Swarming around in the bed, sheets falling off along with all the pillows, Annabelle wakes up in a frantic panic as the alarm on the bedside table blares. Turns her head to see the time 9:15 am.
"No no no no no! Not again!" Rushing out of bed, Annabelle hurries to do her daily routine: teeth, face, clothes, and hair. Looking at herself in the mirror, groans and swooshes her hand towards her raggedy reflection. Her light blue eyes shone bright, but not like the normal shine they usually have. Her pink and white ombre hair is flown up into a very messy ponytail, with her white jersey shirt and old pair of ripped light-colored jeans thrown together. Quickly grabbed her flower crown on her way out before jolting out the door.
Annabelle swings the door open and rushes down the stairs. Peter, her bedroom neighbor, peaks his head out of his room trying not to hit his horns against the walls, just to see a pink and white flash run past him.
He looks down, then yells, "Where are you going?!"
"I'm late for the meeting again! So are you!" Annabelle runs away.
Peter, confused, looks back at his clock and sees the time 9:55 am. His eyes go wide as he slams the door shut behind him, bolting back into his room. 5 minutes later, he runs back out and catches up with Annabelle by the elevator.
Out of breath and leaning over his knees, Peter mumbles, "What happened to you this morning? Wait, let me guess, you slept in again?" slightly laughing.
"Haha. Very funny. But sadly it's true." She says, facing the door.
Peter stands up and faces the door as well. "What do you think this one's about anyway? Another plan to take the Endermans down once and for all?" He then punches his right hand into the other
"Isn't that always the case with these things." She says. Few moments pass as a rickety old elevator comes up and dings. The two of them walk inside and watch as they travel down into the deep caverns below them. The elevator stops and dings when landed. Once opened, the two of them walk out into the main room, filled with different objects that don't really seem to belong. In the center is a large, round wooden table where everyone gathers. The two walk out to see the rest of them around the big table, all staring at them with stern looks. At the forefront, Zander, starred them both down.
Zander had what seems to be a mean demeanor about him. His eyes were sapphire blue like the ocean and his hair was black like the void with his tips dyed teal. He wore the same thing almost everyday: a white shirt with a black leather jacket and black ripped jeans and the same pair of shoes. His skin was fair, but what can be seen poking out from his hair is a set of fins where his ears would be.
Annabelle thinks to herself just don't make eye contact, don't make eye contact. Peter looks over to see Annabelle looking slightly down, so he does the same.
"Well?"
Peter, without looking up, "Well?"
Zander, turned around and spoke with no tone in his voice, "Why the fuck are you two late? Again."
Peter spoke with a bit of a stutter, "There were some technical difficulties this morning." turns his head a bit to see Annabelle, then back down. "For both of us."
"It won't happen again." Annabelle said.
Zander turned his head over to the side, only seeing half of his face, "Funny, you said that last time." turns his head back around. "What makes this time any different?"
Annabelle jolts up as Peter tries to stop her, but it is too late. "Really? I was late one other time. Why do you have to keep bringing that up?"
Zander turns around to face her, "Why are you always late? With gifts like yours you would think more responsibly and be on time."
Annabelle groans as she heads over to her spot at the table. She then walks over and sees Kat. Kat was wearing her normal get up: her dark blue to purple jacket covered in several hundred stars. Her green overalls underneath along with a black tshirt. Her shoes have a pair of socks sticking out of them, scrunched down. Her brown hair was always messy and today is no exception.
Sitting right next to Annabelle, Kat gives her a nudge. "Late again I see?"
"I don't wanna talk about it."
"Slept in again. I know that tone anywhere."
Annabelle looks up and jerks her head to Kat. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"Come on now. I've known you for six years. You don't think that by this point, I wouldn't know everything about you? I can read you like a book. Expressions, tone and all."
Annabelle looks at her, "I guess you're right." She then moves head back to look down at the table. "But how could I have not seen this? I can literally see snippets of the future and I still can't be on time!" Annabelle then plants her face onto the table surface.
