The City

Alex Sledge
Alex listened to what Reyna had to say as he kept his eyes on the scene with Seph and the man behind the door as it unfolded.
"Well.." he responded, "From the earlier conversation, he has a plan, which is more than what we can say, we have yet to know exactly where we are and what kind of danger we would be in alone up there, we have no weapons, no food, and only the clothes on our back for now..which I might point out you amazingly managed to find some way despite our current situation, to complain about." Alex said with a quiet laugh.
"Right now I'm set for sticking with Seph, any man who has a plan to kill "god" had better be crazy or have balls of steel, and he doesn't look like the crazy type. So I say we follow his lead". He continued. "But I'm more than willing to hear what you think we should do".

Reyna Axelson

She listened intently to the former ranger as he shared his view. She liked to hear what he thought, since he had to deal with leadership in his life a lot more than she had. He was a better judge than she was in this situation. Reyna was glad she had decided to ask Alex what he thought because he had some good stuff, and a lot of it was inline with her thoughts. Alex's words helped her finalize on a decision. Also, his humor was once again appreciated. Her anxious expression softened and then shifted into a large smirk, her eyes meeting his as the silent hilarity was shared between them. She even loosely back-handed his shoulder in mock offense.

"No, you're right," she said once he was finished. She loosened the huddle allowing them both to stand up and turn to see Sarah, the girl from earlier, fighting back tears after a brief sob session. Reyna was glad to see her fight back a breakdown. It meant the girl might be able to live longer than one would expect. "I agree with you," she continued, her voice still low. "He seems like a good guy. However, I'm sure you also agree we shouldn't completely drop our guard. For now we can at least use him as a tool. He'll be useful to help us get situated and have some gear, at the very least. If we find he's no longer useful once we're..." Reyna searched for words.

"Equipped? Once we're better equipped to survive on our own?" Alex knew what she meant.

"Yeah," she confirmed as she stared at the bewildered Seph. "We can always bail once we're good to go." After a few moments, she decided she'd test their 'leader.' "Come on," she said to the soldier behind her, not looking away from the scene at the large, locked door. She lifted a hand and motioned it forward. She then walked up to Seph, ranger-in-tow. The two walked fright up to the man. "So, Seph, what now?" Reyna asked plainly, but most people should be able to pick up something off about how Reyna spoke. When she said it she, cocked her head to one side and lifted her eyebrows, waiting for a response.

Celia didn't move. She wasn't sure if it was a smart move to do as he said or a dumb one. She began ignoring his invitation to the delicious smelling bowl of soup the Shinigami sat on the table. She didn't want to take her eyes off of him. He was quick and had her team at his mercy in a matter of minutes. Keeping her eyes on the renowned specter she pulled out a walkie talkie and spoke into it. "Hades...he's standing in front of me." She held the walkie talkie out in front of her so that the Shinigami could here what her superior had in mind.

"Ahhh the Shinigami. The legend of legends. The demon who lurks among men. Your reputation proceeds you. I apologize for speaking to you so indirectly, but as I said before. You're reputation proceeds you. Many believe you to be some kind of mythical monster, but I reason you to be another man. A man with exceptional abilities and skills. Skills that would be beneficial in the days to come. As you are well aware Last 100 have come and gone. Now there are only the factions and those like you who abide by their own rules. The 'game' will become more intense and I want all the star players on my side. Make no mistake Death God. I do plan to use you, but we will use each other for a much higher purpose. To oppose a force greater than either of our minds could imagine, but that is all I can speak of at the moment. If you wish to know more there is a map to our hideout in Ceilia's left pocket. Enjoy Ceilia's company as long as you like. Think of her as a gift from me to you."

The walkie Talkie snapped off. Ceilia's heart dropped. What did Hades mean? Her pulse began to race as she contemplated the possibilities then finally in a fit of panic she reached into her holster and fired.

-Joseph Halberd

Seph sat there on the ground staring through the people that surrounded him. The people who were expecting him to save them again. To have some sort of plan. Little did they know the only plan he had, that he'd been building on had just slammed the door on him. The blood in his veins became boiling with rage. his fist curled up tightly to the point where his nails drew blood. He was furious that he was again thrown into a situation with nothing and had to start all over. He could hear the pleas of a girl pounding hopelessly on the steel door. He was suddenly brought back to his senses by a question. He thought he was looking up into the faces of Crystal and Hassan, but it was a different woman and man.

The woman had an air of attitude around her. The man was slightly intimidating. The way they looked at him were the way his so called friends once did. His fist curled up tightly to the point where his nails drew blood. He pulled himself up to his feet and stared her directly in the eyes and in a cold voice he replied. "I don't know." He then turned and walked away. He wasn't going to make the same mistake of creating another group to betray him.

He'd already saved them once.

They were on their own now.

\____Shinigami____/



Shinigami’s hand bolted out and swooped down at an angle effectively ‘catching’ the bullet. He looked at the bullet that he lodged in his own hand to stop it from reaching his heart. “My dear… that was uncalled for… now -sit-.” He said calmly as if the girl was merely fussing about her make-up. He grasped the bullet and dropped it to the side of his seat. “Hmmm… that will drop my performance… I’ll have to stitch this one up… though I can see why Hades would sacrifice you… your not to smart to shoot at the very Incarnation of Death…” He wiggled around hand with a sigh. “That actually hurt… your quite lucky you’re my type or I’d make you die a death… that would make Hade’s worst show of horror look like a puppet show. Hand me the map and leave… tell Hades if you die or go missing I will kill him… it is that simple. Oh… I need the map first my dear… I’d have no idea how to see this in full detail if I did not know where to go.” If she gave it to him he would merely smile pleasantly before shooing her off… but if she didn’t be it frozen from fear or what not he’d merely walk over and take it from her pocket before returning to his seat. He had no wish to kill this woman… she would make good prey later on… the thrill of the hunt and the ecstasy of the kill. He had killed hundreds… but their were few that could satisfy his needs… and little flower was perfect. “You may take your soup if you wish I dislike cold food anyways… it doesn’t last long when you don’t have an icebox… and it always gets a funny taste to it. Don’t worry about the bowl either this house has enough dishes to serve a army of house guests… and I can always take more some from my second residence in the White Sanctuary Asylum.”

