The Silver Six

Part 1

"Get out of there! He's going to kill you!"

An explosion blew him down, scraping his feet against the concrete of an office building. Without another thought, he was speeding towards another building, watching in a panic through the glass siding of a skyscraper as an elevator against the side plummeted towards the ground. A bright flame burst into his vision, and all he could hear was Jaci screaming, and Nicolas calling for him to get back. He was so close. So close.

"I love you all," a voice whispered in his head as he reached towards the building just as a massive explosion burst from the elevator.

"LUC NO!" he cried, just before a wave of fire and force knocked him from the sky.

Tumbling down, he felt bones snap and organs rupture as he hit hard pieces of construction before finally being crushed to the ground. His head smacked against the concrete and everything went black.

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Gasping and sweating, Allen shot awake, holding a hand to his racing, aching heart. He glanced around the dark bedroom and reached over to turn on his bedside lamp. Soothing yellow light suddenly filled the space and he blinked slowly as his eyes adjusted.

"That dream again," he groaned, running a hand through his short-cut silver hair.

Flinging his legs over the edge of the bed, he made his way to his small kitchen to get a drink. Afterward, he hopped in the shower to rinse the sweat from his body and prepare for work. He didn't know what time it was, but he knew that sleep would not come, not after that dream. Scrubbing his pale skin with soap, he let his gray eyes wander over the strange scars that were scattered across his toned body.

The doctors had said that it was a severe case of amnesia that had happened due to an injury while in the army. That would explain the scars. And the blank slate that was his memory. But the strange dreams? He wasn't quite sure what to think about those. But that didn't matter now, he had a future to worry about. After all, a veteran's pension was barely enough to survive half a month, which meant he had to work, memory loss or not.

Rinsing and stepping from the shower, he dried off with a towel and looked in the mirror, frowning at the bloodshot eyes and neat, white eyebrows. With a sigh, he opened the door and headed towards his room to change, ignoring the steam that floated from the bathroom into the narrow hall. With the towel wrapped around his waist, he picked out clothes. A simple, white t-shirt under a baggy gray button-up shirt with matching gray pants made up his outfit. A janitor's outfit. He sighed again. He could already smell the chemicals.

After dressing, he returned to the bathroom and combed out his damp hair, then ran his fingers through it, creating a clean but casual look. He took his time brushing his teeth, despite the fact that the mint toothpaste was burning his tongue. Spitting into the sink and rinsing his mouth, he headed to the main room to check the time. The green digital clock on the microwave read a blurry four-fifty.

Allen made his way to his only piece of comfortable furniture, his ragged lazy boy, and flopped down into the worn blue depths of cushion. Sticking his hand down into the crack along the armrest, he felt for the tv remote. Finding the plastic object, he pulled it from its hiding spot and pressed the on button. He might as well kill the time somehow. Flipping through the channels, he stopped briefly to hear the latest news before clicking onto the next few channels.

Basketball. News. Soap opera. Football. News. Ads. Kids show. Who decided to air a kids' show at five in the morning? His finger hovered over the skip button, but he hesitated for a few moments, watching as animated figures jumped across the screen in flashes of color and sound. Capes whipped in the wind and young masked heroes effortlessly climbed buildings, chasing after a dark-clad villain. Within moments the brightly dressed superheroes had caught up to their foe and a fight ensued. Allen flinched as sounds of explosions rang out from the tv speakers. Within seconds he skipped to the next channel. More news.