[Mitch's POV]
I was free.. however I had only taken a few running steps when a loud siren went off. It blared and echoed over the field and I skidded to a halt and looked back towards the facility. The siren was going off from there.
I could hear some small booms coming from the building as well. They sounded like mini explosions.
I was confused, but a part of me was curious and intrigued. In my mind I told myself to keep running, but my body kept my feet rooted to the ground. A part of me wanted to run back. To see what was really happening.
I took one step towards the facility, however, that's when the deafening explosion boomed throughout the air. My eyes widened seeing the side of the building explode, smoke rising into the air. Cracks ran up the side of the building as the smoke escaped from the fragile infrastructure.
[Jason's POV - 30 Minutes Before]
I stood in the training room alone with my thoughts. For some reason I hadn't been told on what we were training on, so I decided to do my own thing. I waved my hand in a circular motion, palm down; I did the same thing with my opposite however I had it palm up and a little below my other hand. A small cloud of gray smoke appeared and swirled around in a small ball. I controlled it though I felt the despairing energy it gave off.
The misty coal colored cloud not only killed any living thing in its path or whomever breathed it in, it also gave out a feeling of despair and loneliness. While I was immune to the deadly poison, I wasn't immune to the negative energy it gave. Every time I used this power a feeling of despair would wash over me. However to control my power I had to to think of something hopeful. I had to control the balance.
While I had been practicing my ability my mind had wandered; the cloud had dispersed. I had heard the whispers in the hallway as I came here. They spoke about a new technology and that it was finally ready and finally fully copied. It had been modified and that there were many copies now. I didn't know what this new thing was, but I had also heard something would be scheduled to happen tomorrow.
I sighed softly as I glanced towards the security cameras in the corners. Always watching. They had always been watching. My attention was drawn to the window as Mr. Adams walked in along with some other important looking officials and nervous scientists. I had been told some important people were coming to see me and monitor me so if I 'didn't act on my best behavior' I would be in trouble. That's the nice version of that statement.
I stood there and waited, giving them a blank expression. After about five minutes of what looked like to be intense talking a feeling washed over me; a feeling as if I knew something just happened. I felt cold and there were goosebumps on the back of my neck.
I watched as someone ran into the room and said something; she looked panicked and yelled urgently. Everyone's facial expressions changed as they ran out of the room and a second later guards came in. My heart pounded watching the guards run towards me. I quickly took a few steps back, losing a sense of control. Everything felt cold as a dark charcoal dust crawled and forked it's way along the ground beneath my feet. From my hands and my breath a heavy dark smoke filled the room.
I had lost control.. I couldn't reel it back. I couldn't focus enough to try. I didn't know what was happening.. I was so scared.
For some reason the guards didn't have on their gas masks. I watched as the guards before me stopped and started to choke. They hacked a drew wispy hoarse breaths as they shriveled and fell to their knees before me. Their eyes rolled into the back of their heads. They drew there last croaky breaths as I watched their skin wither away and crumble before me.
I shook, filled with terror. My body couldn't move though my mind was screaming at me to run. The smoke didn't stop, seeping into the hallways. I heard more choking and coughing as I felt my legs move. I ran towards the doorway and caught myself on the frame. Peering out I gasped as bodies slumped against the walls of the hallway, crumbling to dust.
The loud siren wailed in my ears as the lights flashed red throughout the dense fog I had created. They'd be onto me soon. I started to run.
I didn't know where I was going. I was lost in a maze of hallways that echoed with the sounds of many footsteps. As I ran I noticed the black charcoal dust fork out on the floor beneath my feet. It spread across the ground, crawling up the sides of the walls. The smoke was thick and I could hardly see through it. It was like stumbling around in the dark.
I felt as though my heart my heart were about to explode. I was panicking too much to concentrate. I couldn't think straight. I couldn't calm down. I couldn't breathe. It was so hard to breathe.
