Countd0wn

Chapter 4: Shatterpoint

After waking up, we walked for another hour or so, and finally made it to the city limits. It was a smaller suburb, and we made it to the town square in almost no time at all. No matter how many times I came back here, I could never get used to the emptiness that this city had now. The usual murmur and rumble of people that you would expect to hear in a city like this, was instead replaced by a dead silence, occasionally broken by the wind whistling in between buildings.

When Ivy and I finally reached the grocery store, we went to our usual spots to grab what food and supplies we were low on at the moment. I checked around every corner, making sure we wouldn't come across any more of those things. We moved quickly and quietly, hoping to draw as little attention as we could. 

Ivy returned from gathering what she needed with several items of food and clothing, along with a small pink teddy bear. "Can I keep him?" She looked up at me with the big puppy dog eyes of any 8-year old who would be looking at their parents to buy them something. 

I smiled a little bit at her innocence, and at the ridiculousness of the whole situation. "Alright, you can have him. I thought you didn't sleep with stuffed animals anymore, though." 

Ivy looked down at the bear, then back up at me, her puppy dog eyes now ones filled with fear and a strangely mature certainty. "I think I need it now...but don't tell anyone, ok?"

I kneeled down so I would be on Ivy's level, and hugged her close, and she hugged me back. My heart ached for her. This whole messed up situation was something she didn't deserve. She was only 8, for God's sake. She had her whole life ahead of her, and now she couldn't get any of it back. "Don't worry, Vee. Your secret's safe with me."

We had gathered up everything we needed in our bags, and after eating a few items for ourselves, we started out of the town, anxious to get back into the forest before sundown. Then, just as we were about to turn down the street to go back out to the main road, I heard something I hadn't heard in a long time: music.

It was faint, but unmistakably music. I quickly pulled out my rifle, and looked around at the buildings around us, scanning for anything that could possibly be making the noise. Ivy instinctively got behind me, and looked up at me. "Wren? What's wrong?" 

I raised one finger to my lips, telling her to be quiet, and listened for the music again. It was still there, and seemed to be getting louder as I turned towards the church that was close to the roundabout on the edge of town. Three options ran through my head: there were survivors somewhere inside, it was a music device that had been left on somehow, or...it was some kind of trap.

I didn't want to think about the last two. I just wanted to grab Ivy and get the hell out of there. But the music seemed to draw me in...and beckon me to come closer. "Follow me, and keep quiet, ok?" I whispered to Ivy, who nodded her head slowly and held on to my shirt as we began to walk towards the church.

I reached the faded white doors, and there was no question about it. The music definitely was coming from inside. I looked down at Ivy and whispered again. "If something goes wrong, you run as fast as you can, and don't look back, ok?" Ivy nodded, and I gently eased the door open, holding my rifle out in front of me. 

The church looked relatively undamaged, with the pews and altar looking almost untouched. There was one glaring omission however: the church windows. The stained glass images had been completely destroyed, and were lying over the floor. And, to make things even more surprising, sitting in the middle of the altar, in the middle of all the rainbow-coloured glass, was a man, in a black 3-piece suit and tie, with dark black hair. As soon as the door opened, he looked up at me, and gave a wide smile. "Hello Wren."

I looked at him with wide eyes, and aimed my rifle right at his head. I had never seen this guy before in my entire life. How the hell did he know my name? As if I had spoken out loud, he answered, still smiling. "I know a lot more than you think." He then looked around me at Ivy, who was hiding behind my back in fear, then gave a small little wave, and winked at her. 

I instantly cocked my rifle. "If you go anywhere near her, I swear to God I'll blow your brains out." The man laughed and stood up, looking around the room. He then held his arms out at his sides, almost as if he was mocking the figure on the crucifix behind him.

"Now, now, don't use His name in vain, Wren, especially in a place like this. But you don't have to worry about Him...cause I'm right here..." He said the last few words with a growl, and he lowered his head at me. Right before me, his eyes, which had been brown a few moments before, changed to a dark, deep, blood-red.

Then, as I looked around, I saw that the glass that was everywhere on the floor begin to rise up from the ground and float in the air, and all the jagged edges point directly at where I was standing. He's like me...I quickly turned to Ivy. "VEE, RUN!" I yelled, and quickly pushed her down, ducking for the ground as well, as I felt a shower of glass pass over my head and shatter onto the street behind us.

As soon as the rain stopped, I felt Ivy take off down the street, hopefully getting to somewhere safe. I stood up and spun around, trying to get a shot off with my rifle before he hit me again, until the glass in the scope suddenly shattered before it could reach my eye. I covered my face, and felt warm blood begin to flow from my cheek.

"Come on Wren...you can do better than that...show me what you're made of..." The man on the altar said to me in a taunting voice, like he was a 5-year old on a playground shouting that everyone else couldn't catch him. I looked at him, and felt anger welling up inside me. I saw him waving at Ivy over and over again in my head, and felt the heat coming from my fingers.

The green energy lit up my body, more powerfully than ever before. I managed to focus it into two balls in my palms, and I threw them at the man. He ran out of the way, but the two balls exploded on impact, and destroyed the altar where he had been standing. He flicked his hands, and another wave of glass shot at me. I raised my hands protectively, and my body seemed to respond, with a green barrier forming in front of me. The glass seemed to melt as soon as it got close, and melted into a mess of rainbow-coloured goop.

The man stopped when he saw this, and raised his eyebrows, and smiled widely. "Impressive...very impressive..." I gritted my teeth, tired of his games, and shot a blast of plasma at him, blowing away the pews in front of him and knocking him back against the wall. Before he could get up, I rushed over and started to punch his face over and over again, the heat from my hands burning his face at the same time.

I kept going for I didn't know how long, then I heard a small voice call out from behind me. "Wren! Stop it! Please!" I spun around to see Ivy, standing in the church entrance. She was probably scared out of her mind, and seeing her glowing green 8-year old brother beating up on some guy in a church most likely wasn't helping. 

As I looked at her, I heard the guy wheeze from under me. "Whoo...nice one, Wren. You sure know how show a guy a good time...but don't worry, I'll be seeing you soon. Thanks for the fun..." I turned around to look at him again, but I was shocked when I did. Instead of the cocky-looking young man in the black suit with black hair, it was a blonde guy who looked to be in his mid-50's, wearing a blue polo shirt. His eyes were closed, and he was most likely dead.Why did I think he looked like that? I thought to myself, sitting on the ground, colourful glass surrounding me.