*Kaylen Grey*

Kaylen's head sagged in dissapointment at the room she was lead to. Don't get it all wrong, it was a nice place, but Kaylen had managed to get herself all hyped up for something special on the way there. It was almost like a hotel room, a double bed, shelves, a wardrobe (Sadly not walk-in), and an en-suite bathroom. Kaylen turned, wise-crack about the room prepared for the guards. Sadly there was no one there to receive the verbal dagger she had in hand, "Bastards..."

Kaylen turned back to the room. She went through the drawers and the wardrobe looking for clothes to wear. While she was tempted to surprise Hades with the beautiful low-cut evening gown hanging in the wardrobe, she opted for a more modest choice, of a yellow blouse, and a pair of skinnies. The fact that these clothes were fitting her so well unnerved her, she was definitely asking Hades how he got her sizes. She lay the clothes on the bed, locked the door, and hit the showers. Sweet sweet hot showers. You never got a luxury like this back at the base in Afghanistan, the portable showers there were always set for sub-zero teperatures, designed to pick off the weaker marines out there. Kaylen stood in the shower, water running down her smooth skin, over her curves, and into the drain, lost in idle thoughts of nothingness for almost half an hour, before snapping out of it, and turning the water off.

While drying herself, her eyes met with those of her reflection. Now, in fiction, this is the part where the character is meant to study themselves in the mirror, contemplating how they have changed over the course of the events they have been through, but since this totally was not fiction, Kaylen's thoughts were more along the lines of; 'Damn, have I gained weight? I'll never fit into those new jeans I have back home!'
She walked out of the bathroom humming the tune to 'The Island', then proceeded to pull on the clothes she had lain out. She paused as she was pulling her T-Shirt on, studying the damp bandage wraped round her side. She hadn't taken the bandages off in the shower, since she had no fresh ones to change into. She'd need to ask for that as well. She looked at the brown patch, where her blood had soaked through, and dryed.
"I'm gonna get you back for that..." Kaylen muttered to herself. She threw herself onto the bed, "He killed people to change the world... Sounds kinda terroristy..."
Kaylen lay on the bed, drifting around in her own little world.

Alex Sledge.

I don't know, seph replied.
Alex leaned his head back a bit, studying Seph as he walked away from the group.
"Well, I guess that solves our earlier discussion Alex." Reyna said, disappointment edging her voice.
Alex shrugged and look down at the girl who was sitting next to the door, tears running down her face, and put his hands under her arms and lifted her up onto her feet.
"Your name is Sarah right?". he asked her in a quiet voice.
She simply nodded, wiping the tears off her her cheeks.
"Why don't you come with us?, he asked her, nodding at Reyna, before looking back to where Seph had walked off.
If that asshole is going to abandon us, then I'm going to step up, he thought to himself as he looked at Reyna and Sarah.

A warm wet sensation seeped through Celia's pants trickling to the floor from inbetween her trembling knees. Though she barely noticed the puddle forming at her feet because her eyes were locked in a terrifying stare at man who'd snatched a bullet from the air with the palm of his very own hand. Blood dripped yet, no sign of affliction crossed his apathetic expression. When he presented his hand to for the map. Celia yelped and fell back. She dug into her pocket and threw the sheet of paper at him and run for her life.

In another area of the city below ground where the leaderless bunch of the Undead Rebellion resided guilt screamed at the back of Frank Roseby's mind. In a moment of fear and slight confusion he'd failed to disrupt the purging of their leader. Not only that but he'd betrayed the relationship that he'd built with Joseph Halberd. Moments after he'd tried to convince the group to change their minds, but their paranoia ruled them and held them stone still in their decision. His heart felt like a dagger that was twisting in his chest. Till finally he couldn't take it anymore. When he felt that the eyes of the rest weren't on him, he snatched some items and stuffed them into a bag and slipped himself through the steel door. Once outside, he saw no one. No Seph, no barely clothed humans. Nothing. He thought they all must have left, until he heard the faint sound of foot steps. Instinctively he jumped behind a pillar and peered around it to see a tall young man, a petite young woman and another young man who was about the same height as the woman. Their skin was disturbingly pale, just as their hair.

A trio of Angels.

Before Roseby could head for the door to warn the others the Angels were upon it. Frank remembered that he'd left it open. Swallowing his fear, he swung the M-16 holstered across his chest in to his hands and prepared to fire. His finger froze on the trigger as they slid into the room and an eruption of horrified screams and gunshots mixed in with one another. Frank wanted to tear himself away, but he found he couldn't until the female Angel stepped out of the room covered in blood. He hid behind the pillar. He peeked behind it again to see the Angel heading in his direction and bolted just as a crazed group of people burst from the room being pursued by the two male Angels.

Reyna Axelson

Since Reyna was trying to play it cool a bit when she asked Seph the big question, her reaction to his response was drastic. It was difficult to hide the surprise she felt, and it bled into her facial features and posture. She expected almost anything else, but instead got an emphatic, dread-inspiring "I don't know." Not only that, but he then just up and left. The boss-man just bailed on all of them. Reyna remained there, bewildered, passively watching Seph walk off into the gloom. Her thoughts were racing a million miles a minutes. Alex, also shocked, watched Seph leave before walking up and consoling the poor girl, Sarah, at the big door to the underground hideout. When he looked to Reyna, she met his gaze. Her face was now stoic. She had collected herself and returned his nod. Yeah, She thought. She can stick with us. Poor thing. Sarah was a wreck, even if she didn't seem it now. Reyna had noticed probably more so than the other people, who were slowly dispersing in confusion, anger or other various emotions appropriate for this situations (So much had happened so fast, and all of it sucked!), that the young woman had simply choked everything back down and was holding off until she wouldn't be inconveniencing others.

