Neon Gods

Chapter One

(Just a quick note. Italics equals character's thoughts. It'll be important later as the chapters will split between the perspectives of the main characters and their chosen beings.)
Rain fell as cars drove along I-10. Wind howled, and lightning flashed across the sky. The clouds that were once a pure white, were now a sickly shade of grey weighed down with heavy rain. Most people would never drive in such chaotic weather. But this monsune weather was common during the summer in Arizona, and would likely last until early the next morning. As the storm continued visibility decreased, and it became dangerous for cars to be driving at such high speeds. Soon traffic on the highway slowed to a crawl, and police officers were being posted at every half mile in an attempt to decrease the likelihood of speeding or accidents. This would likely turn a drive that was already expected to take around two hours, into one that would be closer to three. The prospect of this, coupled with the fact that it was close to 9:00 at night,
only served to sour Leonardo's mood further.
In short, today overall was pretty crappy for him. First, he woke up nearly 25 minutes late. Then he had to rush to dress in his black slacks, fumble to button his dress shirt, and fold his collar and comb his hair meticulously. He spent ten minutes looking for his new expensive dress shoes. This caused him to forget his breakfast, which meant he had to stop at a drive thru before he could get on the road. To sum it up, he ran critically late to his important conference in Phoenix.
This conference would determine who was the most likely to make it into the top five for the most eligible to become the new CEO of the company Startech Inc. Startech was based out of Tempe Arizona. But Leonardo's office was in a small building near the Tucson Mall. It was often overlooked by most people because they believed that the building was vacant. This meant that Leonardo was forced to drive to Tempe every three months so he could check in with the other Startech employees and give status updates. Right now their goal was to expand the company and get better office quarters for their employees. In order to do this as well as launch their newest pieces of tech, Startech needed to increase the amount of funds it received annually.
Two months prior, Startech's CEO announced that she would be retiring next spring. This only gave the employees until the middle of next April to complete the TDFR (Technology Designing and Fundraising) Competition. In this contest the participants had to design, build, test, and then demonstrate technology that they had created in front of the company's Board of directors. Before they were able to design their technology they had to organize fundraising events. Each employee must have raised between $1000 and $3000 within the first two months in order to make it into the top five and begin designing the technology. So far Leonardo had made it into the top five. He had raised $1500 but the current CEO told him that his tardiness to nearly every conference and the fact that he had been with the company for the least amount of time could disqualify him from further stages in the competition. He had been waiting for this opportunity for such a long time and he practically blew it in one fell swoop.
Normally the Startech Board could be lenient when it came to tardiness, especially since several employees had to drive two or three hours to attend the conferences. But once the TDFR Competition started the policy was either you showed up on time ready to present or you didn't show up at all. No exceptions, time extensions, or pity. What upset Leonardo the most about the situation was that he knew if he didn't live so far he could make it on time to every conference.
Once at work Leonardo was also forced to skip his lunch since he left his lunchbox in his car.
All he had was a candy bar and Gatorade. By the time he ate dinner with a few coworkers it was about 7:00. So, this was why the twenty-two year old was stuck in the rain, utterly exausted and frustrated and basically ready to call in sick tomorrow.
The wind picked up and the rain was pouring so hard that the tale lights of the car twenty feet in front of him looked like pinpricks. Eventually, he had no choice but to pull to the side of the road. He turned off his lights and turned up the heater. "Shit!" He swore loudly, as he bashed his fist repeatedly against the steering wheel. Continuing to grumble curses under his breath he grabbed his lunchbox from the passenger seat beside him and rooted around roughly until he found his chips and pretzels inside. He sat for a couple minutes and ate Doritos and grumbled the occasional "damnit," or "crap" when he saw a brighter flash of light than the rest.
Leonardo stopped eating and looked up at it,"the hell Is that?" Leonardo's voice was slightly raspy And dripped with confusion. He continued to gaze at the light and reached for the pack of cigarettes in the cup holder. Leonardo had a bad habit of smoking when he became extremely stressed. It was a nasty thing he'd tried to break his Junior year of high school. But he hadn't been able to quit completely. By using the nicotine gum, patches, and other methods, he'd been able to cut back on how much and often he smoked. Because of this habit though, he was no longer on speaking terms with his childhood best friend Oliver.
