The Rage of Morpheus

W

WriterFreak

Guest
Original poster
A message is whispered among the special, the different. Those without abilities were to die. Slowly, it comes. What remains of people are found in their beds; blood soaks the mattress ans ashes are piled neatly on the pillow. Parts of them still remain- an arm, a leg, a finger.. and so on. The world is plunged into chaos as panic overcomes.What will you do to stop it? Are you human? Demon? Angel? Elf? 'Special'? What will you do to stop it all, figure it out?



Aryn stares down at what remains of his family, frustrated and alone as sirens fill the air and he turns toward the window. Someone is doing this, he thought as he sprinted down the stairs. He wished he wasn't different, that he wasn't a 'copycat' as everyone called him. Was it his fault he could do anything he saw, including changing his DNA painfully to grow wings, conjure fire from nowhere? It tired him, exhausted him completely every time he Changed. If he forgot the scene he watched, he couldn't do it. Simple as that. He kept his Ipod with him at all times, and he watched the demon spread his wings on it now, screaming in pain as the bone burst from his skin, wrapped with muscle and skin, then grew the feathers. Jumping out the window, he flew to where the survivors where, those who knew what was happening. Looking down at the cars, he saw the blood. It was happening faster now, too fast. Few ran through the streets, and he saw -something- run up to a Non and touch him, who collapsed to the ground and exploded. He shivered and knew the things wandering around could kill anyone. Anything. He had killed a few with the sword strapped to his back, and now they were all after him. He flew into the mountains and knocked on a large, iron door installed at the base of a mountain. He was immediately ushered inside and he looked all around him, seeing the 30 or so people that refuged there, all under twenty.
 
Clara was a just a 15 year old girl!
How in the world could she be able to control the four elements?
Her only friend was somehow dead and she was taken to this place at the base of a mountain.
She was forced inside, with others.
The others didn't fight back, but she did.
She tried slamming rocks at the people who brought her in, but it had no effect.
She sat in the corner, glaring at everyone else, who seemed to be at peace.
She knew what was happening, but she didn't want to sit in here and do nothing about it!
She somehow wanted to stop it!
Clara decided to ease her boredom.
She used her powers of water and air to create ice.
Then she melted it with fire, and put out the flame with a rock.
She didn't know how she had gotten her powers.
She was an orphan, lived at the orphanage.
Everyone else was dead, that she knew at least.
Only She and a handful of others were in this room.
And she hated every minute of it.
She wanted to die as well.
Or save someone from dying.
 
Irew's breath was still shaking as she sat in the cave, leaned against a cold wall in a crouch. Her heart raced like a cornered rabbit, heavy with the knowledge of what was happening outside, of those now gone. Everyone she knew, cared for, now blew in the breeze as ashes and soot. She rocked back and forth as a way to sooth herself, to grasp what had and was happening. She looked up and around, searching for a familiar face without avail. Her thoughts quickly returned to the scene below and the things causing it.
Sharply exhaling, Irew slid up from her crouch. She'd need to be alert if she still had hopes of survival. After all, a half demon shouldn't fret so much over things like death. She pushed a brown curl of hair behind her pointed ear and wiped both yellow eyes and nose. If she could keep calm, Irew convinced herself, everything would go alright. Still, she held nervously with her left hand to one of her nubby horns as she waited for some form of direction in the group.
 
Aryn's gaze was drawn to someone...different from all the rest. Her eyes were yellow, and her ears were pointed drastically.So there are different species of the Unique, he thought. His gaze swept over the room and landed on a girl playing with the elements as if she had been all her life. "Hey! Everyone! Listen up," he called, and it went silent quickly. "I know this must be scary for most of you," he began, holding his gaze with each person. "But we can fight this. I know we can't save those who are dying, or bring back the dead. But maybe if we find out who's doing this, and why, we can stop this. Alright? just hang in there for now, and if you see any of those creatures lurking around when you're on guard, report it immediately. We don't want anyone else dying if we can help it, ok?" Everyone nodded reluctantly and some even smiled a little. Slowly, the noise grew again and he knelt beside a small child, only four years old, who was crying softly. "Look at me," he said softly. She did and he looked into her eyes. "So you can fly?" he whispered, and she gaped at him, her wings unfolding from slits in her shirt. "Beautiful," he said, kissing the top of her head gently. She giggled in delight, which made him smile. There was hope here.
 