Moments later, Alex had Sarah on her feet. She kept her head down a bit and stood to his side and slightly behind him. Alex then stepped forward with Sarah toward the group of miscellaneous people. Reyna's attention went to the soldier. She noticed something odd. It was in his eyes, and on his face. He was plotting something. "Hey," she said a bid louder than she had been, no longer needing to hide what she was saying. "Just what are you plotting? I never took you for a schemer, you military dog, you." She added the last part as yet another playful jab. Most soldiers just followed orders. That's how the system worked. However, she then remembered something. When necessary, at least one soldier needed to take the mantle, of say a fallen officer for just one example. And so, his response wasn't as surprising as it could have been.

"What do you think," Alex replied. Reyna furrowed her brow.

"You're not gonna..." she started, but didn't finish her thought.

"Oh, I am," he said, followed by an amused smile. He then turned back to being addressing the meandering mess of men and women about the tunnels.
He's going to take over for Seph?! Reyna was still a little shocked, even with her realization. This should be good... Reyna thought while shaking her head slowly, wearing an amused smirk. Alex seemed to be hesitating, so Reyna decided encouraged him. "Well," she began. Alex shot his gaze back in her direction."Show me what you got," she said as she gestured forward. "Speak, before all of them wander off. Several people had fled immediately. Them and Seph were pretty far gone by now. Hopefully, they could help out the fairly large group that still remained. It was definitely less than 50 now.

\____Shinigami____/



Shinigami simple shook his head… he was having second thoughts if she really was his type…she wasn’t that strong willed after all… pathetic really… but still she’d serve a purpose of vengeance for interrupting his dinner. “You may stay as long as you need dear… I will be away on business. No one should bother you within my home.” He said idly before walking out of the house. He followed the map and made his way to the rendezvous point to see what this deal would in tell. He would need soldiers and men if he wished to show this ‘God’ who the real God was… but even as a God he would need an army to face his opposites army… whatever God would create… Shinigami would destroy.



†☠†.The Mender.†☮†



Mara’s weary eyes watched the many screens that circled her surgery room which were the only light as she cut all other power in case their was only a limited supply… it would be very bad if the power went out because of overuse. Though insuring the security of her hospital was a priority to ensure the salvation of those who were lucky enough to survive. Her eyes swept over the monitors that switched from surveillance camera to surveillance camera from the hospital’s halls and outer compound to the underground passages that stretched beneath the city. She pulled her hand through her hair when she saw the approaching angels. This was the price that had to be paid… she stepped from her surgical room grabbed her favorite rifle and several magazines of preloaded rounds that were in decent enough condition. She took the access shaft into the tunnels and made her way to the hoards of fleeing people… the angels were in quick pursuit and as they passed under an area that many wouldn’t notice as different as it had four support beams that formed a perfect square rather then the lazily laid out other ones… she fired one shot and a metal grate slammed down weighted down by pressurized springs she had scavenged during the first few days. If the angels were paying attention they may have dodged the deadly sheet of death… but at least based upon a human it was perfectly timed to kill. She grabbed one of the fleeing men. “Where is Seph? What did that idiot get himself into this time..” She leveled her gun again firing a second followed by a third shot that caused a the back tunnels to be filled with dust and a few large sized falling rocks… though nothing extraordinary merely to slow them down if they escaped. “Tell him if he endangers anyone else with his hair brained ideas I will personally slap him senseless… I am far to young to feel this damned old and he is -not- helping my cause.” They’re not human… they’re not human… they’re not human… THEY’RE NOT HUMAN! She repeated over and over again trying to burn the concept into her mind as she leveled her gun took aim closed her eyes and took a trick shot at where the angel’s head should be next give an inch or three… but she hoped that the grate got them… she decided to start trying to keep up with the others who were fleeing the base…maybe someone might have an idea of what the hell was going on.

Alex Sledge

"We're all strangers in this strange land", Alex started off, drawing the attention of everyone. "And now, the one man we all looked to for help has just abandoned us." he said, making sure they all heard the edge of anger in voice. " We have no food, no weapons and only the clothing on our backs", he said looking at each individual in front of him. Very few could return his intense gaze, most of them just looked down at their feet. "But one thing we do have, is each other, we don't have to go out there alone, there's safety in numbers". He said with less intensity as he walked to stand next to Reyna. "And unlike Seph, I will NOT abandon any of you". He turned back to the crowd. "We have a saying in the rangers". Alex began again. "No one gets left behind". He let the silence hang for a while, now almost everyone was looking at him. "I will lead you, and we will carve an existence in this hell-hole, we..will..survive". And with that, about two-thirds of the crowd began nodding in agreement, or murmuring among themselves, but roughly about 10 simply shook there heads and walked off into the shadows.

"Good job there soldier-boy", Reyna said as he patted his shoulder. Alex looked at her and smiled, and noticed that Sarah had stopped crying.

And then the screams started, accompanied by gunfire. Everyone turned towards the sound that was drifting from down the tunnel, and no one moved. Alex waded through the crowd, gently pushing people aside so he could get to the front. Suddenly, three separate muzzle flashes cut through the darkness, showing human silhouettes moving towards them at a sprint. He heard a scream of agony and terror, and then there were only two muzzle flashes moving down the tunnel. Alex's first emotion was confusion, all three guns seemed to be firing in the same direction, with no return fire, and yet someone had just dropped. He had a cold feeling in his stomach.

"Reyna, lets get these people moving, find a man-hole or some kind of entrance and get them the hell out of the tunnels". He said quietly.
Reyna nodded and grabbed Sarah's arm."Come on everyone, you heard him, lets get moving". She said.
Alex turned back just in time to see the two people, a man and a woman come running out of the darkness. The man stopped to fire at their pursuers, and was cut down by a gleam of metal as it passed through the air. Then two forms came darting out of the darkness, both had pale skin, pale hair and identical blades coming out of there sleeves and even more disturbingly, they both had fresh bullet wounds.Lots of bullet wounds.