Kat pats her on the back as Zander begins to speak. "We need a new plan and fast. The attack on Tandem was a failure."
"Yeah it was. The plan honestly would've worked if Kat knew how to make potions correctly." said Cy. Cy wore his blue plaid jacket with a pink shirt underneath. His jeans rolled over his shoes and his brown hair was always a mess. Then his eyes were the kind that would creep up on you in your dreams.
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me. Your potions were a complete bust!"
"At least I did something. You just stood there. Watching as the rest of them were getting their asses beat."
Cy groans, "At least I was out there fighting! I-"
Zander slams his hands down on the table and interrupts them both. "Enough! Your bickering is making my head pound more than normal. Yes, as we all know, the plan would've worked, but it didn't. Not just because some potions backfired or people standing about. There were more of them than what we anticipated. There was no way in Hell we could've won that round. Calling everyone back was the best course of action."
"I agree. Honestly, who knows how many more were going to show up. 50? 100? 1,000?!" Peter continued until Cy put his hand on him. "Dude, we get it. You can stop now."
"Sorry."
Annabelle, hands by her face held together, then speaks up, "So what do we do now? Sit here and do nothing?"
Cy jolts up, hands on the table and yells out, "What if we go to-"
"NO!" Everyone yells at once.
"Come on! Annabelle said go to Tandem and look what happened! If we went to-"
Zander interrupts once more, "No, Cy. For the last fucking time, we are not going to Haran. Way too sketchy."
"That place is filled with dealers and gangsters. It's just creepy, to be honest." Annabelle says.
Cy wasn't letting up, "So what? That place could have some people there willing to help. We should just go there and see. You know what they say, 'you don't know unless you try'"
Kat speaks up, "Yeah, but they also say 'go to Haran if you wanna get killed'"
"Who the fuck says that?"
"Literally everyone!"
Cy looks over to Zander, holding onto his forehead, "Zander, could we just try? It's the only idea we have right now!"
"Cy, I said it once and I'll continue to say it until it sinks in with you, we are not going to Haran. Now, sit down."
Cy sits down, slides into his chair with his arms crossed. Zander walks around for a bit, just trying to think of something they could do. Zander holds onto the wall, then punches it in anger. He pants hard and feels his breath slip away from him. Annabelle looks over at Zander and feels what seems like a jolt of electricity running through her. All she can see is 3 images: Zander holding his sister tight, the rest of them walking away from what seems to be a person, and two glowing Enderman eyes. She jolts back into reality and walks over to Zander, leaving the chaotic noise that is Cy and Kat arguing behind her.
"Hey. Are you ok?" She puts her hand on his shoulder. He feels it, looks down then back up to Annabelle. "I'm fine." he then pushes her hand off of him. She watches as he does this then takes a few steps back in disappointment.
"Zander, I just had three images show up. Let's just say, they weren't pretty."
He looks up from the wall and towards Annabelle, "What were they?"
"You holding your sister, a few of us walking away from what may be a person or thing, and then a set of Enderman eyes."
Zander's taken back with these results and steps back towards the wall, back up against it. He looks back up at Annabelle, standing there watching him. He walks towards her and says, "Thanks." He walks over to the rest of the group while he pulls himself together.
"Alright. Here's the plan. Cy and Peter, you two will be heading up to Hirum. See if you can gather more material like food, books, and anything you think is important."
Peter looks over to Cy and then quickly looks back to Zander, "Sure thing." He then places his hand up to a solute.
Cy looks at Peter and back up at Zander in disgust, "Seriously? Hirum is the smallest town around! We need to go to Haran. It has a lot more of what we're looking for."
Zander looks down at Cy with one of his mean demeaning stares. Cy then gulps and slowly sinks into his chair. Peter watches as he sits there, hands down in the middle of his lap.
Zander looks back up to the girls, "Kat, you and Annabelle will be heading up North towards the border of the Dark Forest. Gather up any natural materials we need and ones you think we might need."
