I'm not sure if this is a common thing, since I'm new to this site, but hello and welcome to my story! I made this message to give a disclaimer as this story is going to get a bit... weird. It'll be for more mature audiences as it will contain depictions of gore, violence, language, maybe sexual themes down the line. So read this if you're okay with all that, and if you do, hope you enjoy it!47Please respect copyright.PENANAoDZRThUnA8
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Also, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual evens is purely coincidental. This story is born from my own (strange) imagination and has been inspired from multiple other works of fiction.
No matter the time period, us humans always seemed to find a way to one up ourselves in how destructive we are as a race. In 1221 the invention of bombs, In 1364 along came guns, and in 1938 Atomic Bombs came into existence.
Even as the creation of these tools continued to happen on a daily basis, humans never seem to learn. And our actions always, always have consequences...
"With the launch of the 'Infidel' happening in just under 2 hours, Americans all over the globe wait with baited breath." The blonde newswoman spoke, saying the words with a smile so beautiful, no one would think twice about what the words she was saying meant.
"The launch takes place in under 2 hours, and us here at the PNN will keep you updated." With her words a timer appeared in the top-left corner of the screen that read 'Launch in 1:59:38' .47Please respect copyright.PENANAhxoMCuhNyU
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"This event could possibly change the face of Biology forever, so we ask that you stay tuned to witness what could be the most important event of 2064- nay the 21st century.
"And in other news..." I didn't bother hiding my scoff, the remote casually flung onto the nearby sofa's cushions as the TV was turned off. I pushed myself off the comfy couch and stretched, joints popping from lack of morning use. A few strands of my long, jet black hair decided to fling themselves into my eyes and I responded by tugging them until they were straight, subservient, and behind me as they should be.
"Hey dad?!" I called out, searching for a navy blue shirt I knew I had placed on the couch. Finding it I quickly slung it over my, equally blue, undershirt.47Please respect copyright.PENANA3NFO0qXrFj
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"Yes, Euna, is everything alright?" he responded, coming out from behind the small wall that separated the living room and kitchen. The small apartment wasn't easy for the giant man to walk around, but looking into his ocean blue eyes, you would think that he was okay with it.
I never missed the little uncomfortable twitch that his arms made as he walked around though.
"I promised Clover and Morris that I'd meet them at the mall in an hour or so, so I'm heading out in a bit..." I said, walking to the other side of the living room, picking up my phone and wallet as I did, "That's okay with you right?"
"You made plans with your friends to go out and didn't tell me about it until just before..." Despite his words, he didn't sound angry or offended- more amused than anything else. "As long as you're back before curfew, I won't have any issues."
I could hear his footsteps as he walked over. When I turned around, I watched as he grabbed the left sleeve of my shirt and roll it all the way down, now covering my entire arm. I pretended not to notice how he avoided the scar on my arm as he did, before repeating the same action on my scarless right arm.
"That's better, now we also need to fix that hair of yours." I already knew where this was going, so rather than let him drag me -again- I walked over to the dresser with the built in mirror and took a seat in front of it. I saw as he picked up the brush and began to smooth it out properly.
While my father worked on that I made myself busy by counting the freckles on my face, and when I was finished with that I considered what a pair of contacts could do to change my look. Black hair with light brown eyes was really common after all.
'Maybe a silver or a red would be nice?' I felt the weight rise off my head and stopped my daydream. I ran my tan fingers through my hair, enjoying how much better it looked and felt. I removed my hand, uttering a word of thanks as I did.
"You know I enjoy doing this for you, " he said, repeating the action by running his calloused hands through my hair, "You have to take care of yourself though... there's going to be a time when I can't do this and..." I saw the bitter smile that fell over his lightly wrinkled face, but the familiar twitch of his arms was much more obvious to me.
"It feels weird to say this I know, but all I ask is th-" I got up out the chair and wrapped my arms around him. I was tall enough that I was could comfortably rest my head on his shoulders, and I could feel him tense up as I did.
