Short Stories!

Depression Puncher

~ONE~

As long as I can remember, I've had an ability. An ability to punch depression. Well, not depression itself. A physical manifestation of it.

 I don't think anybody else can see them. Everybody has their own little "companion". I've learned to call the smaller and nicer ones Blips. I actually have my own Blip. His name is Frank. He resembles a hot dog. Enough about Frank, he's shy. The bigger ones are called Nightmares. Those come out in times of disaster. I want to rid this world of these things. Oh, who am I kidding?! I have no experience in fighting, and these things can be huge!

"Hey, Vikktor?" Emily yelled, snapping out of my internal monologue. "Do you know where my keys are?"

"By the coffee maker, Em! You always forget these things, what would you do without me?" I reply, rolling my eyes. Emily is my sister, and I keep on wondering if I should tell her about the Blips and Nightmares. In the end, I always decide to keep it from her. I know she'd never tell anyone, but her Blip is a sneaky little one. He'd sell that info.

"Okay Vikk, I'm off to work!"

"Bye Sis!" She's very peppy this morning. I think it's because her Blip, Erma is still asleep on the couch. Oh god, I have to deal with this little monster today. I work as a artist for home, so I really don't have to go anywhere. I live with my sister because we're inseparable, always have been, and always will be. We tried to live apart from each other, but it never ends well. Her Blip gets to her. I don't know why I haven't killed that thing yet. Erma is quite annoying. She's also purple. A little chubby mass of fluff. I don't think she has a face.

*knock knock*

Who's knocking on our door? We shouldn't have any visitors right now. As I walk over to answer the door, it is broken in, leaving little bits of door everywhere.

"Vikktor Vohn. You have to come with me. Your sister is in danger. Bring her manifestation." The man who just broke down my door said. He seems serious.

"Ok, but why do you want me to bring Erma? Also, what's your name? I need to leave a note for Em." I asked. I wasn't about to go running off without leaving a note! 

"You name these things? Jeez, I don't even know why Byssu wants you anymore. It needs to be killed. My name is Hníf. I have a pen if you can't find one." He said. I just shook my head. 

"I'm an artist, I always have a pen." I started writing. Going out. Guy named Hníf. New friend. Not sure when back. "Ok, we can go now." He put his hand on my shoulder. I felt really dizzy for a second, and then, we weren't in my apartment anymore. It seemed like it was an underground city, and it was very large. Buildings rose out of the ground, lights from the interiors illuminating the whole city. There is nary a street light in sight, and yet, I can see nearly the whole city. People are hustling and bustling. The most surprising thing is that there are no Blips. Anywhere. "Whoa. This is... beautiful. How is this possible? Nobody here has a Blip! Come to think of it, neither do you!" 

"Nice to see you like my homecity. It's name is Fyrst. There are only five cities like this on this earth." Hníf said. He ran his hand through his ginger hair. "The reason why nobody has manifestations here is because we all have that same power that you do. You can see those manifestations. The Power has a mind of its own, so that's why your sister doesn't have it. We all fight them. I'll let Byssu explain more about this when we get to the base." He started walking. 

For a while, we walked in silence. Fyrst was a lot like New York. The lights, sounds and people were a lot like what I had experienced of New York, but... different. Almost everybody had a different accent. People from the north, south, everywhere in America were here. It was a cultural mess too. We had already gone through a Chinatown, and a Little Italy type thing. Currently, we were walking on the French side of town, and the pastries looked delicious. Then we crossed into another Chinatown. 

"We're here. Let me take you straight to Byssu. There's a lot of things that you don't want to run into." I obliged to let him drag me through the crowds. So many people passed me by. I don't even want to think about how many looked at Hníf weird. Suddenly, a voice called out to us.

"Hníf! Komdu með hann inn! Óvinir okkar eru nálægt!" I don't think I want to know what that means, but it sounds urgent. Hníf yanked me into a small house. There was a woman waiting to greet us. She would have been beautiful had it not been for the Greatsword she was carrying.

"Sverð. We need to get him to Byssa. Now." Hníf seemed tense.

"We must name him first. Með krafti fyrsta, annað, þriðja, fjórða og fimmta, nafn þitt verður valið eins og þú vilt, en það mun lýsa þér eins og þú lýsir því. What do you fight the manifestations with?" Sverð  inquired. She was quite polite, despite being very scary.

"My fists. I can punch depression." I said, very excitedly. Sverð just sighed.

"Very well. Your name is Hnefa. Come. I will take you to Byssu." She took me down a very long hall, illuminated with torches. Who even uses torches anyways? So 14th century. Suddenly, the hall opened up into a large room, containing large screens and a swivel chair. 

"I've been expecting you." A woman was seated in the now turned around chair. "I actually have, it's not a lie because of my love for dramatic effect. I'm serious. Hnefa, you might be the most important person in Fyrst!" This woman is certainly bouncy. "My name is Byssu. I'm the head of this alliance." She holds out her hand to shake it. I shake her hand. 

"I guess you already know my name, huh. Word gets around fast here." I say.

"Yeah, keep your secrets close. Everything gets back to me somehow." That is extremely scary to me. She keeps talking before I can respond. "You must be wondering why you're the most important person in Fyrst. You can talk to the manifestations. You'll help us fight them. And capture them. You are one of the only person in the city who can do that! The other cities already have their champions. You'll fight the manifestations with Sigan Magne, Blitz Zeigen, Fòirneart, and Frumuseţe. All of your powers combined should be an unstoppable combination. You have no choice." Byssu said, she stood up, grabbed me by the shoulders and said:

OBEY

That was the moment I felt myself slip away.