"So, we're going hunting?" Annabelle asks.
"Not so much hunting as gathering. Try not to cause any trouble out there, ok? We don't need any more problems than what we've got already."
Annabelle nods in agreement as well as Kat. As the two groups head out in opposite directions to complete their jobs, Zander looks out to see his sister, Charlette, walking towards the kitchen. Charlotte's skin was darker than her brothers. Her hair was a creme colored white and her eyes were a slight yellow. She wore her beige jumpsuit-like outfit with a pair of beige colored boots. On the shoulders was a dark set of feathers. Zander runs out to the hallway and catches up to her.
"Charlie, there you are. You weren't at the meeting this morning. Why?"
Charlie turns around to face Zander, "Oh, hey. Sorry, I was busy doing other stuff. Besides," she turns back around "I wasn't invited." then continues to walk away towards her destination.
"Oh, right." He then runs up to her and walks her by her side. "I just didn't think you would wanna sit in a boring old meeting."
"From what I heard, it didn't sound boring to me."
Zander sighs, "Listen, I'll invite you to the next one for sure. I promise."
Charlie stops and looks at Zander, "You said that last time. And the time before that and the time before that…" she continues to sound more faded as she walks away and Zander stands there. He sees her walking away and walks right behind her.
"I'm sorry, ok? I just didn't think-"
"You didn't think, Zander? You didn't think?" She stopped and turned around to face him. "You don't think about anything except how to keep me safe. I'm too safe! I wanna be the one to go out on the battlefield! I wanna be the one exploring new lands, reaching new heights! YOU compress me into this building. YOU suffocate me. YOU don't let me do anything!"
Zander argues back at her, "Charlie, you're my little sister. It's my job as an older brother to protect you. To keep you safe. I promised Mom I would when she told us to leave Pendra."
Charlie started to get frustrated, "I may be your sister, but remember. We aren't biologically related. I'm adopted. I'm nothing like you! I'm not half fish or whatever you are."
"Guardian. It's half guardian." Zander replied back.
"Whatever the fuck it's called! I'm not that! I am something completely different. I don't breathe underwater, I don't swim fast, and I'm not overly protective!" She then pushed Zander back. Zander looked at Charlie as she breathed heavily, turned around and walked away. He then stands there and watches as she goes off.
A few minutes pass as Zander walks back towards the meeting room, when someone comes running out in front of him. News has spread that a huge party of Endermen had been spotted North east. Zander looks up and turns around for the back entrance, the same way Peter and Cy were headed.
~~~~~
Cy and Peter make their wake through the treacherous paths to get to Hirum. When traveling with Cy, it's mainly just silence as the only types of conversations he has are arguments.
Peter, on the other hand, is just a simple quiet soul. His hair is extremely curly, down to his shoulders barely touching them with his white grayish ram horns peeking out from the side. His army green jacket is full of different patches from all of his travels, along with his gray and white satchel. His black pants cuff up at the bottom and sit perfectly on top of his black torn up converse.
Cy groans in impatience, "This is taking forever! How far away is this stupid town?"
Peter, walking in front of him, "Hirum isn't that far away. You just don't wanna take the effort to actually walk there."
Cy looks down at Peter from behind in disgust. He then looks up and around his surroundings. As Peter continues to trot on, Cy stops as he draws his sword out. He then looks around onguard. Peter kept going until he realized that Cy stopped behind him.
"What are you doing? Hirum is this way." He says, pointing the direction of which he was walking towards.
"I feel like we're being watched right now." Cy says sternly.
Peter sighs and walks back towards him. He then looks all around where Cy was looking. "There is nothing here but trees, bushes and broken branches. Come on," He then grabs Cy by the wrist and pulls him along behind him. "We gotta keep going. If we don't bring anything back, Zander will have our heads."
Cy, being dragged along by Peter, looks back around and watches as the forest gets smaller and farther away. As the two of them continue up, Peter asks, "Cy, how did you get good with a sword?"