"I realize what you're doing dad, and I'm fine. If it'll make you feel better though, I'll make sure to take proper care of my hair from now on, m'kay?" A second passed, before I felt the tension in his shoulder disappear and his arms wrap around me. We stayed there for a minute or so, before I broke it up.47Please respect copyright.PENANA0NqWjEg7Mb
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"If I don't leave soon, Clover and Morris are going to get really mad at me!" I said, as I grabbed my copy of the apartment key off the dresser, "And I won't even come close to missing curfew, we'll just hang out for a few hours." 47Please respect copyright.PENANAniluf1HFB9
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I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and I hurried out the door. Before I was fully out it I flashed him the biggest smile I could.47Please respect copyright.PENANArwVbTxMJZ3
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"Later!" And through the door I went. I heard the small 'Goodbye' from behind the door as I turned the key and locked it. I took a deep breath and let the smile fall from my face.
I didn't lie to him, I told myself as I walked down the hallway. The trip to the mall was just a way for Clover, Morris and I to escape the impeding chaos of the launch of the Infidel. The park would've been ideal, but I saw them setting up a TV there and knew it would've been too loud for my tastes there.47Please respect copyright.PENANAUvd93RMRyQ
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I passed a dozen or so doors on my way out the hallway, each one -somehow- louder than the one before. The previous smile I wore was now a distant memory, threating to turn into something more sinister.
2 more hours... 2 more hours and I could return to the peacefulness of everyday life I loved so much.
'Launch in 0:47:32.'
If it wasn't for my two nearby friends, I probably would've, at least attempted, to smash my head against on of the nearby store's windows by now.47Please respect copyright.PENANAsbVBqORNB3
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"Unbelievable! How the hell did they get this done overnight?!" exclaimed Morris, his chocolate eyes bouncing from television to television, each of them with the same message.
'Launch in 0:47:28.'
"Looking back at it, its does make sense..." responded Clover, the girl held a black thermos that not only -based on the smell- contained coffee, but also contrasted the girl's pale skin.47Please respect copyright.PENANADcj2pVWKWl
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"We're already here here..." She paused to take a ship from the cup, "And I don't know anywhere else to go right now, so we might as well just stay. Find somewhere less crowded." 47Please respect copyright.PENANAUkS3gsx2B8
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She made an off-hand gesture of handing the thermos to me and I took the warm mug from her. She turned and started to rummage through a green backpack she had brought with her. While she did that I did steal a quick sip of the warm liquid and hummed at the surprisingly sweet taste.
"So I'm guessing you have somewhere in mind?" I asked, passing the cup back to Clover, who had finally found what she was looking for - her phone.47Please respect copyright.PENANAmX5AaLDtUX
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"First, don't drink from my thermos without my permission." I heard Morris snicker behind me, "And yeah, I think I have an idea of one place we can go..." She paused and brought the thermos up to her lips and held it there.
A few seconds passed while we waited for her to remove the drink. When it was clear she wasn't going to Morris stepped over and slowly removed the drink from her lips.47Please respect copyright.PENANAplqt8NR2Uo
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"Well, where is this place then?" he asked. Her eyes were unfocused, snapping back to attention when Morris directed his question to her.47Please respect copyright.PENANAtUsXb2BuS7
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"Oh right, its this little clothes shop on the first floor. I went there last week, and the lady there doesn't seem like the type to have this on the TV at full volume."47Please respect copyright.PENANA3ti5PZxTHe
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"It sounds like a good place to check out first, so where on the first flo-" I was interrupted by a cheer erupting all throughout the mall. I paused as I felt a haze form over my thoughts, no words came to mind as everything seemed to pause for just one second.
I had no clue how long I was standing there, but when I came to Morris was snapping his reddish fingers in my face, breaking me out of my impromptu trance.47Please respect copyright.PENANAGULMubpqbb
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"Don't worry about it, " said the coffee drinker, "I'll lead and you two can just follow." I gave a nod, so did Morris. I pretended I didn't see the worried look the two of them shared, as we walked off.47Please respect copyright.PENANASn9v8zobxl
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The walk was fairly uneventful. We passed through the mob of people of people and made our way down to the second floor via escalator. The first floor was much less crowded, being the floor for more locally owned businesses. A lot of noise still leaked from the second floor, but there was so much less, and right now it was what I needed.
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We followed Clover who took us to a combo of a grocery store and a clothing off towards the right side. 'Lola's Bazaar' was the name that hung above it. We entered, the little jingle of the door alarm ringing as we did.47Please respect copyright.PENANA8hc1IR1uOV
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Immediate... well not silence, she had a television on in here too, but it wasn't blasting any channels like the Patriotic News Network or the All American Access Channel. I didn't see anyone yet, so I just started to slowly wander as I listened to... whatever cooking show was going on.