The woman had a lead on them, thanks to her male comrade who had stopped to fire, as she came up on Alex's group, Alex grabbed her. "Give me your damn rifle!", he yelled in her face. The woman whimpered and dropped her assault rifle into Alex's hand. Alex studied it for a split second. A badly repaired AR-15 with standard ironsites, it'll have to do he thought to himself. "I-It's empty" she stuttered.
Alex simply held out his hand, into which, she dropped a 5.56 mm round-filled clip. He pulled the empty clip out of the rifle, shoved the fresh one in, pulled the action to chamber the first round, then took aim at the nearest "angel's" head, and fired.

Reyna Axelson

Reyna listened to Alex's mini speech. It wasn't bad at all. It had that simple but powerful feel to it. Something that usually only a hardened soldier could really produce with any kind of actually success. It had that raw, intense sort of charisma to it. Nothing fancy. When he was done, she stepped to him and patted his shoulder. "Good job there, soldier-boy," she said with a gentle smile. She genuinely meant it, even though there was still just a little of her playful nature in her tone.

There was only a moment or two for the two to savor the moment before everything went to hell. There was gunfire and then screaming added in. This, of course, led to panic. Alex immediately went to the front lines. Reyna went up on her tip toes to peer over the crowd and keep an eye on her comrade. She pretended not to note Sarah immediately shift to her side when Alex bolted into the fray. Alex then hollered his orders back to Reyna through the chaos. She gave a quick jolt of her head to serve as a confirming nod before bolting the opposite direction of the combat. "Everyone with me! she yelled as powerfully as she could over her shoulder. Those who weren't already going in that direction (or dead), started after her. Reyna powered on, mildly comforted by the many sets of footsteps resonating behind her.

I sure hope you know what the hell you are doing, Alex, Reyna thought as she ran. Just please don't die on me just yet. She darted onward, sprinting full on. Up ahead she could see a single, thin beam of faint light that connected the ceiling to the grungy, moist floor. "Up here!" she called out. Reyna didn't stop until she skidded in front of the ladder. She immediately started climbing, only slipping once initially. She then tried to calm a bit, focusing only on scaling the metal rungs that jutted out from the concrete. Her head almost collided with the manhole before she unfocused herself, just in time, too. She then leaned against the ceiling with her upper back and shoved the heavy metal disk up and over to the left, allowing it to clang loudly on the asphalt. Shit, she cringed inside. Then, after frantically looking about, she quickly and nimbly popped out of the hole, immediately pivoting and reaching down to assist the next anxious survivor.

Once Reyna had systematically evacuated each person, she leaned down and supported herself by bracing her arms against the hole's rim as she peered about below. She then pulled out and stood up, eying those who stood about. Some probably bolted ASAP, but most seemed to still be here. "That's everyone," she said relatively calmly to no on in particular. She wished she hadn't said it as she immediately realized that some were killed instantly and never had a chance to make a run for it. And then she thought about Alex, and a chill ran over her whole body in a sudden wave. Oh, my dear, sweet God, I hope Alex is okay.... After realizing she was spacing while staring at the abyss below, she shook her head and addressed the people. She knew what the Ranger would rather her be doing right now.

"Everyone," she said in a normal voice. Everyone was silent, save for a few woeful sobs here and there, but regardless, she did not need to use more than her inside voice. Besides, shouting would most likely draw very much unwanted attention. They were very exposed right now. The most they had been since they arrived here. Alright, not quite, since they all had some manner of cloth covering them. after ensuring everyone has heard her begin to speak, Reyna continued. "We can't stay out here like this, as I'm sure you know. So we need to find shelter. You are all welcome to come with me and Alex," Reyna paused for half a moment as she thought of the man who just saved their lives. "But we need to cling to the buildings as best we can and keep a low profile, and we must watch our steps and keep our voices nonexistent. We have no idea what is in store for us in this city... so, quietly, lets head out." Everything was silent as soon as she ceased speaking. Good, she thought. We may just survive today yet. Reyna then turned 180 degrees to face away from the crowed. There was a building there, with white pillars all around its front. It was the corner of the intersection. "Let's go that way," she said as she pointed down the street. "Everyone, off the street and stay under the cover of the building." With that, she grabbed the manhole cover and walked off toward the building.

Man, she thought as she approached the building. It's a good thing that phobia of public speaking that basically everyone has goes away in times of crisis. She propped the manhole cover on the corner pillar, leaned on the face opposite the direction they were traveling, thus pointing where they went. She then picked up a piece of red brick from the debris-ridden street and went to the next pillar, making a reddish X on the white surface. She then slowly and quietly lead her troop down the side walk, marking something light colored every so often as she went. They all hugged the walls as they went, making a line no more than two people deep. In some places there was no overhead cover, but that could not be helped.

He really surprised me back there, Reyna thought. Now, let's see if he is as smart as he seems and can figure this out. She marked another X on a pale blue wall. They kept on in complete silence. She didn't even have to ask them to pick up there feet. There was no scuffling. Apparently, fear could help people focus on walking in a way necessary to not be detected. One would think this many people marching down the street would be audible, but there wasn't that much to be heard from Reyna's regimen.

Reyna continued on until she saw something hopeful just a block more away. She was glad she'd found it before they'd been walking for too long. Now, I just hope no one is home, she said as she continued on to the mall up ahead. She only made one more small X, on the black pole of an awning on the corner building, catercorner to the mall. Anyone else other than Alex who would follow the marks would not know which direction the marker had taken. This was an intersection after all. To top it off, she bent over and set the brick shard down on the ground beside the pole. She then turned to halt the line of people. She raised her hands up, palms open. Once everyone was halted, she faced her palms to the wall and pushed the air towards it. After everyone was standing against the wall, Reyna slowly walked out from the awning and into the street. She crept out slowly, bent-kneed and huddled over. She made not a sound as she stalked on, scanning everywhere for a potential threat, the twilight made it hard to determine if anything was lurking nearby. She made her way to the safety of her destination, quickening her pace the nearer she got. Once she was safe, she beckoned the rest over, with one finger raised in the air, mouthing 'one-at-a-time,' and then did invisible, standing pushups, mouthing 'slowly.' With that, she went into the ravaged mall front, and crept on into the unknown. She would make sure it was safe by scouting ahead before committing her and the others to this location.