Cy laughs a bit, "Hahaha, what do you mean 'get good'?"
"I mean, I've seen you fight for years now and I still can't wrap my head around how you know how to control that thing. Or even why you want to in the first place!"
Cy scoffs at Peter's remark. "Listen pal, it's not like I necessarily wanted to. I had to. For my protection, your protection, for everyone's protection. I use it as if it's a part of me. Just an extension of my arm. Besides, compared to your messy whip there, swords are clearly the superior weapon option."
Peter looks up at Cy and quickly draws out his whip. He then looks over to a tree, an old thick tree, and quickly slashes it to where the tree is almost completely in half. He looks back at Cy to see his face kind of shocked. "Come on, I wanna get there and back before nightfall." Peter turns away wrapping his whip back up as Cy slowly follows.
As the two of them continued to walk, with Cy walking behind Peter the entire time, there wasn't much conversation. Once arrived to Hirum, Peter stops. Cy continued to keep walking, not noticing Peter had stopped and ran right into him.
"Dude, what the Hell? Why did you-" Peter places his hand over Cy's mouth. Cy pushes his hand off. Looks up to see Hirum: abandoned. The two of them start walking around, staying around each other trying to find out what happened.
Cy's going around through some rubble, "Dude, this place is trashed."
"We just came here two days ago. Two days! Something really bad must've happened to cause this much damage." Peter says, walking around one of the empty buildings. The two of them continue to walk around for a while, seeing if anyones stuck around though it doesn't seem like it. The guys walk towards one of the older convenience stores: windows shattered, doors broken down, walls full of holes and half bricks. Peter walks ahead of Cy and heads towards the medication isles. Cy walks in from behind and steps on something as it squeaks. He looks down to see a little girl doll. He picks it up, looks at it for a bit, then looks back up. He heads towards Peter and sees him push some sort of medicine into his satchel.
"This place looks like it's been abandoned for years."
Peter replies back, "It seems like everyone must've left before some sort of disaster struck." Peter looks up at Cy after closing his bag. "Do you think it was an invasion?"
Cy says, "I have no clue. It does seem to be the more likely answer at the moment." The two of them decide it would be best to start heading back to the center of town. Once there, the two of them look around and sit down by the fountain.
"Cy, do you think those people who evacuated are safe?"
"I honestly don't know. Where would they even go? It's not like there is a bunker or hidden base around here. Hirum is one of the smallest towns around."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Peter looks down at his hands, held together, when he then feels something cold and wet hit him on the back of his neck. He wipes it off and thinks nothing of it. It drips on him again right after wiping. He wipes it off once more and looks at it.
"Oh my God." Peter says, somewhat frightened.
Cy looks over, "What? You look like you've seen a ghost."
Peter shows him his hand, covered in a slimy purple substance. It continues to drip down to the paths below them and over the concrete fountain. Cy leans forward and has a confusing expression on him. "What the fuck is that?"
"I think this is what is inside of Endermans. What keeps them alive and whatnot. I believe the scientific name for it is Endermitious Substance."
Cy, in the same position, looks up at Peteer, "English please. Not all of us can speak nerd."
"This is Enderman blood." He looks down and messes around with the substance. "It's been said that this stuff contains some powerful properties. Possibly used to help non-enderman folk teleport."
Cy looks back down at the slime, "So, what you're telling me, is that this guck can make us teleport? I highly doubt that."
"Well, it's been said. Sadly, there isn't actual data proven that it's possible." Peter then pulls out a small container from his satchel and puts the substance inside. "I'm gonna bring some back to the base. Maybe Kat could figure out what to do with this stuff."
Cy then looks around and then looks straight up to the top of the fountain. There, he sees a large area that is full of the substance. He stands up and looks up at the very sharp tip of it. Peter watches and follows him up. There, the two of them see a dead Enderman where the tip of the fountain has impaled it through the center of its body. Peter gulps and Cy stands there and stares at it.