A few aisles in, and I finally found I think I found the lady named 'Lola'. She sat at the other side of the building, not the best place to be if people tried to steal something I noted. She was a big lady, tall enough to give my father a run for his money, with reddish-brown skin, and just as reddish-brown hair. Her hair seemed to wrap around her entire body and went below the cash register, which only came about waist height on her.
Dad might like if I started using more product in my hair... Might as well ask her. With a goal in mind, I walked over to the woman...
Who was giving me this strange stare the entire time I was walking over. I had to resist the urge to turn around and make it seem like I had just remembered to grab something else. 47Please respect copyright.PENANANd1dfK2BSC
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"Um, hi?" I said as I approached, trying to sound as unawkward as possible, "I was just wondering what you used in your hair to get it so long." The woman held that stare for a few seconds, before responding.
"All natural. No product." she responded, I guess she didn't speak the best English then. She didn't have an accent though, I wondered what the story behind that was?47Please respect copyright.PENANAhx0HkolCV4
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"Ah okay, sorry to bother you then." I turned to walk away, but I could feel her eyes boring into my back. Sighing I turned back around, "Okay I'm sorry, but do you recognize me or something? You glaring at me is a bit unsettling."47Please respect copyright.PENANAhsUudQKTQl
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"Familiar face. Not who I thought was you. Apologies." Not missing a beat, she bowed. I felt the blood rush to my cheeks and immediately asked her to rise her head. Once she did, I realize her face looked much... softer? than before.47Please respect copyright.PENANAJ8nPQM81va
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Her lips started to move, but she stopped as her eyes turned to the TV and, wondering what had caught her interest, mine followed.
'Launch in in 35:12' was the first thing I saw, the notice covering the whole screen, before the blonde newswoman faded in shortly after. She was not wearing that perfect smile anymore.
"There are 35 minutes to go until the launch of the 'Infidel", A loud burst of cheering from outside covered whatever words she said next, "... we've received multiple reports of a terrorist group attacking multiple public locations." Following her words another loud burst of cheering, however this time I felt two different set of arms wrap around mine.
To my left was Morris and to my right was Clover, each one grabbing one of my hands, and each one smiling at me. I never realized how hard I started to breathe, but with the two of them providing comfort, I was able to steady it really easily.47Please respect copyright.PENANAf9aiao2N1T
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'Fighting violence with violence never works... nothing good is going to come of this. How the hell are those people cheering at hearing there's a terrorist attack happening though?!'
Thanks to my thoughts I missed whatever the newswoman said next, but all I knew is that it made Morris' hand tighten and it triggered more cheers and what sounded like party poppers from outside.
I wrung my hands out of the distracted duos, and stormed my way outside. I wanted to scream at something, I wanted to yell at someone, I just wanted to vent some frustration and didn't need the two of them seeing me like that.
I stepped out of the door, my chest rising faster and faster with each step. A cold sensation wrapped around my lungs, only making my breath that more haggard. I pulled the door open.47Please respect copyright.PENANABEtClZArgD
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A body fell from above, exploding like a bomb made of blood and bones as it collided with the hard concrete below with a disgusting *crack*. Insides became outsides, coating the wall, the floor, the windows and more notably me.47Please respect copyright.PENANA4E9aeGDyyk
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I screamed out at the unexpected gore. The cold sensation from earlier spread like nothing before, completely overtaking my body. I flung my body back through the half open door, tears pricking at my eyes, bile rising up my throat.
