Neons: Downfall

Chapter One

W A D E

            I never wanted this, Wade Deaver thought to himself. Wade does most of his thinking on the boulder that he was now sitting on in front of the entrance to the West Side of the Central Neon Base. The wind blew through his slick long black hair; his bangs sway over his dark purple eyes while he watches the clouds roll down the sea blue Seattle sky. He was thinking about the Downfall; it erupted about two months ago, the economy collapsed and chaos surged through major cities, while a plague was coursing throughout the U.S. too.

           Wade leaps down from the boulder, and re-enters the base. There were two guards by the north gate, Wade nods at them, with rifles in their hands they respond back with the same thing, and he walks through the invisible barrier. Wade has his hair pulled back into a ponytail with a rubber band wrapped around it. Today he was wearing a black hoody, baggy black jeans and running shoes. In his hoody pocket, his phone buzzes, a text from Beau most likely. He reaches in and grabs it, looking at the screen, it was Beau and he opens it:

      Meeting about to begin. Where the hell are you?

      Dammit, Wade curses.

Another text comes in from one of the Hidden Patrols:

     Robbery at Town Square.

      The Town Square is where people sale stuff that they have either made by hand or found lying around Seattle. Wade makes a few turns down the mulch path that passes the playground where some children were chasing each other through the dark oak structure. Passing them, Wade controls the shadow under his feet and wills it to launch off the ground and into the sky at the direction of the Town Square. The rush of wind filled Wade's ear and brought a grin to his face because he felt like he was flying. The Square came into view. Wade shifts his weight to a small building that sells fresh bread. He lands effortlessly and without a scratch. Brushing off some dust and pollen, he seeks out the prep. Wade jumps off the roof and walks around the crowded market. There were vendors with foods, clothes and knick-knacks of all kind. While scanning the mob, people say hello and wave to Wade, even though he didn't know anyone of them, he still replies back respectfully. A man comes up to Wade and says, "Are you Wade Deaver?"

       "Yes," he replies.

       "Yeah. Well, some guy just stole some of my products without trading." In the Square and anywhere else, money is no longer currency because of the Downfall. You have to trade something of equal value. 

       "This is a very simple matter," Wade mentions.

"I know that, but no one else is coming and you're the only one here."

       "Fine," Wade sighs, "which way did the guy go?"

      After the owner gave a description of the prep, Wade then heads in the direction of where the owner pointed to. Running at top speed, he sees the criminal turn the corner down into a small shrub with thick trees. Wade gathers himself together and conjures snakes made from his own shadow; they scatter away from him in all different directions. He felt a tingling sensation in his right foot which meant the snake that went to the right found the culprit. Wade follows his shadows trail and ends up in an alleyway. 

     There, in the corner was a little boy, with dirt all over him with a starving look in his eyes. Probably hasn't eaten in days. Wade undoes his shadow snakes which slither back into his own shadow that stretched across the ground behind him.