The atmosphere of the cave seemed calmed from panicked fright to something resembling alert fear. Irew was glad to hear the speakers somewhat encouraging words and used them to push herself away from the wall. Her legs still shook, yes, but her mind was set to a task other than thinking of the monstrosities below. She looked around, sliding her way through the small mass of people, to the cave opening. The town below seemed almost toy-ish in size from the cave. Not much detail could be seen, but every now and then a flash of angry fire appeared in the streets like twinkling lights. Irew bit at her bottom lip tensely, viewing this all from behind the safeties of a behind a boulder. She sought for some sort of answer to the question at hand, 'why is this happening?', without success.
The next question was, simply, what to do?
 
"Of course we can fight it! We have the ability." Everyone spun round to hear where the voice came from. In the corner of the cave stood up a young man, about 18 in age. His purple and black eyes wide with anger and pain. His hair fell in front of his face and he clenched his fist,his whole body shook in anger. Blowing his fringe out the way of his face, Garneil began to unwrap the spiked chains which twisted and clung to his torso and arms, letting them slowly rattle to the ground. "Were we not outcasts before?! And now they've destroyed the only thing we still held on to! A life!" By now most of the children and shrunk back in fear from his display. Crowding around Aryn for safety and comfort. His voice boomed throughout the cave with each word. Each word injected with pain and malice to the creatures that awaited outside. "They deserve death, they deserve pain...i shall deliver this to them without hesitation. Those of you who wish to live, who wish to fight. You may join me" With this Garneil spread his large white wings, wings tipped with black and greys. He strode across the cave as people parted out his way. Dragging his chains behind, the noise sharp and striking more fear into the children. He stopped by Aryn, not even looking him in the eye "Why give them false hope? Give them the truth. I can tell you're used to this more than others, fight with me." He looked at Aryn with his purple eyes, the pupils were black crosses entombed by a black ring, they didn't look human yet his appearance said otherwise. "Or stay here? Rotting with fear to the core of your own soul. I will inflict my malice" Garneil had made his case clear. He progressed towards the iron door.
 
Aryn nodded to him. "The able and willing can fight if they wish to. I will fight beside you, brother." with his last words he regrew his wings, grimacing in pain as he did so. His were white and streaked wuth green and golf. Everyone around him gaped in awe except for the boy who had challenged him. Looking at him straight in the eye, he said softly,"I do not deny your word. It is true, but I had no intention of adding to the panic here, the pain and fear. I wish to protect the younger, not scare them."
 
Garneil gritted his teeth, his clenching so hard you could hear the molars grating upon one and another. "You think i intended to fear monger them?! Anything i saw cannot come to face with what is walking around out there my friend. They best be informed than mislead! Do you not agree?" His voice was calmer and quieter now, Aryn's words had sunk into him. After a long silence Garneil began to speak again, yet he found it hard to let the words any further than his fangs. "Tha...thank you. Not many have the courage to fight" Suddenly all the chains quickly retracted and wound their way around his body once more, like serpents trying to constrict him. "I lost many things to the creatures. Loved ones. So i am not your brother, but i will be your friend, your ally! I find it easier to keep people that way" Garneil turned to face Aryn and looked him in the eye after blowing his fringe from his face once more. He walked towards Aryn and raised his hand in appreciation to him, cupping it and waiting for him to embrace it with his own. His hand was encased within a gauntlet, the gauntlet being spiked and jagged, looking almost as if it had spines made of black and purple bone. Garneil then spoke allowed so that the whole cave would be able to hear. "I was brash before, and for that i apologise. I also send my regards to those of you i frightened. My name is Garneil, i wish none of you harm" He actually managed to cock a small grin in the corner of his mouth, exposing a fang over his lip. "But at least i broke the ice" As he said this he caught sight of Irew in the corner of his eye. His face became cold and spasms ran up his spine. He retracted his wings and quickly dropped onto one knee in front of her. "You...your eyes. You have coloured eyes!" He was shocked to the point where he was lost in deep thought, still gaping out of amazement. "Who is this girl my friend? I must know!"
 
"I do not know," Aryn replied, watching Garneil cautiously. He was... loose. Not insane, just unpredictable. He stretched, wincing slightly at the aftershock. He strode over to the girl, who was still playing with elements. "Who are you?" he asked her cautiously, conjuring a flame of his own and watching her curiously. no one before that he had seen could do all four. He smiled at her, wondering.
 
