Guardians

The silence of the night was pierced with the sound of my shallow breathing and the echoing of my feet slapping against the concrete. I clenched my hands into fists, pumping them in the air, pushing myself into a furious sprint. A voice in my head urged me to turn my head and look behind me, but an even smarter voice reminded me of the person in the horror movies, and how when they looked behind them they would almost always end up dead. My oxygen-starved lungs burned, begging for a rest but it was no match for my body and mind that were in overdrive and fully kicked into survival mode, stopping me from doing anything but to run because my life depended on it.

I knew that I hadn’t been blessed with the most perfect life from the powers above but my life had an annoying tendency to turn upside down out of nowhere. All I wanted to do was to get home after a long day of job hunting at the library and now I was weaving through dark, stinky alleyways so fast that I could feel the sandwich from the afternoon prodding the bottom of my throat to make a comeback.

By now exhaustion had won the battle, my fight or flight system being put on hold as I leaned my palms on my knees and panted. Wiping the sweat from my face with the sleeve of my sweater I tilted my head up slightly, surveying the area through bleary eyes.

My eyes widened with relief when I noticed the word ‘Exodus’ nailed atop a brick wall, flashing obnoxiously at me in a neon red. Hurrying towards the line of people I shoved past them, ignoring their irritated yelling, eager to get past this obstacle and inside the only available safe haven. When my feet finally reached the front of the line I released a breathy laugh dripping in relief. However, as I moved to step into the building, a thick, muscly arm blocked me, halting my movement. My eyes met the vicious glare of a heavily built bodyguard who seemed to have taken one too many steroids.

“Get to the back of the line.” He sneered, the veins on his forehead painfully bulging, face tinted bright red.

My heart dropped and panic ran through me at the thought of the peculiar, perilous men catching up to me.

“I have to get in! If I don’t they’ll kill me!” I wheezed out, the long-distance I ran suddenly having its effect on me.

Lowering his face down to meet mine his eyes darkened further as he snarled at me.

“And if you don’t listen to me, I’ll kill you.”

My jaw dropped in disbelief as tears of frustration began to fill my eyes.

“Please I-”

“Draco what’s causing all of this commotion?”

My head snapped up at the sound of a husky, deep voice interrupting me. My eyes met with a pair of dark, obsidian eyes and a flicker of hope ran through me at the prospect of being able to speak to a person less violent than the furious skyscraper towering above me.

“Please I need to get inside, there’s a group of men who are after me and if they find me I’ll be killed.”

As I finished my sentence I heard the sound of a group of familiar voices, instantly filling me with fear as the footsteps of my pursuers drew closer.

The group of men halted in the middle of the footpath as their gazes met my terrified one. My breathing quickened into a pant and a drop of sweat slithered down my forehead. They didn’t move forwards nor did they walk away, they merely stood still, staring at me with a blank, emotionless look in their eyes.

The man surveyed the group before his eyes panned back to me, and for a fleeting moment, a look of confusion passed his face as his eyes stared into mine. Seeming to have a change of heart he grabbed my hand and hastily pulled me through the door making my head spin. Fixing myself I looked beside me, opening my mouth, the words thank you leaving my mouth but fading off when I realised I was all alone.

I spun around in a circle, my eyes surveying the space around me, but the stranger who had saved me was nowhere to be seen. My face scrunched up in bewilderment, how could he have just vanished into thin air?

Shaking my head to clear the thoughts clouding my mind, I finally noticed my surroundings. I was stood in a dark hallway, completely empty except a single metal door at the end of it. I took slow, calculated steps towards the door, the muffled vibrations from the other side finally registering in my ears. When I finally reached the end of the hallway I placed my hands onto the door, the feeling of the cold metal beneath my fingertips causing me to instantly shiver.

‘You were just chased by a gang of men Devina. I don’t think there could be anything more dangerous than that on the other side of this door.’

And with that one thought in my head, I built the courage to slide the heavy metal open, revealing the opposite side to me.

The millisecond I walked through the door heat attacked my body, instantly causing my body temperature to skyrocket. The stench of alcohol, cigarettes and drugs lingered in the foggy air, causing me to recoil in disgust. Within seconds my skin felt damp and sticky and my ears rang as the loud music reverberated around the large space. Bright, multi-coloured beams of light shone onto the ground, colouring the throng of scantily clad people under it different colours.

