The Lantern Bearers

Chapter 1: mystery girl

When i hear that kids and adults say that they're "scared of the dark." I immediately think that, that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.i The dark is just a color to me, nothing spooky or scary to me, but i feel like what they're talking about, isn't the darkness itself, but more of, what's inside the darkness.

Things can lurk in the darkness, or there might not be anything there, but the fear of the unknown is what keeps mankind unnerved and wary of what can be out there.

The voided earth is a reality that we have been in for over a hundred years. We hunt or buy what we need, we do jobs for money, and we sleep where we can. It's not a cozy lifestyle in the slightest, but we make due.

I am a lantern bearer.

A lantern bearer is a mercenary or gun for hire, that journey's into the voided earth and tries to accomplish the task given for a good chunk of cash. We also venture out there for artifacts, food, ammo, anything the god eye manifests onto our world. That's right, the god eye manifests things, not just artifacts. We will sometimes fine gear floating in the air, bullets arranged in a strange pattern, bread stuck in a tree, and what have you.

The realm of the voided earth, is where ryhme or reason doesn't exist.

Most our drinkables are mainly alcohol or water treated with chemicals, due to water outright freezing, but yet, we aren't what you call "cold", just chilly like its autumn or near winter. Some of the researchers have confirmed that with each passing day, temperature does drop by 0.001 degree. So if you do the math, the common temperature for march, when the eye fell, is usually 61°F, take that 0.001 rate and multiply it by 395 days, then take that number and multply that by 100 years, then you will get a 39.5°F temperature drop....we are currently at 21.5°F.

In hindsight, that is cold... I'm just warm natured, I guess.

At 3:00pm, i would go on a group mission to recover weapons from a locker stash, which would take all of us to carry. Things went smoothly, aside the occasional mutant dog attack, that was quickly dealt with, that is until one of our members decided to turn coat on us, revealing that he was a member of a power hungry clan, the night dragons. We were suddenly ambushed and were picked off one by one.

I was the only survivor to make it out....

I ran with all of my might down the treacherous terrain, trying to not trip or sprain my ankle with all the rocks, debris, and pot holes dotting the path. I had a few bullet wounds and some cuts from when i jumped out of the building window we were in previously. They had claimed the weapons for themselves and used them on us.

"GET THAT BASTARD!! HE KILLED TWO OF OUR MEN!!" Shouted one of them, before hitting a ripple and being sent flying backwards. I heard a lantern break and that very man screaming in agony over the bullet fire.

Ripple anomalies are common and are more of an annoyance than anything deadly. They are transparent ripples in the air, similar looking to water ripples. On contact, it will hit the victim with a tremendous force that sends them flying and the wind knocked out of them. They're difficult to track when on the run or being careless, but if you remain calm, take your time, and use your detector to seek them out, you will be fine.

I slid into a small ditch, and went to fire my berreta pistol, but would see that it was jammed.

"Shit!" I said to myself, quickly ducking as bullets pelted the dirt in front of my face.

Taking a screwdriver i had handy, i pried the bullet out of the sliding chamber and cocked it back to check if it still slid. After that, i took a deep breath, popped out and aimed by sights on one of the bandits lanterns. When i pulled the trigger, the bullet shattered the bulb inside, causing the man to scream in agony as he was eaten by the darkness. I quickly counted them before i ducked behind cover again. There was about five or six bandits left.

In a gunfight, bullets are precious, so it is always best to aim for the lanterns, because nine times out of ten, it results in death within seconds, unless they are huddled together, sharing the same light.

I peeked downhill and seen a building that was run down and dilapidated. It could serve as a great place to hunker down and wait for them to leave......but how was i to get down there and be quick enough to hide.

Suddenly, i felt and heard a thud next to me. Cold sweat coated by body as i quickly looked over.

A grenade.

I jumped out of the ditch and hit the dirt as it went off, sending dirt and shrapnel everywhere. I would feel a warm, searing pain in my left leg. I had been shot again.

Getting up and limping, i made my way to the building as quickly as possible, knowing they were dead on my tail as i heard them hollering and cheering. They wanted me dead and for no reason other than for fun.

Suddenly, i heard strong winds and briefly felt it. They were suddenly freaking out behind me. I quickly looked back and seen one of their men floating and flailing in the air, screaming and begging for help. He would suddenly start spinning faster and faster, until he exploded everywhere. This was my ticket to getting inside that building and hide, during the panic.

The vortex anomaly is a deadly, hard to detect twister that manifests seemingly out of nowhere and claims its victims. Once you're caught, unless you have something to hold onto, you're doomed. You would be spun so fast, that you turn to mush.

Upon entering, my artifact detector and anomaly detector both went off. I scanned the room with the anomaly detector, and seen black grass on the ceiling and some patches on the floor. They hide from the light when its shined upon them, but unlike the darkness, they linger a bit before it is safe to traverse. Meaning, you would have to take your time and not rush in.

Black grass is an anomaly that looks like as it's name implies. This grass anomaly moves around like its alive and are sharp as razors. They drink the blood of their victims as well as cut them to bits if the darkness doesn't get them first.

Not wanting to give away my position, i turned down my lantern and used my clip on light to navigate the black grass, as well as crouch walk. With my lantern turn down, i felt the darkness nipping at my skin, like pins all over, but it had to be done.

Something to note: when anomalies are gathered together in one particular location, that is where an artifact is. This is why they are so valuable, but dangerous to find and collect. You have to tip toe to get them.

When i ascended the stairs, i came across a peculiar sight, one that i never thought was possible.

A young woman, that was glowing a yellowish light around her, seemingly asleep.