I turned my head towards the heavy sounds of footsteps from down the hallway with voices. Without another thought I summoned a wither bomb and threw it in their direction. They didn't even see it coming as I dashed behind a wall and the loud blast sounded.
I shook from the blast and peered around the side. A small hole in the floor could be seen, the smoke seeping down to the lower level. The debris littered the hallway along with the remains of blown up guards. They hallway gleamed even more red now through the grey.
Icy cold tears rolled down my face as I made a mad dash away from the scene. The HEADs were still following me, and I commanded them them to show me the layout of the building and where the exits were. I wasn't even close to one.
The sound of more guards came. Their voices were muffled behind the gas masks, but I threw more bombs. They came in droves now. I couldn't stop. The building shook as the mini explosions rang out. I felt my heart rattle around in my chest.
I found myself non a lower floor after falling through one of the holes I had made from earlier. I must have back tracked at some point. I stood up and continued to run. I stopped at at a huge group of guards and summoned to wither bombs and threw them. I summoned another as they exploded. The third one was weakly thrown, and the explosion pushed me back.
My ears rang loudly. It was so hard to hear. I felt a liquid run down the side from my left ear. The siren and the flashing lights along with the explosions and smoke made everything so disorienting.
I brought myself back up on my feet and stumbled my way forward. I paused seeing the smoke fill into another area of the hallway on the other side of the exploded floor and infrastructure. A door and been blown ajar. I weakly hovered over the debris and to the other side, stumbling to the ajar door and catching myself on the frame.
My ears still rang loudly as I looked inside and made eye contact with someone inside the room. It was hard to see through the smoke and the dark lenses of his task mask, but I knew the person was terrified. He was backed into a corner, holding himself.
I could tell it was a male from his frame, even though he had medium length curly hair tied back into a mini ponytail. His clothes were dirty and a bit torn, and his hands were cuffed with the same cuffs I had worn before. Something seemed familiar, and it all clicked when I saw the gold and purple pendant he wore around his neck.
"S-Sky?" I weakly asked, and everything went still for a second as he looked at me confused. "Sky.. it's me.. Jason?" I stepped inside and reached out a hand but he shook and tried to push himself further into the corner.
"Wh- who are you?! G-Get away!" He quivered before me. I paused a bit and looked brown at myself. My arms were pitched black, the dust running up my arms. You could see the outlines of the ribbed cage that enclosed around my chest and torso through the shirt I wore. Beneath my feet the charcoal dust creeped outwards and spread slowly.
My hands team led and I took them away, not sure if even taking my hand would be the best option for him. I looked back at him as I heard voices and footsteps again. "P-Please come with me! I won't hurt you.." I pleaded with him as I stepped back out into the hallway, extending my hand. He didn't move.
I couldn't do anything else. I wouldn't be able to persuade him to follow the monster that was me. He wouldn't follow a dark omen of death.
"Whatever you do.." I warned him. "Do not take off that mask." I finished and summoned a bomb. I had to move on.. there was nothing I could do.
I threw it into the crowd and a few seconds later there was a small blast. I summoned more and tossed them down the hallway in anger.
I felt my chest tighten as the tears rolled down my face. He was here. All this time wondering what happened to him. He was here all along. I should've fought back harder. I should've done more research when I had been given that chance!
Rage boiled inside me as the smoke thickened and the darkness spread faster. I walked on and threw more bombs; they were bigger and more powerful. The blasts were even bigger than before. I shielded my face and when I looked back up I saw down the hallway the smoke was escaping out a small bit in the wall. I had blasted a hole the the side of the building. It was small but I could see the light from outside shining through the smog.
I screwed up my face and summoned a bomb that would cause a massive explosion. I jogged a few stalls back to where I had been before and threw the bomb. It rolled down the hall as guards came around the corners. However it touched the wall, and I quickly dove behind a wall to take cover as an explosion sounded.
