their eyes were no more special than a normal person's. Their family, gone. Their lives, gone. The only thing they knew was basic life skills, speech, and their own name. And then, the three figures stepped forward, turned slightly, and slung the three children through three different portals. The white eyed man then spun, slashing through the portals with a sizzling red pickaxe. The blue obsidian cracked, the portals shattered, and then they dissipated to piles of blue dust. 

        "That went well." Said the white cloaked figure, reaching behind him and lifting his scythe, as the rest also pulled out their weapons. "What are we gonna tell him if he asks about their status." The seven looked to the leader, who still stood, just looking at the piles of dust before him.

          "We tell him the truth. There's no need to be concerned about the experiment results." He said simply, a small smile crossing his face. "Now. Before anyone realizes we're not out there... let's go make sure no one leaves this village."


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          He blinked a few times, before his eyes fully adjusted to the cold, frigid air. He hurt... why did he hurt? He wasn't sure, but gosh he hurt! He did his best not to cry, though. It was too cold to be doing that. He slowly sat up, his legs partially buried in snow, with the fine white powder also on his sweatshirt and in his hair. 

          Something about the snow was off. It wasn't... flat, but smoothed and limp, and very uneven. It didn't feel right, but it did feel very cold. He slowly stood on shaking legs, looking around in a slow circle he saw nothing in any direction, other than the sun high in the sky- and the sun wasn't square. Was it supposed to be? He looked down at his own small hands. He was square... so why wasn't anything else. A bit of color caught his attention, and he hesitantly walked over to it. partially mixed with the snow was some strange blue dust. He had no idea what it was and had nothing to try and collect it with. He looked around again, his breath creating small cloud in the air as he looked around. After a moment of just standing there, he began to walk forward. He had no idea where he was going, and where he was now... or really anything, actually. He just kept walking and walking, breathing softly, his blue, dull eyes looking to the horizon far, far away.