-Joseph Halberd

Seph could hear the screams from the distance, forgetting his anger he lifted the duffel bag of weaponry over his shoulder and bolted toward the panic with A sawed off shot gun in his hands. In the shadows he could hear the slicing of metal through flesh and the splatter of blood hitting mortar. He eyes scanned the darkness trying to pin point the source of the danger. He assumed that it was a rival gang attacking, but the screams. Were they the screams of the Last 100 or those of the Undead Rebellion? A mix between the two? he pondered. He heard the pounding sound of foot steps heading his way and threw himself against a pillar and grabbed who ever it was that was going by.

It was Frank Roseby.

He noticed that Frank had a bag of his own. Was he already prepared to flee? "What the hells going on?" Seph questioned exasperated.

Roseby stuttered out of breath before uttering, "A-Angels....they attacked...the base. I don't know why..."

Angels...Seph didn't understand why they would have been attacked by the Angels. They hadn't broken any of the rules to the game. Could they have found about his plans? His plans to kill God... it was something that raced through his mind constantly, but would he have ever acted on them...he wasn't sure at first, but if his former comrades were being slaughtered because of that then his uncertainty had clearly changed. He cocked the shot gun leaving Roseby where he stood and charged forward into the darkness.

At the site of a pale crop of hair Seph pulled the triggered and let a blast of bullets crash into a nearby Angel that was knocked off balance and thrown to the floor. He cocked the shot gun and prepared to fire again, but the Angel was back on it's feet. Seph fired a again, but the Angel's blades moved at the speed of light deflecting each bllet and spiraling towards him. Seph dived out of the way catching the Angel's blade cutting through the flesh at his shoulder. He rolled back onto his feet and fired again. The Angel moved like a jack rabbit, hopping from one spot and flipping to the next like a gymnast dodging every shot.

Shit! Shit! Shit! Sweat beaded on Seph's head as he ground his teeth. With each missed shot the Angel drew closer until it flipped over his head, a movement that he barely caught a glimpse of. and cut through his back. Screaming from pain Seph fell forward then spun around to shove the barrel of his weapon into the Angel's chest, when it kicked the gun from his hand.

In the instant he was expecting death he was saved. Someone in the darkness began firing at the Angel that flipped away from the bullets and away from Seph. From the darkness came D-trix who helped him to his feet. In the second it took fro D-trix to help Seph up the Angel had already regrouped and was heading for them when it was tackled from the side by an enormous body and into a pillar. The body emerged. It was the burly middle-eastern man, Hassan covered in more blood than before. The pillar shattered, burying the Angel under it.

'Nice going--" D-trix started before the Angel emerged from the pile in an explosion flying rubble. It darted at Hassan. D-trix fired. Seph observed and caught a glimpse of something. The way it dodged had a pattern. Seph leapt for his shot gun, waited for the Angel to land and then fired. The bullet's tore through the creature's ankle and it stopped for a moment as if surprised by it's new limp. Seph fired again getting it's other Ankle and watch as the albino young man lay against the floor of the tunnel. "Holy shit..." D-trix exclaimed in awe. He reached into the pocket of his jacket produced a grenade and then tossed it over to where the Angel crawled. "Get down"

The explosion rocked the tunnel. When the dust began to thin, there was a huge mound of rock. The ANgels grave, hopefully. Seph search the area. He didn't see Hassan. "Where's Hassan?"

"I don't know, but I think he's alright. You're not exactly his favorite person right now. I think we should get out of here.' D-trix said pulling Seph in another direction. Seph heard the sound of more gunfire. "No, Seph. No.", but before he knew it Seph was sprinting off.

The Angel facing off against Alex deflected the head shot with one of it's steel swords and leapt into the air spiraling towards him when it was hit with multiple shots that threw it off course. The Angel's spiral went limp, but caught itself by landing perfectly. It scanned the darkness from the direction of the gunfire and saw Seph come into view.

Seph looked over at the man who was facing off with the Angel alone. He recognized him as one of the Last 100.

-Hades

The former extremist entered into his guest room by unlocking the door. He didn't have time for the formalities of knocking and waiting to be allowed into the room. This base along with every room and every person in it was his as far as he was concerned. "I see you've made yourself comfortable. Have you come to a decision yet?" He asked simply with a sly smile as if he already knew her answer.

†☠†.The Mender.†☮†



Mara watched as several people ran by her to continue the fight… seemingly unaware she was even there. Though not be notice was a good thing when it came to guns and insane killing machines with swords in their arms. She took out her spent magazine and loaded a fresh one though she didn’t load the chamber of the bolt action rifle. She reached into her pocket taking out a bullet and a case of lip stick. She calmly applied it before kissing the bullet to leave an outline of her lips. She then slid the bullet into the chamber slid the bolt back into place and took aim. They’re not human… they’re not human… they’re not human… they’re monsters… human lives are at risk. She remained with a dead locked gaze upon one of the male angels before firing the bullet that had a kiss mark on its tip before quickly firing off the rest of her clip as fast as the rifle would allow. The Male angel would have a hail of expertly aimed bullets hurling towards his head… the marked one would strike him directly between the eyes… followed by six more one to each eye, one to each temple, and lastly one to each side of the jaw. “Guess momma was right… men just fall head over heels for me…” She replaced her magazine before walking slowly over to Frank who apparently was the last one out. She grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against the tunnel wall. “Seeing everyone else ran away… I’m hoping you know where my idiotic friend Seph an off to… he seems to have done something that requires the assistance of a Marine… and I need to teach him what happens when you earn a lady’s scorn… because he has become quite a pain to keep alive…”



\____Shinigami____/



Its not like I have anything better to do… Shinigami thought with a mental sigh. “I guess I will accept… but about the girl you sent… she will maintain her position within your group… and I would think it nice to warn you that should anything happen to her… death… maimed… crippled… I will be forced to kill you, As she will eventually be one of my… very special prey and I know you wouldn’t have sent her if she wasn’t expendable. I suggest you don’t tell her the fate she’s bound for… and I suggest you defend her as best you can… or… your gang may vanish… oh… and the other four aren‘t coming back… a small message to remind you not to bother a man during his dinner especially when he is with a young attractive woman, Its quite rude to tell you the truth.” He spoke as if he was simple stating a obvious fact of life. He smiled content with his message being received before tilting his head slightly. “So… what is it that you need anyways?”

