The Outsiders | Vol. 1, The Nightstone Trilogy | COMING SOON

👤 | Prologue | 👤

A deafening array of gunshots rang throughout the echoing hallways. A panicking security guard frantically unloaded a barrage of ammunition. His lip quivered as he backpedaled, his lax grip on his firearm slackening even further.

"It's them!" he yelled to his unit, his trembling, raspy voice echoing throughout the metallic corridor. "They're after the blueprints!"

Reloading, his eyes widened as he heard the swish of a blade. He couldn't even track their movements, which appeared in a flash of black and red. Before he could fire off another round, the katana's edge gleamed as it moved up and swept downward, slicing across his throat.

The sword came away stained with crimson.

His gun clattered to the floor first, his body following. Incomprehensible groans stemmed from his busted lips, but he was silenced by the tip of the blade being driven through his chest.

A quartet of men stepped over him, clad in suits of black fabric that obscured their faces, leaving only their eyes visible. Sheaths were mounted on their backs as if they were modern-day ninja, concealing their curved blades.

Kanan stepped ahead of the others. His coal-black eyes glinted like a feral wolf's, a stoic expression engulfing his gaunt, stubble-covered facial features. A rugged mound of unkempt, black hair hung over his forehead.

Crimson lines littered his shinobi-esque suit, indicating a higher rank. A black collar—sporting a triumvirate of thin, layered pieces of titanium—adorned his neck. He peered over his shoulder at his subordinates, reaching back and gripping the hilt of his jagged, crimson wakizashi sword. The potent sound of metal rubbing against metal graced his ears as he freed his weapon.

"Take out the hostiles; leave no survivors." Kanan ordered, his voice quiet yet orotund. "I'll be securing the target."

"Yes, Azrael." answered one of the subordinates, his voice was slightly muffled as he and the other two assassins inched down the adjacent corridor. The flashing, red alarm periodically illuminated their faces with crimson as it pulsed with every flicker. "But where will we rendezvous?"

Kanan continued marching down the hallway, his jaw taut. His sword remained fixed in his grip. He pressed the red button on his neck collar. In one swift motion, the titanium sheets convened and layered, forming a scarlet helmet around his head. Two glowing, white lenses with black outlines protruded through the darkness, every breath a low crackle in his ears.

His voice was warped. "We won't."

The door to the dimly-lit, eerie laboratory nearly came off its hinges as the man furiously kicked it in. With a flick of his wrist, a triumvirate of triangular, sharp projectiles left his gloved hand, embedding themselves in the throats of three unfortunate scientists.

Not long after, their lab coats, once white, were now beginning to resemble the color of the lines adorning the man's suit.

Two remaining security agents, each positioned on opposite sides of the computer-clogged room, held their pistols in the masked man's direction, barking orders. Their fingers coiled around the triggers of their weapons like boa constrictors.

Kanan parted his fingers. Two small, metallic balls dropped to the ground, lightly bouncing as they rolled toward each officer. Seconds after he slowly put his hands up in false surrender, wisps of gray smoke swirled across the room.

Brandishing his glistening, bloodstained sword, he dropped and combat-rolled behind one of the research stations. Screens displaying energy readings and data archives sat atop the metallic desks as bullets whizzed past them.

The first agent didn't get the chance to scream. Bathed in dim, white light, he merely dropped, his gun clattering to the ground.

The second began wildly firing, bullets sprouting across the room like droplets from a fountain. All he'd seen was his co-worker plummet to the ground, almost as if the man who'd slaughtered him were a living ghost. How unfortunate. Soon, a ghost would be forged from his remains as well.