Present Day
Matthew Harker woke suddenly and rolled out of bed and hit the floor with a thud. He groaned but didn't have the strength to lift himself. Then a voice yelled at him from downstairs, telling him he would be late for school. Matt groaned again and this time found the energy to pick himself up and get ready for school. He stood and stretched until he heard his joints pop. He yawned. It had been a strange night. For the first time in about 10 years, he'd had a nightmare. A giant, a huge humanoid figure, had been talking to him. The giant had a name, but Matt couldn't remember what. Something beginning with V.
Matt walked into the kitchen twenty minutes later to find his mother rushing around trying to get everything ready in time. He smiled inwardly. No matter what, his mum would always try and do things for people, despite him constantly telling her that he could do it all and that he was old enough to do so without any accidents. He told her this, but whether or not she listened was an entirely different matter.
"Morning mum" he said as he put two slices of bread in the toaster
"Hello dear" Jackie Harker said "mind you don't burn the toast Matthew"
"Mum"
"Yes?"
"I'm fourteen. I know not to burn the toast" Matt patiently explained
"One can never be too careful" Jackie replied "age doesn't necessarily mean responsibility"
Matt chuckled and buttered his toast. His mum was always throwing these sorts of things at him; quotes and sayings that her mum used to tell her. They must've stuck after all those years and he had no doubt that they would stick in his mind too, despite his best interests in them not sticking there.
Matt finished his toast and took his plate to the sink. He was about to wash it when his mum ran over and pointed to the clock that sat on the window sill
"I'm sorry dear, but you have to leave now. Don't want to be late do you?" She was right of course. He had barely five minutes to get there on time. Matt put the late in the sink, grabbed his bag, hugged his mum and sprinted out the door.
He ran through the school gates just as the door swung shut on him. Matt stopped, his bag on the floor, and rested his hands on knees for a few seconds. He took in a deep breath and stood, ready to face the day. He spotted a girl about his own age, but a couple of inches shorter, standing on the grass with narrowed eyes, as though she was looking for someone. Matt lifted his bag onto his shoulder and made his way over to her. She saw him coming and smiled, her eyes reverting back to their usual size. He reached her and grinned.
"Worried I wasn't gonna show?" He asked
"No" she replied simply "I knew you'd turn up eventually"
"And how could you be so sure?"
Catherine Arrows grinned at that "because your mum isn't the type of person to let you be late or have a day off"
"Yeah okay" he laughed too "fair point I guess"
"You know it" she turned and started walking to wards the school "coming?"
"Do I have a choice?"
"We both know the answer to that" he followed her towards the building where all the other kids were headed. The school looked in front of him, it's dark red bricks and small number of windows giving it a prison look.
"Feels like a prison sometimes too" Matt thought. He turned. The air was warm, the sun shone across the grass. He didn't want to be inside in the dark, smelly classrooms, learning about things he knew would be of no use to him in life. He wondered if he could escape, but he knew that there were at least three people who wouldn't be very happy if he tried. A teacher stopped them on their way in, pointing to a spot on the playground that wasn't packed with students. Matt groaned. What this time? Mr Infull was a short man, with a permanent scowl on his face. He was strict, merciless and cared for none of the pupils. The two of them made their way to the empty place and stood, waiting. Infull walked over, his scowl even deeper than usual, and stood in front of them. He might've looked intimidating, if it wasn't for the fact he was about four inches shorter than Catherine, and seven shorter than Matt. He glared at them both and, even though he knew he had nothing to fear, Matt shuffled slightly, as though he was the short one and not the other way around. Catherine must have felt it too, because she put her arms across her chest in a way that may have looked like they were crossed, but she was in actual fact hugging herself lightly, the sudden cold wind blowing against her arms. The three of them were now the only ones in the playground and it gave Matt and Catherine a sense of unease.
"Do you know why I asked you to stay behind?" Infull asked
"No, sir, we don't, so if you'd hurry up and explain, we can get out of the cold and into the warm" Matt said, clearly annoyed. Infull paused for a moment and then laughed. It was a horrible sound, like blood bubbling.
"Oh Matthew Harker" he said "you are exactly what we need"
"Wait, what?"
"Do you know what my name means, Matthew? Do you, Catherine?" He looked at them both, his black, pitiless eyes boring into them both "my full name is Servus Inferi. It's Latin my dear children" he grinned, showing off what appeared to be pointed, yellow teeth "it means Servant of Hell" and then it got scary. Inferi reached up to his face and grabbed his cheeks. Then he pulled the skin off them until his entire face had been pulled off. The skin on his neck fell away, as did his suit, trousers and shoes. Catherine screamed. The thing that stood in font of them looked like a human that been turned inside out. His stomache was transparent, revealing all his organs. Blood was pouring out of every pore in his body, and showed no sign of stopping. His hands were twisted into claws, with nails at least three inches long, and half that on his toes. But his face was the worst. His mouth was swollen and gushing blood. His teeth were razor sharp and a dirty yellow colour. He had no ears, but instead that part of his head caved slightly inwards. His eyes rolled around in their sockets, looking at eveything as though it had never seen anything before. The whites were a pale pink colour and the irises were still the same nightmarish black they had been a moment ago. The thing stood before them and stood. It towered above Matt and Catherine, standing at ten feet tall.
Then it stopped.
It's eyes stopped swivelling and focused on the two teens in front of it. A look of triumph flashed in its eyes and it opened its mouth. A blood curling scream echoed across the playground and it raised one of its mangled arms.
"You are to come with me" the thing said, it's voice raspy, as though he'd spent his life screaming endlessly.
"Wh-what are you?" Catherine whispered
"I am a Servant of Hell, child. I was created to serve my masters and sent here to offer you a choice: join my masters. Help them rise again. Bring them back into this world and be their faithful servants. Or. Refuse, and be destroyed"
Matt gulped. He had no idea who these masters were, but he didn't fancy the idea of being anyone's servant. Especially when that offer was put to him by the monster standing before them. And yet, something nagged at him, in the back of his mind. He just needed to ask...
"Why do you need us?" Catherine asked, voicing the thoughts that Matt had been arguing with "what so special about us?" The creature turned its gaze on her.
"There is a prophecy. Five children shall be born into the world. Three will have god-like powers, and other two will be mortal, but they must all be offered a choice. They are children who will destroy the world, or save it. Two of those children are you. Your powers are unknown to yourselves and to my masters, but they are said to be great enough that you hold the entire universe in your hands"
"And you want us to use these powers for evil?!" Catherine raged "for nothing more than your masters' selfish gain?! I reject your offer" she stared at the beast and time seemed to slow down. Seconds felt like hours. Eventually the creature did something neither of the teens expected; it laughed.
"You have made your choice. And I accept it" it grinned "now you die" and the monster lunged.