-Frank Roseby

"Mara! it's you!" Roseby said surprised wondering why everyone was slamming him against stuff today. "A MASSIVE pain." Roseby emphasized. "Someone said that they saw him heading in the direction of the North tunnels. So, that's where I'm headed." He finished, preparing to run off.

-Hades

A taste of disgust crept onto Hades tongue at the thought Celia and horrid smell that accompanied her moments earlier. "Yes, I'll keep that in mind...Now, what I've called you here for is something, to sound cliche, very top secret. You see I don't intend on dying...well. Dying again, nor do I have any interest in winning this game by murdering everyone including the ones who work under. Make no mistake, I love the euphoric feeling of watching the light dissipate in a man's eyes as he dies, but I don't kill stupidly." Hades eyes locked with the Shinigami's. He grinned. "What I plan to do is kill God Mr. Shinigami. I want you to help me. I don't think this dictator is a true God. He uses those souless creatures to keep us in line and focused on murdering each other, so that we don't focus on the sole predecessor of our misery. He's guarding himself with the Angels and it will take a lot of man power to tear through those defenses. I think you can see why I would need one of your caliber."

†☠†.The Mender.†☮†



“Then Lead on…” She loaded her last magazine in and drew out a second of her special bullets this one had a red tip marked with a sharpie marker. “I’ve taken some of my limited free time to see what type of advancements of weaponry I could device… incase I ever found myself needing to kill this bullet is a incendiary round… White Phosphorous… I found quite a hull in a small military bunker a lot of it wasn’t in good condition… but it was good enough… its what helped me get the hospital running again.” As Frank lead the way Mara kissed the tip like the last… to her it was her way of saying rest in peace. Her keen eyes constantly scanned the area just waiting for a angel to expose their heads… and then bang no more animated butcher knife. “How far down is he anyways?”



\____Shinigami____/



“Oh… you wish to kill God then?” Shinigami pressed his fingers together with a sadistic smile. “Mr. Hades we have very similar goals… you want to kill him for freedom… I want to kill him to show who is the better god… God or Shinigami. That… and I would enjoy using his knowledge to play this game over and over… turn it into a purgatory and allow those who have no place in life a sanctuary to relieve their needs to kill… a playground of death and sadistic pleasure… your people may leave of course I have no need for the unskilled nor the sane… merely a utopia of the mad and violent where they can express their darkest desires… and revel in the blood of the weaker villain!” The strange man unleashed a bone chilling laugh of unmatched insanity… his cold eyes seemed to chill the room… and some could swear they’d seen their breath in this ‘inhuman’ entity. “We can each win this game then Mr. Hades… and what a game it is!”

-Frank Roseby

"I have no idea!' He called back to her, his eyes frantically jumping from one corpse to the next. Making sure that none of them were Seph, though he recognized many of them. Unfortunately he didn't have time to weep for them. He heard a girl screaming from amongst the gunfire and turned down a corner to see a man backing way with a young girl right behind him. He recognized them both. It was D-trix and Amber. The ANgel fighting D-trix was tall. it deflected his barraged of bullets and impaled him with it's blade. D-trix coughed up a river of blood and his body went limp. "Get down!" He screamed. The girl hit the ground and Frank unleashed a storm of bullets.

Alex Sledge

The Angel was focused on Seph, and that gave Alex and idea. He lifted his AR-15 again and fired a burst, the Angel spun and deflected one of the rounds, another struck him in the chest and the other in the lower neck, then Seph, apparently catching on to the plan, fired into the Angels back. Realizing he was in trouble, the Angel charged Alex, who stood his ground and fired burst after burst from his rifle, but the Angel kept picking up speed, deflecting every shot with his whirling sleeve-blades. Alex fired the last round from his single magazine, and he knew he couldn't outrun the already sprinting Angel, and Seph couldn't fire, for risk of hitting Alex, So alex did the next best thing, he grabbed the assault rifle by the hot-barrel and held it over his shoulder like a baseball bat. The Angel lunged at him, Alex leapt back to provide more swinging room and swung the rifle at the Angel's head. The Angel effortlessly stopped the rifle with its sleeve-blade, and swung the other one at the Ranger. Alex jumped back and barely avoided being gutted as he fell, when the blade tore through his shirt and made a long but shallow slice up his stomach to his chest. Another sleeve-blade stabbed for his throat but was intercepted by Alex's palm. Alex barely held back a cry of pain as the blade slid through his hand and imerged from the back near his throat, Alex then rammed his fist into the Angel's temple, but other than its head snapping to the side from the blow, it didn't show any pain. The angel then brought its other sleeve-blade towards the former-soldier's heart, but Alex stopped his attack by planting his left fboot on its attacking arm, he then brought his right leg back to where his knee was touching his chest and kicked as hard as he could, slamming his boot into the Angel's throat. The blow stunned the Angel and knocked him back, causing the sleeve-blade to be pulled painfully from Alex's hand. Alex stood up, cradling his wounded hand and preparing to face his attacker again, when Seph came up beside the Angel, leveled the shotgun, and blasted the side of the Angels head, and the Angel, with half of its head gone simply went limp. Alex leaned against the wall and sighed in relief as Seph approached him.