Irew listened closely to the two boy's conversation, a feat made easy by the level at which they spoke. She found herself both upset and agreeable on many of the points brought up. That is, waiting would do nothing, but the idea of just gallivanting off into uncertainty didn't quite sell her. Though comfort was brought by the leadership as Irew knew she couldn't dare, nor did she want to, have to lead a group in such a dire time.
While still mulling over these things, she was shocked to look down only to find the louder of the pair staring up at her with odd purple eyes.
"Wha-" She began to answer just as he left. 'What the hell was that for?' ​the girl asked herself with furrowed eyebrows.
 
Garneil rose back up and spoke to Aryn. "It seems we have some precious cargo within these walls. Quite a bit of talent and skill...some not even knowing about it yet. We must keep them safe." He looked serious but had a feel of worry to the tone of his voice. He winced as he grew his wings once more. "I'm goint to go scout the area, see if we were followed or if there's any of those vile things lurking nearby. And don't worry! I won't do anything hasty...well too hasty. You can trust me" With this Garneil smiled and turned to the door, patting Irew on the head as he passed her. He unbolted the iron door and slammed it shut behind him. A large gust of wind and wing beats were heard, then silence.
 
Aryn watched him go, still kneeling by the elemental. He nodded, almost to himself as he closed his eyes and expanded his mind, touching everyone's minds gently, curiously. Some shivered and some looked around, afraid. Aryn found that Garneil was right; there were many with amazing powers, some too young to know about them. He sighed and withdrew his mind back to the confines of his own head, turning back to the elemental and watching her once more, as she did not speak.
 
Undecided on what to do at the moment, Irew passed time by meandering quietly around the cave counting heads. A somewhat productive thing to do, and would give her mind ease to know their own numbers.
"26, 27, 28," She breathed, trying not to be caught staring at anyone. The moving bodies made it particularly hard to keep track and she gave in to settling for the rough estimate of 32 persons. She couldn't help but notice that nearly the whole lot of them were kids, a both sickening and relieving fact. It was, of course, good that they were not among the dead and dying below, but how could kids stand a chance against those things down there? Looking up, Irew found that she had made her way once again to the front of the cave. She plopped down across from Aryn and whoever he was so watchfully eyeing, a girl looking very close to her own age.
 
Faroh sat in the corner of the damp cave, alone, like always. He didn't mind being alone though, as it meant there would be no-one to ridicule him for his abilities, it was different in this cave though, he didn't know any of these people, but he felt connected to them somehow, like he'd know them for a long time, like the were family. "No, these people aren't my family" - He thought to himself, "My family are dead" he said this to himself over and over again, but he knew these strange people in here were more of a family to him than the people that gave birth to him ever could have been. He remembered, last year... When his mother asked him to heat up her tea, and he did so, with his mind. After that day they never treated him the same, he wondered what else he could do.. He won... His thoughts broke off as something touched his mind and broke his concentration, it felt soothing though, perhaps it was God? Or someone else in here? Whatever it was he knew it could tell he was scared, scared of being 16, so young. Scared of whatever was happening outside to the others, and scared of what was going to happen in the not so distant future.
 
Aryn turned his head towards the girl who sat beside him, the one that Garneil had made such a fuss over. He smiled at her softly, then gestured over to the elemental and said with a raised eyebrow, "I don't think she likes me." He sensed something then, a reaction to the gentle scan he had done. Odd. He located the mind at looked at the boy, who looked about 16 or 17; he couldn't really tell from this distance. Suddenly there was a scream, and he leapt to his feet, seeing the blood. "What happened?" he called as he drew near, keeping calm as not to send everyone spiraling into a mass panic. "Sh- she wanted to take a nap," someone, a small boy covered in the most blood, whimpered. "I told her n- no, but she s-said she w-would be OK." his voice broke on the last word and Aryn knelt and embraced him, then stood and surveyed the scene. It was like most, with the ashes in a neat pile, a large pool of blood and... an appendage left, in this case an arm. "Everyone!" he called. "You may think that since you have survived this long that you can rest, that you won't die. Let me disperse that rumor now; you will die if you sleep. We no longer need sleep as the dream world is in chaos, that nightmares now walk the earth plane. We will feel tired, but we must not give in. Garneil will go out with a few scouts when he returns for food. We'll need the fastest and those who can fly." Many nodded in consent. "Now, we need a few elementals who are willing to wash away the blood and the ashes. We will bury what is left, but let it serve as a reminder not to rest." Two elementals stood and conjured water to wash the bloodied walls and floor along with cleaning those hit by the spray. "We will have the funeral at midnight." he said, more quietly now, as he knelt and picked up the arm, wrapping it in a cloth someone handed to him.