My surveillance of the club was cut short when I finally took notice of the fact that I was parched and in desperate need of water to quench my thirst. Swimming through the huge crowd of dancing people my eyes lit up when I noticed the bar a few metres away from where I was stood. Suddenly an overly drunk man collided into me, causing me to lose my footing and a yelp left my lips as I stumbled forward. Closing my eyes to prepare for the hard landing, I was muddled when I felt no pain.

Slowly opening my eyes I noticed a pair of large, calloused hands firmly gripping my waist. My eyes trailed up the hands towards the tanned, muscly arms connected to them, past the broad shoulders covered by a simple black V-neck until they landed on to a face. My breath caught in my throat, my cheeks burnt no doubt being very flushed, my heart skipped a beat and then sped up in a manner that felt inhumanely possible. His jaw was perfectly chiselled, carved to a level of perfection that I never knew existed. It was covered by dark, slight stubble that did nothing but accentuate the shape even further. His lips were wide, plump and a bright, deep shade of pink. His nose was thin and structured, and if you looked close enough you could notice that it was ever so slightly bent, evidence of it being broken at some point in his life. His cheekbones were very prominent, covered by olive coloured skin littered with light scars here and there. The scars didn’t lessen his beauty instead, it made him more alluring and brought more character to him, making you wonder what the story was behind each and every one of them. His raven coloured hair was casually swept back into an organised mess, a few pieces falling into his face, obscuring his vision. Finally, my eyes landed onto the most breath-taking, enchanting feature of his. Two fiery, intensely vibrant eyes the colour of the sun stared back at me vigilantly, completely captivating me in his gaze. His face conveyed no emotions but a silent, enchanting storm brewed in his eyes, a whirlwind of emotions passing through them, before turning completely blank in a split second.

The sound of someone clearing their throat snapped me out of my reverie, and I pulled away from the prepossessing storm before me, his hands falling off of my waist. His eyes ran over my face one last time before he hastily turned away and walked into the crowd, gradually disappearing from my vision.

After a few seconds of standing idly in the middle of the dance floor, still in a trance, I remembered my previous objective of getting some water. I moved the final few steps towards the bar, plopping down onto a stool and signalling a server for some water. As I finished my drink I placed it onto the counter, spinning around to face the crowd. After a while of doing nothing but staring at the people dancing, a bright purple light flashed into my eyes, blinding me for a few short seconds, making me shield my eyes with my hands. Lowering my hands, when my vision cleared I noticed the handsome man I had bumped into with a group of other people. They looked around in a suspicious manner, making sure that no one was watching them before they hurriedly sneaked through a door. I tried to ignore the weird feeling arising in me but I couldn’t push it away and finally, curiosity won the battle and against my better judgement, I rushed towards the opposite side of the club where the door was, creeping through just as they did, shutting it behind me.

Upon shutting the door I was completely enveloped by darkness. Extending my arms on either side of me I felt that I was stood in an extremely narrow passageway, my figure just about fitting through the gap. Moving my arms in front of me I took small, tentative steps forwards, attempting to navigate my way through. After a few minuite,s my vision returned as a dim light began to filter through the passageway, allowing me to notice a curtain at the end of the hallway. As I neared the curtain muffled voices emanated from behind it. Gripping the curtain in my hand I slowly moved it aside, revealing the scene behind it.

Behind the curtain was what appeared to be an office, a huge mahogany desk resided in the back corner. I could see that there was a person sat behind the desk, but their face wasn’t visible from the angle I was stood at. In the centre of the room stood storm and the group of people he had snuck inside the door with.

“Guardians! I’d say it’s a pleasure to see you here but we both know that would be a lie.” Spoke the muffled voice behind the desk.

“We’d say the same but we both know that you’re a dick.”

“My beloved Celestia, I see you’re as fiery as always I can only wonder if you’re the same in bed. Would you care to test that theory out?”

“Talking about fire, I wonder how long it would take for me to burn you alive until your nothing but a pile of ashes.”

The snarling woman was silenced by storm placing his hand on her shoulder, calming her down. A frown pulled at my lips at the interaction between the two, disappointment filling my being.

