True Fiction

Foreshadow: Of Deeper Things to Come

The lights died out and the dust settled. The four hired men looked around confused, wondering where the three boys had escaped too.

"Well, that was weird." The first one muttered.

"No matter. Our orders were to capture the cyborg alone. Load him into the car." The leader commanded. He rubbed his injury, seething in anger at the short brown haired kid that knocked him out.

"Yes, Sir."

They prodded the robot boy with a stick to test for any reaction and hauled him into the black car outside.

"Boss is going to be very pleased." One of them said, smiling away as they took off.

---------------------------------------------

"Did you see that Asuka? Those idiots jumped into the gateway." The man remarked.

The girl sighed and reluctantly looked up from her phone.

"Yes, father. I'm sure they're all dead by now." She casually replied. As she watched the replay of the video on a screen, she noticed that boy. Her heart skipped a beat as she watched him jump into the swirling portal.

"I'm sure you've noticed that one of them is that worthless boy you crushed. You must be very happy to see him disappear." He added on, laughing loudly.

"Definitely. I never want to see his face again." She said, going back to looking at her phone.

 ---------------------------------------------  

The man stood up and walked down to the lower story. Slamming upon the door, he could hear the muffles of his prisoner as he walked in.

"Poor Angelica. Are you comfortable enough?" He taunted as he watched her struggle on the floor. She looked disastrous. Her face and body were full of bruises, hands and feet bound and tied up with a gag stuffed in her mouth.

"Don't worry. Your dear son is on his way here. It will be a happy family reunion." He said. Looking straight into her eyes, he could see them fill with fear as her struggling died down.

"I love that expression on your face." He mocked as he walked out and closed the door.

"Victory is almost mine." He said to himself, a smirk forming on his face.

---------------------------------------------

Darkness, that was all he saw after they threw him into the stupid hole.

I could've definitely taken those guys. He thought to himself.

Where the hell am I?

He tried to move his body but realized he was helpless. He couldn't even see his body. Grumbling to himself, he relaxed and waited in silence.

Light suddenly appeared, blinding him and forcing him to close his eyes. He felt himself submerge in some form of liquid. Slowly adjusting to the light, he saw a beautiful spectrum of blue and green all around him. Marveling in its endless beauty, he realized one important thing.

He couldn't breathe.

Swimming upwards, there seemed to be no end to the water or any sight of a surface. It was painful to swim with the injury on his shoulder but he gritted his teeth and pushed on. Despite his superhuman endurance, he knew it was only a matter of time before he lost enough oxygen to blackout.

For the first time, he was scared of drowning.

---------------------------------------------

He was asleep for most of the darkness. After all, being awake meant a world of pain for him.

After what seemed like an eternity, he felt the air pressure change. Not just change, it was like it came into existence. Opening his eyes, he groaned in pain, still feeling the shock from trying to pull Ashen along. He swore he could see sparks flying around him. Looking around, he realized there was a huge problem.

He was falling. Falling from a huge height.

Well, that was a nice life. He thought as he focused on finding the ground. He was starting to feel giddy from the high altitude and rushing wind in his ears.

I'm so screwed.

---------------------------------------------

It was dark mostly. He couldn't see, hear or feel a thing. Spending this time alone with his thoughts, he reflected on his life so far.

That was until it fell onto his face.

A little earthworm, crawling around his face and then hair. He didn't even feel the earth he was under until five seconds ago. At the same time, he could feel the sting on his leg when he tried to kick Ashen into the colourful hole on the floor. Now he was stuck underground with a slimy earthworm.

Damn. He thought. Literally buried alive.

Trying not to think about his depleting oxygen supply. He attempted to move his arms but to no avail.

Looks like I'm dead.

---------------------------------------------

He could hear everything. Their voices, their shouts, and screams. He could hear them all. The overpowering pain combined with the knowledge that his friends were in danger, likely because him, was enough to kill a man. Unfortunately, he was no man. He just a cyborg built to last. So last through the pain, he did.

He lost track of time after the first four minutes, unable to decipher how long he had been suffering in the darkness.

Wilfred. Kenneth. Ryan. They had all fought to protect him. They had on thrown their lives onto the line and now they were in mortal danger.

It crushed his heart when he couldn't hear their voices anymore. All he could hear was the conversation of the men. They were taking his body somewhere. He couldn't care less about that. Then it went back to silence.

How long was he in it? Ten minutes. Maybe an hour. Maybe a lifetime.

But it stopped.

It finally stopped.

Ashen collapsed onto the floor, panting and panting. It was all gone. He was filled with the joy of life, promising to never take 'not feeling pain' for granted ever again. The light bathed him in a warm embrace, pulling the darkness away.

"You're... you're here." The voice said, almost joyfully. This time Ashen could identify a source.

That voice oh so familiar. The one that led him here. The one that brought him through all of that pain. Shivers ran through his body and Ashen found him unable to look up.

"Hello, Ashen. It's nice to meet you."

======================================

A/N: This is only the first part of the series. Much more to come. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more :).