Ba-dump, My heartbeat pounded in my ear and shook my body. I saw Morris and Clover rush to my side, and then saw both of them dip out, disgust etched in their faces.47Please respect copyright.PENANAYSEr6hjdKq
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Ba-dump, Ba-dump, My heartbeat faster and harder as I felt that brief scene replay in slow-motion. A small buzzing sound like static entered my mind as it replayed again, and again, and again, and again, and-47Please respect copyright.PENANAoTJh2rBxCp
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Ba-dump, Ba-dump, Ba-dump, My vision started to blur as the tears finally broke free. The combination of the cold, and my body being shaken from each heartbeat; each sob.47Please respect copyright.PENANAvnnpCa3xQi
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Right then and there, I wanted to die.47Please respect copyright.PENANAOhGy7M13I3
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I forced away the intrusive thoughts, and pushed myself against the nearest object and tried to stand. The acrid smell of the recently popped corpse washed over me, but even so I did my best to stand.47Please respect copyright.PENANA3ZErpqwOkh
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After a few tries, I was successful. I looked around, but the blur of my vision made it a bit difficult to see. I saw Clover on the floor holding her nose and stomach, I saw Morris on the other side of the shop, throwing up into a bin, but I didn't see Lola anywhere.47Please respect copyright.PENANA2xefrakMOV
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I swung my head around, wondering where the half-giant of a woman could've possible gone. My eyes settled on the glass that separated the inside of the store from the outside. Outside was a semi-hooded man who had lit something brown and small in his hand. He threw it towards the window and the glass shattered at the impact.47Please respect copyright.PENANAkLNOD4EInI
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'What was-'
Pain and heat. That's what it was. Pain and heat. My already wobbling legs gave out, my skin screaming as my body slammed against one of the display cases. My mind-blanked out for a second, a split-second where I didn't feel the cold, where I didn't feel my body shaking at every minor action I took.47Please respect copyright.PENANA4qnZJeb4wT
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A second of pure silence that I found myself sinking into. I forced my eyes open, and was immediately greeted by the worse pain I had felt so far. Half of my vision was total black, and even through my one working eye I could see the char marks on my arms and legs.47Please respect copyright.PENANAR6JZQStrnT
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I tried to turn my head, but my body protested hard enough that I listened. My eyes started to flicker, and right now falling asleep sounded amazing. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, hoping to wake up from this nightmare.
My throat burned at that action, and once again my eyes were open. From that angle I saw the door open, and who I assumed was the same semi-hooded man from earlier walk in.
He had a rifle of sorts in his hand, and scanned the room with it, his eyes locking onto me. Reflexively, my eyes widened as the man walked up to me and placed the gun... somewhere on my skull.
I'm not sure what happened next, but there was no flash of light or dark void as I was expecting, instead I saw the man get flung back as some unseen force collided with him. I almost breathed out- almost, I didn't want to feel that burn again.47Please respect copyright.PENANA7Pw5al5zsH
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Lola came in what little left field of vision I had. Her eyes met mine, and I watched as her -I could finally see that it was- near ankle length hair disheveled and... for a lack of a better term exploded.47Please respect copyright.PENANA1QJDecWP4k
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She ran over to me and started saying something, but that damn static still was messing with my hearing. The man from earlier appeared behind her, I tried to warn her, but my throat still wouldn't cooperate with me.
Her hair wrapped around us, shortly after a vinegar like smell hit my noise. As the darkness of the hairy cocoon enveloped me and this woman, I never realized how tired I actually was.47Please respect copyright.PENANAuRT0DfmTkF
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Her eyes seemed to start to glow in the low light, fear started to wash over me as my mind finally realized how insane the last minute or so had been. Instead of more pain as I was expecting, I felt my ears pop- my hearing now back.47Please respect copyright.PENANAO1tM9oS798
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"You'll be fine, I won't let them harm you." I heard the rat-tat-tat of gunfire hitting some metallic surface as light started to creep in the edge of my vision. The glow in here turning more intense, like a fire that promised to swallow up everything nearby.47Please respect copyright.PENANAcdz4iUX3NN
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'That sounds nice...' I thought as her hair reverted back to its original, behind her state. 47Please respect copyright.PENANAMd4ogcGtGB
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"Just rest, you'll need your strength for after." she said, her voice melodious each word like honey, nothing like the English she spoke before. I let out another deep breath, this time followed by no pain. The edges of my vision started to dance, black seeping in at the edges slowly overtaking me.
I didn't feel cold anymore, my heartbeat wasn't shaking my body with every Ba-dump, I didn't feel the usual after effects of crying... I felt... calm...47Please respect copyright.PENANAF17pX1uefq
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I took in one more breath, enjoying how the air felt in my lungs before the darkness fully overtook me. Before I fell asleep I could hear all the sounds properly...
Screaming...
Gunshots...
The squelching of flesh and crunching of bone...47Please respect copyright.PENANA25hrOchwUQ
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More explosions off in the distance...47Please respect copyright.PENANAWvztGli8R8
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Crying...47Please respect copyright.PENANAOiBWlf6iFi
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Silence... Sweet, Beautiful, Relaxing, Blissful... Silence...
And that is the end of the Prologue chapter. I don't have a good gauge on how gory this was, but I hope it wasn't anything too bad as kind of a lead up to the proper events of the first (technically) chapter. Thank you for reading this far, and I hope you enjoyed!
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