"Oh my God!" Peter says shakily.
"Think I found out where that stuff came from." Cy hears what seems to be a low rustling sound from behind them. He pulls out his sword extremely quickly and puts it up in a guard stance.
"What's wrong?" Peter asks.
"I don't think we're alone anymore." Cy replies back. Peter then looks around in the same direction as Cy, both noticing several pairs of purple eyes staring back at them. Peter gulps hard while Cy stands there.
Cy whispers "Run?"
Peter replies back in a whisper, "Run."
The two of them sprint out of the abandoned town, trying hard not to get stuck in any sort of contact with the Endermen. The two of them continue to run before getting surrounded by more eyes. Cy quickly grabs Peter's arm and runs out of there even faster than before. By then, the two of them make it out of harm's way. That is, up until they get back home.
~~~~~
Kat and Annabelle start heading up to the Northeastern part of the Dark Forest. All around them are the same basic items of a forest: trees, bushes, rocky trails, and the bundles of rubble people seem to leave around. Kat walks in front as Annabelle starts walking from behind.
"So, we're just getting supplies?" Annabelle asks.
"That's what it seems like. From what Zander asked of us, he wanted you and I to go out and gather up some natural items. Berries, some branches, other odds and ends." Kat replies, picking up some branches off the ground and handing them to Annabelle. She then places the sticks into her backpack.
After a short while of berry picking and stick gathering, the two girls head off closer to the Dark Forest borders. It was then that Annabelle started feeling skittish. She frantically starts looking around, feeling as though someone is watching them. Annabelle quickly draws out her crossbow, immediately placing an arrow inside.
Kat turns around, "Woah! What are you doing?"
Annabelle quickly responded back, "Some things around here! I can already tell! I'm going to kill it before it gets any closer!"
Kat quickly runs up from behind and jolts out in front of her, crossbow still out, "Annabelle! No one is out here but us! I think your future sight is causing you to overthink and get paranoid."
Annabelle barely listens and responds back, "No, someone is out here! And when they decide to show their nasty ass face, I'm gonna be the one to strike them down. Me!"
"No!" Kat knocks the crossbow out of Annabelle's hands, "You are just being paranoid. I think it would be best to put the bow away and keep moving forward."
Annabelle, still frantically turning around and searching, doesn't respond back. Kat, at this point, decides it's time to take desperate measures. She then goes behind Annabelle and reaches for her potion bottles from her belt. From then, she throws the bottle towards Annabelle as she then collapses to the ground.
About 5 minute pass and Annabelle wakes up, laying on the ground on her back. Kat, sitting on a log with her hands up by her face and elbows on her knees, looks over to see her friend wake up. She runs over to her to make sure she's ok.
"What the Hell happened? I remember walking towards the borders and now I'm on the ground?"
Kat goes on her knees and responds, "You started having a panic attack. You drew out your crossbow and started flailing it around." Kat hands her back the crossbow and Annabelle puts it to her side. "You kept saying something about someone watching us and you were going to be the one to kill them. It was honestly, really scary."
"Oh. I did it again, didn't I?" Annabelle asks. Kat nods and she reaches out to help Annabelle up. She then gets pulled back up onto her feet and the two of them continue their journey. They climbed up a small hilltop and continued their search for supplies.
The two of them gather up as many supplies as they could fit into Annabelles backpack. As soon as they couldn't fit anymore inside, the two decided it was best for them to start heading back to the base. They head down from the hill, trying their best not to fall on top of one another.
Annabelle then asks Kat about a certain someone, "Hey, random question. How come you and I argue all the time?"
"What do you mean? We don't fight all the time."
Annabelle's face goes from smiling to a serious face, "Are you serious right now? You two fight almost everyday! If not, for sure 5 days a week."
Kat looks from Annabelle to the trail ahead of them, "I don't honestly know. We just clash, you know? He thinks more heads on, hand-to-hand combat and never thinks anything through. Where I, on the other hand, am more of a defensive person. I use enchantments and potions and inventions. I think more rationally and logically. We just don't mesh very well."