 
The iron door creaked and then slammed shut, making a few of the children nearby jump. Garneil cringed as he retracted his wings. He had a large gaping wound in his leg, mirrored by the large tear in his trousers. He slumped as he hobbled across the cave, dragging his battered leg slightly and holding his right forearm as small amounts of blood trickled between his finger tips. Tied over his left shoulder was a sack. He approached Aryn and untied the knot, letting the sack hit the floor with a heavy thud. Garneil spoke to Aryn, taking large breathes as he panted, his voice heavy and quite. "3 parties...i managed to whittle it down to 1....but there's still 5 of them left....about 1, maybe 2 miles out....i collected these from them" Garneil kicked the sack causing some packets and cans of food to roll onto the floor. "Looking at the numbers this will last us a day...if we rationed...They may be creatures but don't underestimate them...they can be clever if they try hard enough...i let my guard down, i got too confident" He did that same smile as before, a smile that may look friendly, but can crack glass. "Look at the mess i'm in" Garneil let out a wispy laugh. "Did i miss anything...sorry, you never told me your name?"
 
"Aryn." he replied simply as he examined Garneil's wounds more closely. "You're lucky they had weapons," he told him. "Or you'd be dead. Don't sleep; there's already been a situation with that and we'll have a funeral at midnight. I can heal your wounds, also, as I am what the Unique -the name for us, if you didn't know already- call a 'copycat'. I can do anything I see and remember; and change my DNA, which hurts like hell. So I am restrained by my pathetic memory skills." he cracked a small smile that was gone as quickly as it had come. He put his hands on Garneil's shoulders and closed his eyes, picturing the memory of the Healer in his mind and pushing it outwards, at the same time picturing Garneil's wounds closing, his pale face growing slightly redder with regenerated blood. Then he was done and he sat back on his heels, exhausted.
 
"Aryn. I like it" Garneil smiled at him as if he felt something warm coming from Aryn's company. I suppose it had been a long while since someone had shown care for him. "I've seen their brutality with my own eyes. I tried to be cautious and fought them mid flight so they couldn't touch me. I let my guard down and was hit by a piece of sheet metal one of the vile things hurled at me and...well the cut speaks for itself " Garneil looked confused yet amazed at Aryn. "Why can't we sleep? And who was lost Aryn?! How were they lost?" He looked to the ground as his voice deflated, almost sounding upset at the loss of a complete stranger. I suppose he felt some what responsible for not being there to protect the child. "But a copycat? You can't posibily copy the abilities of...." He was interrupted by Aryn placing his hands upon him. As his grip grew tighter Garneil began to scream out in pain, gasping for breathe and gritting his teeth. He could feel it. He could feel the skin sewing itself back to it's original form, his bone filling in the chunk that had been chipped off. A most spectacular feeling, but at the same time excruciatingly painful. Aryn dropped onto his heels as Garneil fell to the floor, his body felt numb yet at ease. "what?...what was that Aryn?!"
 
"That," Aryn replied with a cough and a chuckle, "Was an ability I copied from a dead friend of mine. Sadly, he had refused to heal himself when he crashed his car, using the last of his energy to heal me. The girl who died was unnamed, and died because she slept. It seems those things outside are also in the dream world, most likely from there in the first place. That is why we cannot yet sleep.There are alternative ways to enter, but it is dangerous." he stood shakily and sighed, stretching slowly.
 
Garneil grabbed his hand and helped him to his feet. "You were lucky top have such a noble friend. People like that are hard to come around nowadays, feel privilages you knew one" He smiled and gave Aryn a hefty pat on the back. "But you never know...there could be a few just around the corner" He smiled at Aryn and blew his fringe out of his face. "So this sleeping buisness and dream worlds? How does this connect with the creatures? Is this 'world' where the creatures came from?" Garneil looked at Aryn concerned yet intrigued. He sat on a rock nearby and traced his fingers along the scar on his arm, still amazed at what Aryn had just done to him, for him.