As Leonardo focused more on the light, he saw an object hurtling towards him. As he watched whatever it was grew closer. A couple minutes later he couldn't see it anymore. He finished his cigaret and returned to eating his chips and spun the dial on his radio in boredom.
He sat for a bit longer until the storm started to clear slightly. It cleared enough for Leonardo to start driving again but not very far. Fuck it. Thought Leonardo as he turned around. I'm just getting a hotel and not going in tomorrow. As he drove back into Phoenix he looked to see what credit cards he had in his wallet. Once he entered Phoenix again he exited the highway and paused at a traffic light.
He took this time to enter directions for the nearest hotel into his GPS. When Leonardo reached a stop sign he realized that there was only a few cars on the streets besides himself. It was also at this stop sign when something quite large and heavy crashed onto the top of his car with a massive bang.
The top of the car bent inward and the windshield became spiderwebbed with cracks. As his gaze shot up Leonardo could barely make out the face of a man that looked slightly blurry through his now defective windshield. At this point all rationality was gone for Leonardo. He roughly flung his door open and unfastened his seatbelt so hard it slid home with a loud thwack. As he slid from the car he slammed his door closed and stomped to where the man now sat on the hood of his car. "What the fuck is your problem?" Leonardo demanded as he raised his hand to point an accusatory finger at the man's chest. The man remained motionless and quiet, only angering Leonardo further. "Hello? Did you hear me? Are you deaf? I said... What's your fucking problem man?"
"What realm is this?
Is this earth?" The man finally spoke. A look of annoyance crossed Leonardo's face."Realm? What the hell are you smoking? Pot? Hey, if it's the good stuff will you at least share it?" A look of blank confusion flickered in the mans eyes. "Smoke pot? I do not smoke pot mortal...
Pots are used for cooking are they not?" "What the fuck is that you're going on about with your mortal shit? Are you nuts?"
At the back of his mind Leonardo knew that he was probably being unfairly rude. There was also a tingling thought that told him something was desperately wrong with this man and he needed help. But he was frustrated from work, cold, tired, and just wanted someone to target. Even if he knew it was entirely unwarranted. He dismissed it as the instincts and habits he'd unconsciously developed from being friends with Oli for so long and nothing more. Whatever it was, he couldn't find the will to care.
Now slightly agitated and perhaps a little irritated the man stood up, "What realm is this?!" The question came out more harsh than he'd intended. But it seemed to work as Leonardo's gaze flitted to and away from him a few times before he replied.
Leonardo couldn't help but flinch away slightly, "Phoenix." His response was a bit softer than his previous statements. "What is a Phoenix?" Demanded the stranger. Although it was an accident, it worked before and he needed it to work again.
"I-it's, the city we're in." Leonardo cringed slightly at his own answer. The man frowned, "Is this realm Earth or not mortal?" Where he could clearly hear the annoyance in the man's tone and something else laced with it before, Leonardo had trouble identifying what wove through his words that time. It sounded like a mix of frustration, confusion, and something like fear.
Leonardo's lips twitched into a slight frown. "Yes it's Earth. Fuck off already." He wasn't sure what it was, but something was making the man anxious. This set his own nerves on edge and he couldn't help but glance around occasionally. If someone were to have asked at that moment he would have said it was a combination of the weather and the dark. But he instinctively knew that wasn't it.
The stranger shook his head, "I cannot do that. Since I found you I must stay with you." An inexplicable shot of terror coursed through Leonardo at the man's words. "Why the fucking hell would I let you do that?" Leonardo had already started to walk away. "I'm hungry," came the stranger's reply.. Much softer than the rest. A tiny seed of pity began to form in Leonardo's chest as the stranger followed. "I don't really give a shit." He knew this was somewhat of a lie, but Leonardo didn't want to care. "I'm wet and cold, and don't have anywhere else to go." An unexpected pang of pity and sorrow pulsed through Leonardo catching him by surprise. Shit... Shit... What the hell is that? He thought in mild panic.
