*sits in a polished black leather chair* "Hey all, IM WRITING AGAIN WHOOO, but anyways I just want you to read, its a rough draft write so errors are expected! Please rate it honestly and leave a comment :3 please and thanks, also, any suggestions let me know but I've had this idea for quite a long time, enjoy!" Chapter One: Shadows Joshua The subtle sound of chirping outside and the occasional smooth hiss of a car passing conveyed an utter peace to the environment at hand. Dew gathered in groupings everywhere on the foliage and grass. The sky was a tempting baby blue, coaxed to a lighter shade revealing the pure white clouds above. They were wispy as they rode the winds above. On the horizon broke a bright radiance, one that brought comfort of a new day, the refreshment of another go at the great game of life. A figure lay dormant on a grand assortment of bedding thrown around. Most likely from a nightly unrest for the excess of heat or just a night terror. The turquoise curtains were drawn but allowed a faint sliver of the outside into the dark room. The bedroom was well organized into each independent section housing an assortment of things. On one end of the room held a boasting wardrobe made of mahogany wood. It had a collection of scuffs and friction marks from past relocations. By the bedside was a miniature mimic of the larger wardrobe. It held two shelves all messily filled to the brim with random trinkets. On top of its surface stood a small steel lamp with a tan cap. Next to the lamp was a box brandishing an arsenal of buttons, glowing with three simple numbers paired with a couple of letters. 5:59 AM The last pair of digits shape shift quickly into another shape. With the change came the sudden blaring of noise of the alarm and the figure sleeping jolted awake startled. Groggily in a confused daze the man looked over seeing the time. As if lightning he burst from the constraints of the bed and ran to the bathroom. Closing and locking the etched white door keeping to his own privacy. The tune of pattering water vibrated through the walls, soon after the sound was cut off. The sun outside had crested the horizon and dawned upon the heaps of automobiles in turmoil across the pavement paths. The emerald grass was splotched in areas, pedestrians milled about some jogging with a loyal hound and others operating a seated mower. Just the previous week the sudden disturbance of three large carrier planes flew over the clustered town and adjacent city. They had been taken lightly to notice as the air force base just nearby would often exercise operations overhead. The freights floated lazily blasting a jet of sound behind them with a slight lag in time. A strange dissipating smog like substance also expelled from the rear... The bathroom door opened with a click and whoosh as the man dressed sharply stepped out. His hair was brushed up into a styled chestnut mass, he wore a dark ash grey suit centered with a red tie. His eyes seemed to be alight in the darkness, hazel gold with a warm giving look about them. Quickly he slipped on his shoes outside the bedroom itself, fluidly speed stepped down the stairs, and grabbed his black leather briefcase. He was about to scrounge the pantry for an on-the-drive snap when his phone sounded a light jingle. Digging through his pant's pocket he quickly answered the caller seeing it was his coworker. "Yeah Lucas?" "Your gonna be murdered if you don't hurry your ass here Josh, Haltan is pissed as it is with a printer explosion-" "Wait what about the printer? What?" Joshua said confused. "Dammit it doesn't matter, I can't stall forever, you know that," Lucas said in a frustrated tone. "I'll be there in twenty minutes, don't worry, thanks for covering again." Joshua said a bit jokingly. "Yeah, well you owe me man." With the the line had been cut off. Joshua put his phone back into the right pant pocket and ignored the urge to acquire food. Unlatching the door he opened it stepping outside to the crisp cool morning that greeted him. He lightly smiled and walked out to the car. Loading his brief case he stepped in and started off to his daily routine of work. • • • Seattle had always been Joshua's favorite cities to visit as a child. It held within its glistening ports metal giants of skyscrapers, towering above all else. The ocean was always crystal blue and surrounding the beautiful utopia like a silk cape wrapped neatly upon a King's neck. The seagulls call bothered most tourists visiting the area but usually held no threat to the native citizens going about below. Joshua recently celebrated his twenty ninth birthday, already feeling the stroke of time on his body causing the