“Hilarious. The semi-mutt keeps a leash on everyone but himself.”

The man chuckled condecendingly.

“Well, as much I’d love to sit and chat, I’m awfully busy at the moment you can see yourselves out.”

“That’s not going to happen.” Storm countered, a dark look covering his face, his eyes seeming to glow brighter.

The man at the desk released a loud, exaggerated sigh.

“Do I have to throw a bone out of the room for you to fetch? Is that what it’s going to take for you to get out of my territory?”

“Do I have to repeat what happened the last time you disrespected me Lazarus?”

The sound of heavy leather boots stomping along the tiled floor filled the room, and with each ste,p the identity of the man was closer to being revealed. My eyes grew wide and I silently gasped as the mysterious man with the black eyes stood opposite him, a menacing look painted on his face.

“This royalty bullshit of yours doesn’t work down here. Actually, it doesn’t work anywhere seeing as you have nothing to rule. But me?” He paused for a while, a smirk on his face.

“I have one here.” He circled his finger around to point at the room before leaning closer to face and muttering a sentence I just about heard.

“And down there.”

My face scrunched up in confusion. Down there? Oh my god was he talking about his...

He leaned back again, running his hands through his hair then folding his arms.

“But, by all means, you have bragging rights about that graveyard, wasteland of yours.” He smiled cruelly.

“Sheesh, he really went there.” A platinum haired man in the back winced, putting his hands up in surrender when the snarling women from before shot him a dirty look.

One moment they were glaring fiercely at each other and the next they were hurling punches, drawing crimson blood, coating their lips and spilling down their chin. I winced as Lazarus wrapped his hand around Storm’s neck before throwing him across the room, the wall caving under his body leaving a gaping hole. Storm was eager to retaliate, speeding towards Lazarus, mercilessly smashing into him. Within seconds a small group of heavily armed men filled the room, joining the fight, wreaking more havoc. The rest of the group seemed to snap out of their relaxed state and jump into action. My eyes watered as I saw a girl enthusiastically hurling a blade, grinning as it lodged into a mans throat making him gurgle as he drowned. Another man’s hands were coated black as he casually ripped a head off of another, dropping it on the floor and allowing it to roll like a basketball. Motionless bodies littered the floor, charcoal liquid pumping out of every crevice and staining the ground below them. This didn’t faze the others at all, who still proceeded to kill every living object in the room, a murderous look on their faces.

A deep, animalistic growl broke the fight, all attention drawn to the two men in the centre. Storm loomed over the man with the emerald eyes, who was laying defeated on the ground, blood and bruises tainting his face, his hand twisted at an unnatural angle.

“Now, you’re going to tell me why there’s suddenly an influx of missing humans.”

A humourless laugh left the man with emerald eyes mouth, morphing into a violent cough, blood spluttering from his mouth.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Suddenly, Storm revealed a deadly, golden sword, engraved with abstract symbols, pointing it at the man with emerald eyes throat.

“This is your last chance to talk.”

He remained silent, his lips clamped shut, not even a miniscule slither of fear in his eyes.

“Very well.”

With that said Storm raised the sword above his head, face twisted in anger and determination.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion as the sword slowly made its way towards its target. My hands shook violently, terror filling my body, a shiver running down my spine as my heart dropped to my stomach. Making an impulsive decision, in a split second the the curtain was wrenched open with me sprinting towards the two men in the centre, throwing myself between them. Storm froze in place, the sword he wielded in his hands hovering directly above my heart, the tip of it piercing through the material of my shirt, grazing against my skin, drawing a drop of blood. Using all of the strength I could muster I shoved him, causing him to stumble back a few steps, the sword clattering onto the ground.

Everyone was completely silent, the only sound in the room being the ticking of the clock that hung on the wall, making the atmosphere thick with tension.

A dark chuckle reverberated from behind me, causing me to whip my head in its direction.

Lazarus was now stood up, slightly hunched over, amusement in his eyes.

“Your days are numbered guardians.”

And with those final words and a mischievous wink in my direction, a large, blinding light illuminated the room, an immense force smashing into my body. In an instant I was thrown into a wall that shook from the impact of the explosion, a groan leaving my lips as a dull pain ran through me. My breathing became shallow, ears ringing as my eyes began to close on their own accord, darkness invading my vision.