Leonardo's lip curled, "once again... Not my problem." "Please? I can help you." The man didn't like begging. He never had to before and slightly resented these beings. But he couldn't let this one leave him. Leonardo's attention was completely on the man now. "Help me? Help me with what?" He knew he was going to at least get the guy a hotel room and food and a set of dry clothes regardless. But Leonardo wouldn't mind a bit of help after the damage his car took. "Whatever you need help with, I can do it." The man felt like he was grasping at whatever he could by this point. But he figured there would be something the being needed.
"Fine. But on one condition..." Leonardo halted and turned back to the stranger. A small smile touching his lips. "What's that?" He gazed back at Leonardo, his pretty green eyes seemed to shimmer as they reflected the rain and caused Leonardo's chest to tighten slightly. "I get to come up with a nickname for you."
This clearly wasn't what he expected and he blinked a few times in surprise. Leonardo knew he probably shouldn't have agreed and he should've at least made the guy exchange information so he could cover the payment for his car. But he couldn't bring himself to be mean to this person for some reason. He hesitated for a second, then the man agreed. "Okay."
They both got into Leonardo's car and stopped at a store to buy dry clothes for them. "Oh. It's not like I care very much, but what's your name?" This was a blatant lie. But Leonardo didn't even want to give the impression he cared. He couldn't risk becoming attached to someone again. The man whom Leonardo' had dubbed Cranberry Fucknut looked briefly alarmed before answering. "Z-Zurita-z... Ummm.... my name is Zakari."
A slight smirk flickered across Leonardo's lips."I'm Leonardo. Can I call you Zaki?" He couldn't help it. Leonardo was compelled to be kind to this person. Zakari's only response was a shrug, "if you wish. What may I call you Leonardo? He turned and caught the man's green gaze again and quickly glanced away. Leonardo's lips spread into a small smile, "Leo." He hated the nickname, but he would tolerate it for Zakari"s sake.
Distracted with the newly named Zaki, Leo made a wrong turn. This prompted his GPS to start chiming a rhythmic ding, ding, ding, and a computerized female voice to repeat at one minute intervals,"calculating route... Calculating route... Calculating route..." Zakari was freaked out by the GPS to Leo's amusement, and they eventually found and checked into the hotel. Once the two were settled in their room, Leo got a phone call.
"Hello," he answered with slight apprehension in his tone. The number wasn't familiar. "Hey Lovebug, it's Olí." Leo's face was full of confused shock. "Oli? Really? Didn't I tell you to stop that Lovebug crap in seventh grade?
Leo wasn't sure why he focused on this of all things. He hadn't spoken to this person for nearly seven years. But he was physically and emotionally fried and ready for bed. A soft giggle was Oli's only answer. "That's not important, you always believed me right?" Leo was confused. What the hell is he talking about?
"Yeah. What's wrong?" Leo's gut flipped, Oli sounded hysterical. "They don't believe me. They said it's not possible for him to get up this high—" Leo's heart quickened.Oli was no stranger to hallucinations brought on by lack of sleep and poor eating habits due to the hours he pulled between work and college. A creeping sense of dread began to form as Leo listened to his friend. Was he not taking care of himself again? "Who to get up that high? What do you mean?" Leo asked in a vain attempt to calm him down and try and understand the situation.
Although they hadn't spoken for a long time, he and Oli had been friends since preschool and Leo often tried to take care of his friend when he started slipping. "I called my brother and he said I was crazy and wouldn't help me. The police still won't do anything, They don't see him! They can't see him!" A combination of anger and pity settled in Leo's gut. Oli's brother had always been useless when it came to these things.He was always convinced that Oli was doing what he did for attention and often became irritated with his younger sibling rather than helping. "See who Oli? Who do you mean?"
A sick sense of unease knotted in Leo's gut. Could he really be seeing something this time? It wasn't like him to get so worked up. Oli usually had enough awareness to try and distinguish what was a hallucination and what wasn't. Unless he had gone a sufficiently large amount of time without sleeping properly. For some reason, Leo couldn't shake the question.
The phone was quiet, then Leo's blood ran cold and chills ran down his body when Oli quietly answereed. "The man on my balcony. He's been tapping on my window for the last two hours... What do I do Leo?"
Horror flooded Leo's body and made his mouth dry. That wasn't possible. It shouldn't physically be possible even though every instinct in his body screamed that it was the truth. The police and Oli's brother were right. They should've been right anyway. No one should be up there. Oli's balcony was on the fifteenth floor.