early signs of acute back pains and unwanted bloating. He had gotten a card the previous day from a friend who lived out in Rio, it smelled of a tropical wonderland compared to the metallic structural style of the Seattle landscape. It was a short clip of a message that read, Dear Joshua, Hello from Rio my dear friend! I hope the city is treating you well, and have a settled birthday, Kamil, 7/3/2037 The note had been a thankful reminder that Joshua had close acquaintances other than Lucas, who wasn't always of the helpful sort. Finally arriving at the lower scaled skyscraper Joshua rushed out of his car and ran inside to the front counter. He signed in on the punch card and sprinted upstairs with his briefcase dodging the thoughts of his impending doom from his chief. Joshua had been a journalist for almost six years now, this hadn't been the first time he had been in a mad dash to his work. He had started in the small town of Oakville in Kansas State by being a paper boy in the neighborhood. It was a small town filled with old wooded homes and ancient looking roads, but it was home. After a year or so of being the paper boy he wrote for a teen news contest held within the town and to his utter surprise he had won. Soon following came his induction and introduction to the job as a mock job writer for the town paper, the chief of the news was an older man named Melvin Ross; who had a knack for seeming harsh but just had the personality that seemed to distaste in others. Truthfully Melvin was a cheerful one who would often criticize Joshua's writing skill and recent articles, but he knew it was training for the future that he was now very thankful for. About a time span of two years later Joshua was appointed Co chief of the town paper at age sixteen, a very proud time for himself and especially for his mentor Melvin, who was like a father to him. Today though running late once again he had seen his progressional habit of being late, for some unmovable reason he could not shake off the habit from reoccurring every so often. So rushing to his desk and quickly dropping off his briefcase he started to rampage through his files littering the round cubicle space. Multitasking he carefully tapped individual keys on the keyboard seated in front of him entering his passcode. Finding what he was scrounging for Joshua opened the file on his lap as the desktop loaded into view and before he could even read the first sentence on the file a voice above spoke. "Josh you made it, god finally chief was raising hell when he couldn't find you. Better be glad I stalled him." Lucas said poking his head out above the cubicle wall. Joshua rapped his fingers noisily on his keyboard sparking a twinge of annoyance within Lucas. "You know you didn't have to stall for me, I'm sure chief would have understood." Joshua said sarcastically. Lucas gave him a glare of rage that was brewing within. He was about to retort when another coworker by the name of Preston White came to the two. He was a man on the pudgier side of his weight who wore outrageous ties, the current one he wore spattered with eyes of all shapes and sizes. His black hair was greased to the side conveying more of his pig like stature. He seemed to jiggle with every word from the mouth or movement he made making Joshua uneasy as always. "Oi, Joshua chief has been looking-" "I know," Joshua interrupted, Preston seemed a bit caught off guard by the sudden interjecting statement but continued then, looking as he was thinking incredibly hard. "You two should come see this, its all over the other News channels right now." Joshua and Lucas both give each other a slight look of questioning but willingly agree to follow in Preston's footsteps to his destination. He lead them to a hallway that connected to the main office space that usually was the break lounge for everyone on the floor, now, in the center stood mostly everyone accounted for in front of the collective of televisions displaying what looked like a news broadcast. Two anchors sat behind a brown oak desk, a woman dressed in a red suit with green emerald eyes and jet black hair; and a man with greying hair and steel blue eyes with a black suit. The man was speaking to another news reporter ,who had a european accent, shown in the top right corner of the screen out in the dark of night looking around, the camera panning at the sky and back to the news reporter speaking with the anchors. The reporter spoke, "Yes and quit'e oddly enough the light disappear'd without warning, many 'ere are confused with the sudd'n darkness of night comin' along so quickly." Spoke the reporter, then the anchor as a back and forth pattern emerged.