I shielded my head and ears with my arms. The constant ringing continued. Looking back up around the corner, I saw the hole was a whole lot bigger now.
I hesitated and took once last glance at where Sky had been. He was peaking out from behind the door now, completely terrified, hugging the busted frame. We made eye contact and he immediately stepped away from me.
My lips trembled as I made a choice to look away and bolted towards the hole in the wall, jumping out from the eighth story and floated down to the ground.
My feet gently hit the ground and I started to run as fast as I could away from the cracking exterior of the facility. I didn't look back. I stopped once I was far enough away from it. Far enough to where I knew the air around me wouldn't be poisonous.
I was at the tree line to the forest. I wheezed, out of breath, and cursed myself for simply not flying.
"You need to calm down.." I choked out, tears rolling down my pink face still, as I sniffed in snot, not being able to breathe at all. I hiccuped and fell to my knees, turning to watch the smoke escape from the building. "Deep breaths.." I stuttered and breathed in and out slowly. After a while I managed to calm down enough to stop this. The black dust on the ground around me cleared, the darkness going away. The smoke coming from my hands and breath faded. I continued to breathe slowly, allowing myself to calm down and take a moment to to gather myself.
The HEADs floating beside me floated down onto the grass and had powered off.
There was nothing I could do for the building now. I was far enough away for the smoke not affect anything here. You could tell by where the grass had stopped dying around the building. Aside from my footsteps to out here I course..
The charcoal dust faded from my arms finally and the cold bitter feeling had left me. Even though I still didn't feel anything at all. I was going to be okay though.. I was finally free!
After a few moments of silence, other than the crisp wind blowing against my cheeks, I heard a sharp snap and quickly spun my body around, coming face to face with another guy. However this time there was a sharp tipped arrow pointing directly between my eyes.
"Wh-What are you..? Wh-Who..?"
"Shut up.. don't talk." The males voice quivered, though the arrow was perfectly still. His voice sounded a bit muffled. There was something in his eyes. He was scared, just like me.
I felt myself starting to lose control again. 'No.. it's fine.. you're fine..' I bit my lip. The grass beneath me slowly began to die.
I watched his caramel eyes analyze me. There was a fire behind the scared look he had. My eyes met his and then I glanced down to see a golden dog tag necklace and something sparked in me.
"M-Mitch?" I asked softly. The string on the bow tightened and he tensed up.
"What..?" He asked, seeming as if he didn't hear me right.
"Mitch? It's.. it's me.. Jason." I shakily reached up my hand towards him as his pull weakened and he brought the bow down. He stared at me in disbelief before throwing the bow to the side (my eyes widened in the fact it disappeared into thin air) and embraced me. I gasped and hugged him back.
"J-Jason?" He choked out. "Is it really you?" He cried into my shoulder.
At his embrace I felt a burst of relief. It felt like I had been found again. I felt like I could finally see real color again. For the first time in a long time, I felt warm.
"Yes!" I smiled. I smiled a real smile. Something also hadn't done in a really long time. "Yes it's really me, Mitch."
We stayed in each other's arms for a while before another deafening explosion sounded from the building. We both jumped and let go of each other, turning to face the facility.
"What was that?" Mitch asked hesitantly.
My face went pale as I whispered, "It's Sky.."
"Wait.. what?" Mitch looked at me. When I didn't look towards him he made me turn to him. "Did you say.."
"Mitch. I saw Sky."
[Word Count: 2570 Words]
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Thank you for reading! I know it's been a little bit. My mental health decided to fucking jump off a cliff so I feel awful :D
Anyways, I feel slightly better. One thing left to do for school and then I'm done. Would've been done sooner but things happened :/
I wanna draw these scenes.. Mitch about to shoot a scared Jason? Maybe? >:3 might just be some sketches
Hope you have a very Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Whatever you celebrate, I have you have a wonderful time! And if you don't celebrate at all, I hope you have a great day!
Until next update! :3
- Glitch
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