"You alright?", Seph asked him.
"I've had much worse", Alex muttered, staring at his bleeding hand.
Seph laughed.
"Seriously, I died". Alex said, trying to hide a smile.
Seph's laughter died down as he looked at the Angel.
"We should probably leave, I've never seen an Angel actually die, so I'd rather not have us stick around to see if this one will get back up". Seph said.
Alex nodded at him.
"Besides, Frank should be here somewhere, we need to get patched up", Seph continued.
Alex's hand was throbbing, the cut on his torso was stinging, and both were bleeding freely, but he he couldn't wait around.
"I need to find Reyna first", Alex said.
"First we need to---"
"No", Alex said firmly, locking his steely gaze with Seph. "I need to find her".
After a few moments Seph blew out a sigh.
"Fine, go find Reyna. But be careful".
Alex Nodded at him, snatched his empty AR-15 off the ground and headed back the way the Angel's had chased him.

†☠†.The Mender.†☮†



Mara passed Alex with out so much as an acknowledgement as she approached Seph. She calmly fire her incendiary round into its’ chest and watched as the flames spread over its pale skin before she turned her attention to Seph. She slapped him with narrowed eyes. “That is for causing around a fourth of the trouble I have to deal with…” She followed up with a back hand. “That is for forcing me to intervene for the sake of all those unarmed civilians…” She finished with a second front hand. “and that… that is for following your plans far enough to piss off the angels.” She proceeded to give him a brother hug. “Though all the wrinkles you’ve given me I’m still glad your not dead… you may be a pain in the ass… but you’re my pain. Though if you ever cause something like this again… I’m stitching your hands and feet together so you can’t get into trouble… you understand me Seph? No more idiotic ideas to grey my hair… no more conspiracies to add to my stress… alright?”

Reyna Axelson

Searching the mall was mostly uneventful. She had searched most of it and found it had been raided in the places where survival items would have been found. She then headed back, her previous paranoia as she scouted now sated and gone. She returned to where she'd come in and to check in on the survivors of the sewers that she'd lead through the streets of this God-forsaken city had made themselves as comfortable as possible. They were strewn about here and there. She was glad that the severity of her initial words to them still rang true to them, since they were all very quite. Many of them looked up to her as she re-entered their presence. She offered weak smiles to the few she made eye contact with.

Reyna had noted the nearby clothing store on her scouting mission, and she decided to walk the couple stores down to it. It seemed mostly untouched over the months that this crazy game had been going on for. She lost herself in looking through what was there. She hated what she was wearing, that was for sure. Mainly because it was horrible for stealth or quick movement. She found a tight, black t-shirt about her size, as well as some undergarments and jeans that actually fit. Once she had the garments collected, she did a quick scan with her eyes. There was still not a soul in sight, and the various clothing racks throughout the store blocked her from view. She immediately stripped off the filthy, over-sized garb she'd been graciously supplied with by Seph's gang. Having been enjoying the ability to forget her troubles while looking through the store, her mind was rushed with the thoughts of all her recent worries as she saw the heap of gifted clothing on the floor. Her now newly nude body also reminded her of how this all started.

With a long, frustrated sigh, Reyna breathed out of all this once again. She even punted the pile a few yards away for good measure. She then began clothing herself once more in the new attire, fresh from the racks in a mall. This was a comforting thought. Something normal for a change. She then decided to do something about her feet.

She went to the far of the mall where there was the small bit she hadn't explored yet. Lo and behold, Reyna found an outdoors shop. This is my kind of place, she thought behind her beaming face. She made her way in, her guard still up a little. She began inspecting shoes. Her feet had taken a beating since she's been given new life. After finding an acceptable pair of black, all-purpose Doc Marten's, she sat on the small, mobile try-on bench and snatched a pair of socks off the rack on the wall behind her. After ripping them free of their packaging, she slid them over her battered and filthy feet. The soft cloth felt so good as it caressed her, toes to lower calf. She even let out a soft sigh of relief as she put the first one on. Once Reyna's feet were suited up in their socks and boots, she stood up and examined herself in a mirror. Not bad, she thought. She had to admit, she looked fairly bad ass. She especially liked the emblem on her tight black shirt. It was a grey heart impaled by an arrow. Fuck cupid, she thought. That's what happens when you piss me off. The only thing was it was meant for a less blessed bust than hers, so it revealed her midriff about an inch, give or take.

After her self inspection, she looked around the store for items of potential use. There was still some good stuff left. Behind the counter was a door that lead to the back room. She approached the closed door, and to her dismay, Reyna found that it was locked. "Damn...[/i] she sighed. She had already found the small archery section to be cleaned out. Her hopes lied behind this door. After shoulder ramming it several times, and giving it a swift boot many more, she was worn out. The portal had out lasted her. "You win," she said softly to the door. "This time..." She then turned to make her way back to the survivors.

Little does this door know that I have an older brother, so to speak... she chuckled softly at her thoughts. Well, more like an Army Ranger. She continued walking. And then stopped only moments later. "Alex," she whispered. She'd been having such a great time without a care, save for right before getting dressed. She was grateful for the several minutes of peace, but now she had to face her fears again. She quickened her pace, her smile long gone from her face. The now stern Reyna marched back to where the survivors were. Once she arrived, she told them all that they could go in small groups and scour the mall for fresh clothes and whatever else. But they were to report their findings to her. She wanted to keep tabs of anything important to their survival. After that, she sat anxiously looking out into the young night, keeping an eye out for trouble, but more importantly to Reyna, she was waiting to spot Alex. "I really hope he can find the markings in the dark..." Reyna whispered faintly into the cool night air. She drew a dark green blanket she'd found in the mall closer over her shoulders as the chill of the night air-or maybe it was from her fearing the worst-ran through her whole body.

