First of the Fallen (Neophyte Series 1)

15. Lost in Oblivion

              THE BLINDING LIGHT QUICKLY dimmed the atmosphere as if the three men were cooling molten steel, and Michael's sight adjusted to the surrounding darkness. No longer within the comfort of the Sanctuary, they now stood within a disturbing and horrific scene few had laid gaze upon for many years.

    The deafening silence of the abandoned suburban street was disrupted only by the whistling gusts of wind between the vacant houses, gently howling and tickling the tips of the overgrown grass. Many of the streetlights had been burned out for some time, leaving a series of intermittent light to guide their way along the eerie road. On either side windows were shattered and smashed, doors and furniture scattered about the overgrown lawns. Tall, unmanned weeds grew between every crack in concrete, as a clear lack of presence permitted nature to do its bidding. Vehicles rusted and deteriorated where they rested, some on the street and others crashed into buildings, street lamps, sign posts, and the like.

    Michael stepped passed a forgotten and abandoned police cruiser wrapped around a telephone pole, the claw marks on the interior tint of the driver's side window catching his attention immediately. Eyes focused wide beyond the window, he spotted a horrific image: a rotted corpse in a police uniform lay still in the passenger seat, leaned forward and holding within its lifeless mouth the remains of what looked to be a dog, just as still and haunting.

    Other than the howling breeze, there appeared to be no life in this place whatsoever, like a scene taken directly from a zombie flick. There were no squirrels or birds of any kind, no movements of everyday life, or people going about their business. There weren't even any stray cats wandering about nor the barking of a dog—nothing. Just the odd remains of the dead left untouched by the hands of man, for what he guessed had been a few decades.

    'Well, I'll leave you to it, then.' Tyler disappeared with an obviously fearful expression, telling Michael straight away that this was the last place on earth he would want to linger if he could help it.

    Samael and Michael were alone, standing beneath a flickering streetlight, the only remaining signs of life for as far as the eye could see. His fearful gaze roamed about, noting the hundreds of still corpses that lines the entire street at random.

    'What is this place?' he asked, his attention drawn to the remains of a clothed and shriveled corpse some ten feet before them. The corpse—a woman, judging by her clothes—was lying on the faded and cracked asphalt. Her leathery fingers gripped a handgun not far from her head. The thin fabric of her vibrant blue dress spookily rippled with every slight draft. Her empty eye sockets stared hauntingly at the starry sky above, the unhinged jaw revealing nothing but a leathery layer of dried flesh and exposed bone, a cracked hole in her temple where the bullet had penetrated.

    'Something very significant to our cause occurred here many years ago,' Samael said in a subdued tone, the seriousness of the situation settling in. 'Since then, this entire neighborhood has been blocked off and sealed from any and all human contact. Locally, we are in New York State—Saratoga Springs to be exact. In reality, we have arrived at the very heart of our worst of nightmares, memories that have scarred our most cherished of beloved.'

    'Urielle.' he barely breathed, feeling the unsettling dread of an evil he could not see.

    'Both you and I share a common bond, Michael. She is your ethereal betrothed, this much is true, but do not forget that our Urielle is the closest thing to a daughter I've ever known. Our goal is linked this night, and the path ahead will be anything but comfortable . . .'

    While he carried on, Michael's gaze scanned the massive, once ritzy properties on either side of the street. The expensive and historic style of real estate had him disbelieving anyone would want to leave it vacant, had only the mess been cleaned up. Each property would be worth top dollar in any part of the United Stated, but here they stood vacant and condemned.