Prologue:

A strange light in the corner of my eye caught my attention.

I looked at it closer. The light was coming from behind a dumpster flickering in the sweltering heat. The light captivated me, instantly compelling me to come closer to it. Fuelled with curiosity, I clenched onto the strap of my handbag and slowly walked towards it. A sharp smell of toxic substances began to fill my nose as I walked closer and closer to it. I immediately realised what the light was and began to cough as the toxic gases filled my lungs. The hole must have been created from the tremor earlier.

I knew I should not go any closer. I knew what the standard protocol in a situation like this was; to call the emergency department of the O.N.I. using my mobile so they could send a Suppression Team out to patch up the hole in the ground. A situation like this is seen as urgent to them. But curiosity took a hold of me- I have always doubted the tales that I've been told since childhood. They just never made sense to me. I have always felt like they were hiding something from me. So in defiance, I stepped forward.

My vision started to turn cloudy from the gas but nevertheless, I continued to stumble forward. The light became bigger the closer I got to it... maybe the hole was bigger than I had originally expected. This was my chance to take a good look at it for the first time ever. This was my first ever chance to look at the place that was forbidden for all surface-dwellers like me, the place that was unspoken of, the place that is forgotten: the Orcus.

I've always been fascinated by it. All I wanted to do was take one look at it, just so I could see how they lived. My vision started to darken and the gloomy alleyway began to spin around me. The sense of danger fuelled my excitement as I peered into the hole in the ground. I took a sharp breath, in shock from what I saw. Immediately after, my knees buckled as the world around me faded away.

Earlier that day:

The sun shone down onto my skin, it's comforting warmth penetrating deep into me. I ambled along, enjoying my morning walk to school. A cool breeze swept over my face which cooled me down. Today was just an ordinary Monday morning with nothing particularly unusual going on. I checked the time on my phone- I was late. So, I quickened my pace. I forced my way through the busy crowd on the high road and raced into a more rural area. Here, there were only a few people. I walked past a large clearing in the trees. There stood a large energy factory shrouded in darkness and mystery. I always pass it on my way to school. Usually, I never think twice about it. But after the announcement that I heard today, I briefly stopped outside as I considered the impact that it would have on this daunting building and those below. I noticed the faint smell of toxic gas lingering in the air around it.

BEEP!! BEEP!! BEEP!!

An alarm roared through my ears, deafening me and I knew that I must evacuate the area. After all, when the alarm goes off everybody knows that they can't be within 100 metres of any of the factories. The O.N.I. want to prevent us from seeing or interacting with them at any costs necessary. We are even prohibited from breathing the same air as them. People around me fled as if they were running for their lives; a terrified woman shielded her baby from the factory and ran away with a crazed look in her eyes, an old man using a walking stick covered his face and limped as fast as he could in his deranged effort to get away. Everyone was terrified of them. Even though I wanted to stay to see what would happen, I knew that if I did, I would be severely persecuted, so I hurried away from the factory.

Suddenly, a large tremor shook the ground which caused me to fall over. The cold, hard ground felt rough against my skin. Startled, I sat up and I could feel something wet dripping from my face. I touched my cheek and was shocked to see bright red blood covering my fingertips. I winced in pain as I reached into my schoolbag, where I took out my makeup mirror. There was a large cut on my left cheek underneath my eye, which was bleeding.

I cursed under my breath as I attempted to stem the blood flow with my top. I knew that by now I was been extremely late to school so, despite my dishevelled appearance, I stood up and stumbled along the rest of my journey. It was relatively uneventful until a strange light glinted at me in an alleyway beside the supermarket. I decided to go and check it out.

Present:

I groggily opened my eyes. The world around me was still spinning and I felt nauseous. Something cold was being stuck onto my face. I looked up.

My heart stopped and time seemed to stand still for a second. Two crystal blue eyes gazed down at me, piercing through my heart, turning it ice cold. One glance of his blue eyes told me of a lifetime of struggle that he had been through. I was fascinated by him. Tousled, bright white hair covered half of his face, preventing me from seeing his full beauty. Before me was the most beautiful creature that I had ever set my eyes upon. He was ethereal; I felt like I was committing the greatest sin of all just even being in his presence. A black, metallic mask covered the rest of his face. Around him was a gloomy, unfamiliar background filled with derelict buildings that cast large shadows over the land. It contrasted with his pale demeanour, making him even more mesmerising. He was in the perfect balance between light and dark. Then I noticed that he was leaning over me, his hair was extremely close to my forehead, lightly brushing against it with every movement that he made. I could almost feel his warm breath lightly tickle my cheek. I gasped upon realising this and blushed a deep shade of crimson.

I spotted a thick, metal shackle that gripped his throat, peeking out from underneath his protective gear. There were deep scars and cuts that oozed with a certain blue substance that covered the shackle and dripped down his neck. This shocked me into making my next and most important realisation: he was one of them.