Alex Sledge


Alex had already doubled back to where he had given his speech to the group, and started walking forward again. He didn't have to go very far until the found a ladder that ran up to an open manhole, which he assumed because it was open, it was the one Reyna had used. He looked at the ladder and then tried to close his hand, he got it half way closed before it refused to close anymoredamn that hurts...atleast I can still move my fingers, he thought to himself, safe to asume that the bones are still intact. He looked at the ladder again and noticed the rust on nearly every bar, and decided he didn't want to risk getting the wound infected, so he slid out of his torn shirt and bound it tightly around his hand before climbing the ladder. Even with the shirt around his hand, it still hurt, but he finally reached the top and climbed out, immediatley going into a crouch as he checked his surroundings in the moonlight, he hoped that Reyna had left some kind of sign for him. His eyes and awareness, honed by years of sniper training focused on something that seemed out of place, a round dark object leaning against a white pillar, he slowly moved towards it, still crouched. It was the manhole cover, he looked in the direction it was facing and noticed a small marking on the next white pillar. As he got closer he noticed it was a red X and smiled, Reyna had indeed left signs for him to follow. As he moved along, he would spot another dark marking on a bright colored building or object and as he moved closer to investigate, they were the same red X's as the one on the white pillar. Alex's morale was lifted after each red X and with that, renewed energy to go on. Eventually he came to an intersection, and worried that he would lose the way, began to look around until he spotted a small dark object on the ground. It was a peice of red brick laying infront of a black pole, and when he inspected the pole, he found a barely visible red X marked on it and sighed in relief, he mustve been at the end of the trail if the brick she used to mark the X's was laying here. Then he looked at the building closest to the pole he was standing at and almost laughed out loud. He remembered Reyna complaining about her clothes and then saying the first thing she was gonna do was find a mall, and here it was, a damn mall.
Apparently, you were serious, he thought in amusement to himself as he made his way to the entrance. Finally he found it in the dark, I really hope someones awake in there, he thought to himself, then he brought his good hand back, and banged loudly on the glass.

4th Movement
In Human Hearts

Reyna Axelson

Reyna was running through a field of wild flowers with her best friend, the one she hunted with. Except her friend looked like Alex. Everything was great. It was a beautiful day and everything was good. And then, in the distance, a darkness was forming and rapidly heading their way. The mood changed and the two of them were running for all they were worth in the other direction, hopelessly trying to escape the inescapable. Whatever evil was pursuing them, there was no hope to avoid it. The sun was now gone, and everything was getting darker. And some how, she was now alone. Reyna looked over her should as she ran, and terror overwhelmed her as the blackest part was getting nearer. When she looked ahead again, there was nothing but a brick wall. With two much momentum, there was nothing Reyna could do but collide with it with a loud...

Bang bang bang. Reyna awoke with a start. It wasn't real. Only a nightmare. But the sound... She looked up to see a shadowy, shirtless silhouette in the moonlight. "Alex!" She exclaimed. She threw the blanket, which landed on a miscellaneous refugee, and she sprang up and yanked one of the doors open. Reyna then collided with the Ranger and embraced him. He immediately grunted and cringed, so she took a step back, but held on to his flanks. She looked up at him. "I thought you were dead!" she exclaimed with a soft, breathy tone. She then looked him up and down, still holding on, not wanting to let him go just yet. "You're injured," she said sadly. She let one hand wander to his chest as she gently ran a finger down the long cut on his chiseled torso.

"It's just a scratch," Alex grunted.

"Sorry," she said. She realized touching it probably pained him more. She realized that he was right and it was just shallow scratch, but he was really banged up. "Where else are you hurt?"

"The worst is my hand, here," he said. He raised a stump wrapped in his shirt, which was thoroughly stained with dark, dark red.

"Oooh," Reyna cooed sympathetically, cringing slightly. She gently cupped his hand in hers. After a moment she spoke again. "Well, let's get you inside, and we'll try and patch you up some." She walked him to the door, guiding him with a hand around his back and one holding the door open. Once inside, she retrieved her blanket, apologizing to the stranger. She draped it around Alex's shoulders and ushered him to the food court. "Wait here," she said. She left Alex in a booth while she searched for a first-aid kit.

"Hopefully you know some crazy soldier tricks or something," she said as she returned a few minutes later. "Because I don't know a whole lot about first-aid. Reyna sat down a large disposable cup full of water in front of the wounded Ranger. She had even put on a plastic lid with straw. "But, I'm sure I can manage to bandage you up half-way decently at least. Like I said, though, I'm open to suggestions. Feel free to talk me through anything you think might help." Reyna then sat across from Alex, and opened the white box. She then took his hand and began to slowly unravel the gore-soaked shirt.

-Joseph Halberd

On the inside Seph smiled. It felt nice to have a friend embrace. His mind was in some wild places at the moment scrambling frantically in a dimension of chaos floating above his head. The hug brought back down into himself. "I can't make any promises about the conspiracies, but I'll let you reserve every right to bound and gag me." He smiled, then he eyes strayed to where Alex had disappeared to. "We should probably get out of here though." he began to move in the direction of Mara's hospital when he saw the end of the tunnel lighting up in momentary flickers. The tunnel went dark and a figure came running in their direction.

It was Roseby and a young girl.

Seph broke away from Mara and charged forward. He reached into his pocket for more shells.

Empty.

As a gleaming silver blade came swooping down, Seph thrust his shoulder into Frank's knocking him out of the way. The blade sliced through Seph's flesh cleanly cutting off a piece of his hear. They both tumbled onto the ground.

The Angel rose it's blade and shot it forward to stab Seph in his chest, but Seph deflected it with a long knife he had hidden in his boot. The Angel spun swinging it's other blade upward cutting Seph across the face. Seph reeled his leg back and kicked the Angel directly in it's gut throwing it off balance. He used that instance to get to his feet. Half crouched ready to engage the creature in close combat. The two circled each other like lions.

Behind Seph's back the Angel with half a brain rose, stumbling forward. Recognizing Seph as the one who blew it's skull open lunged forward. Seph heard someone scream his name and ducked. The Angel with half a brain flew over his head stabbing the other Angel straight through it's chest to it's back. The two interlocked Angels struggled trying to pull apart. Seeing it as an oppurtunity, Seph pulled a grenade from his pocket and rolled it under the Angels's legs.

As he yelled "Take cover" an explosion tore the Angels apart bring down the ceiling in a storm of falling rock. Seph felt surge of pain as a loose stone struck the back of his knocking him unconscious. He was buried.