Mind of War (On Hold)

Prepare to Meet the Shadows

Creed's heart was pounding out in his chest.

"Damn, if the Shadows don't kill me, I'll die of a heart attack," he muttered to himself. There was a light fog beginning to form as he approached the Gate. The stairway to the Gate was over fifty feet high and made of a bluish, gray slate. There were no rails, one wrong step and you're a goner. Creed had to stop himself, and calm down. Taking several breaths in and out, he waited a few minutes until his heart rate slowed down.

"I've got this, there's no turning back. This is the only way out." He gave himself a pep talk before reluctantly climbing the stairs. He never recalled ever being this afraid of anything, but then again, never has he had so much to lose. Creed was unsure if he was scared of death or scared to lose. Maybe it was both. He paused and shook his head clear of these thoughts. He had to succeed, there were no other options, and failure was not an option. He had to do this for the people he loved and for a better future. With determination, likened to a fire, set ablaze in his heart, he trekked up the stairs. The higher he ascended, the thicker the fog became. It was starting to get cold, Creed could see his breath as he was nearing the top of the stairs, and every breath was taking more effort and energy. Finally he was at the Gate.

The double doors of the Gate looked to be of solid metal with an appearance resembling something that belonged in a dungeon. He had five minutes until nine. He went to look down over the stairway to see if he could spot Onyx, but the second he looked down the blurring fog made his head hurt. Not the best idea. Suddenly, there was an eerie squealing sound coming from behind the Gate. This was followed by scratching sounds like nails on a chalkboard. Is it not enough that these Shadows have to make these awful noises. Goosebumps began to cover Creed's skin. The pounding in his heart returned when he heard the loud knocking against the Gate. Creed looked to his watch, he had 30 seconds. He knew in the distance that all the SSS members were watching his every move. He silently prayed for strength of mind, determination, and life. The metals doors began ricocheting making vibrations against the slate stairway. He could feel the vibrations throughout his entire body. Ten seconds left, Creed took another deep breath as he moved his feet towards the side of the top of the stairs, readying himself to fall.

With a loud bang, the doors opened. The moment Creed saw the immense darkness of the Shadows charging towards him, he fell backwards off the stairway, towards the ground. The rush of air was strangling his senses. He could barely breathe. Body freezing, choking on the speeding oxygen, the only thing Creed could do was close his eyes and pray that this sensation would not be his last.

Suddenly, the rest of the wind was knocked out of him as he hit something ...hard. Coughing, gasping for air, he rolled from his back to over on his side. With eyes open, he saw Onyx beside him, groaning.

Onyx got up and pulled Creed to his feet, "First thing, is you're hella heavy, and secondly I'm glad you're not dead. You okay?"

Creed was still trying to catch his breath so he nodded, "I'm glad that my life being intact was second on your list of importance." Creed coughed, his breathing was still heavy.

"Are you going to be able to run?" Onyx asked seeing that he was breathing hard.

"Don't have a choice, let's go. We need to move out," Creed motioned.

They could hear people screaming, the sound of the Shadows fast at work. They had to move quick. The darkness was quickly spreading, Creed put his amulet in his back pocket, while Onyx zipped up his jacket. The two began to run back to Onyx's house. They ran through the town weaving between the people who were desperately trying to make it to their houses. As hunters, the pair was twice as fast as the average person running for their life. Quickly the masses were falling to the Shadows.

Creed felt like something was off, for some reason the Shadows seemed too close to them. They were taught in the SSS, that the Shadows look to consume light. The amulet is the direct physical source of light. They had put theirs away. He picked up the pace and looked back, the only people in sight were him and Onyx. When he looked closely, Onyx had the light of his amulet faintly glowing through his jacket.

"Onyx, they see your light, run like the fastest hunter you know, now!"

Onyx didn't have to be told twice, the two of them started running like they were trained in the SSS. For every SSS member can out run the Shadows. Now, they were running twice as fast as before. Unfortunately for them, the Shadows began picking up the pace, like predators on prey. Creed knew they were in trouble, he ran as fast as his legs would carry him, praying his breathing would hold up, looking back every so often to ensure that Onyx was still with him. He took the rock route to slow the Shadows up. It was working a little, for it takes the Shadows to moves through the rocky terrain. This lasted for several minutes, until Onyx's house was in sight.

"We have to make a run for it!" Onyx yelled.

Creed exerted the last bit of energy he had into running towards the house. Once they reached the house, they pounded on the door.

"Boy put the code in!" Creed shouted at Onyx.

"Who is it?" A feminine voice asked behind the door.

"Zuri open up now!"

The door opened, Creed and Onyx tumbled through, with the Shadows on their heels. Onyx tackled Zuri to the floor to cover her amulet. Creed slammed the door behind him with his foot as he dove on the floor. It was closed, but it was close, they all breathed a sigh of relief. They had been seconds away from being consumed.

"Onyx get up, you're crushing me," Zuri whined.

"I'm sorry," Onyx replied as he helped her up.

Creed just laid on the floor before slowly sitting up, his body was beginning to hurt, mainly from the impact of the fall.

"Creed, I'm sorry, man. I didn't know that the jacket wouldn't cover the amulet completely." Onyx apologized.

"Don't be sorry. We're alive that's all that matters. At least for tonight." Creed reassured.

"Yeah, I'm grateful that you're both okay. Creed, you know you're going to have to give up your beloved gray eyes if you don't want the SSS to recognize you from this point forward." Zuri said as leaned her head on Onyx's shoulder.

"For now, yes." Creed replied, as he put his finger to each eye, removing the contact lens.

"Creed, brother, you can stay here as long as you want." Onyx suggested.

"I'll stay for the night, that's all. We can't have another high profile person in this house." Creed reminded.

"You're right." Onyx admit.

"I will be going back to the SSS once things settle a bit. So, you can stay here if you want," Zuri offered.

"No, seriously, I'm fine. I have everything planned out. But thanks for being concerned."

Creed laid out on the couch while Onyx went upstairs, Zuri went down the hall to Aura's room, where she was probably staying. Creed smiled, he liked seeing them together. It made Creed think of him and Song. He hoped she was at home resting peacefully, safe and sound. He would go see her tomorrow. Think of her made him relax, as he closed his eyes the last things he thought about was how much he loved her. You're alive, you got another victory. You can see Song tomorrow, and share the good news with her. She will be happy. And if she's happy, I'm happy.