"I guess I can see that. I just don't remember the last time you guys were genuinely nice to each other. The only times I see you guys being 'nice' to each other is when Zander tells you guys to stop arguing over something stupid." Annabelle then has a realization. "Kind of like today."
"Today, Cy is just on my last nerve. Think he's all this and that. I say no! He just… ugh!" Kat smacks back. Annabelle laughs slightly. Kat looks up and starts laughing also as she then asks, "Now, what happened earlier? Did you have another future moment?"
Annabelle stops laughing and goes into a more serious tone of voice, "I did. There were 3 of them this time."
"That's more than normal. It must have been pretty bad this time, huh?" Kat questions.
Annabelle nods in agreement, "It was Zander holding Charlie tight, a few of us possibly walking away from someone or something, then a set of Eneremen eyes. I usually know how to handle these moments. But this time. This time felt different."
Kat looks up from Annabelle back to the path ahead, "Wow. That is definitely something else. If I had your gift, I wouldn't know how to handle any of them. Seems like a lot of power."
"Not like I asked for them. I would've been perfectly normal if it wasn't for them and, well, the incident." Anna says, putting her hand up by her right eye. Kat puts her hand on Annabelle's shoulder for reinforcement.
As the two of them continue on, this time Kat hears something rustling in the woods to their left. She starts heading over there and signals Annabelle to follow behind. The two of them stealthily head towards the area. There, it can be seen as some sort of dark shadow like a figure standing there. No eyes, no facial features. Nothing. Just blackness.
Annabelle peaks over Kat's head, "What the Hell is that thing? An Enderman?"
Kat replied back in a quieter voice, "Keep your voice down! Who knows if that thing could hear us from way back here. But I can't tell what it is, Enderman or not." Kat then looks back at Annabelle and then at her crossbow then back at her. "Get your bow ready. Just in case."
"Sounds like a good plan." Annabelle quickly, but quietly, grabs her crossbow from behind her. She then pulls an arrow out, but loses balance and steps on a stick causing a loud cracking sound. The figure quickly turns around as to see two purple eyes looking back at them. The girls jolt down and duck behind some thick bushes.
"When I say stay quiet, stay quiet!" Kat whispers loudly.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to do that." Annabelle then looks back at the figure, then at Kat. "Hey, do you have those experimental arrows with you?"
Kat goes through her small bag and pulls out three arrows of different colored tips: red, light blue, and gray. "These are nowhere ready to be tested. Definitely not now."
"Which one is the sleeping one?" Annabelle asks.
Kat puts the red and light blue ones away, keeping out the gray arrow. Annabelle reaches out for it and Kat hands it over. Annabelle then places the gray tipped arrow into her crossbow, getting it set up to shoot at the figure. She then quietly stands up and heads behind a nearby tree.
"I have no clue if those are even going to work. Do you really think now is the best time to try it out?"
"Do you really wanna go all the way back to the base, test out a single arrow, and come back?" Annabelle goes from Kat to looking, aiming the bow up right. "I don't think so."
As soon as the figure turns back around, Annabelle jolts back around and takes her shot. She releases the arrow, flies across the forest and hits the figure dead on. The figure then yanks the arrow out from its shoulder blade and starts wobbling for a bit. After a few short seconds, the figure fell down out cold. Anna watches and runs over. Kat hesitates but quickly follows behind her.
The two of them meet up once again and start carefully getting closer to the knocked out creature. As they get right next to it, they can see that it seems to be something they've never quite seen before.
"What the fuck is that thing?" Annabelle asks.
Kat squats down a bit, just to get a closer look. She then flips the creature over to see it's more than just a black mass, but a person in a sense.
"Annabelle, that's a person! You shot a person! We can't just leave them here!"
Annabelle comes forward once again and looks down at the person, "You're right. I think I know exactly what to do with them."