Easton was dressed in all black standing at the end of the crosswalk as everyone waited on foot traffic to clear up the cars or vehicles that stopped at the intersection. There was an elderly couple walking hand in hand and two college students walking together. Aeneas looked up seeing a few stray cats lounging on the fence of the building across the road.
"Sorry, I am late!" He shouted.
Easton smiled as he saw the new member of the company approach.
"No worries! I wouldn't start without you," Easton laughed. They all laughed together.
"What are we doing anyways?" Aeneas asked.
He smirked as they watched people go about their daily lives as he held out throwing knives to his side watching the massive throng of people walk by.
"Oh nothing much, just a little bit of fun," He whispered.
Turning his head he would toss the daggers one by one with force. Aeneas didn't understand what he was tossing them at, but they seemed to move very fast. He watched them all land and disappear as quickly as they left the hand.
"So, where shall we begin?" Easton asked.
"Let's start somewhere easy," Aeneas suggested.
Easton slowly walked across the street taking his time as cars stopped in the middle of the road
or drivers leaned on the windows to stare at him suspiciously. They seemed to stare at him for a while longer than they should have before moving on their way.
"Why are you walking so slow?" Aeneas asked.
He panicked as he ran across to catch up with Easton who seemed unphased by his quick pace, Aeneas was not a good runner and was not as strong or experienced as he was.
"Don't worry, you have plenty of time," Easton noted.
Aeneas didn't understand what Easton was watching. He saw someone swerve in and out of the crowds on the walkway and almost fell over in fright when he noticed the speed at which they were going. His legs moved quicker than he thought possible as he tried to keep up with Easton despite his heavy breathing. But eventually, he had to stop to catch his breath.
"How are you walking so fast? I thought you were slow a minute ago," He shouted.
Easton stopped causing Aeneas to bump into him from behind causing him to crash his face onto Easton's shoulder. He gasped for breath trying to regain control over his body.
"You okay?" Easton asked, concern laced in his voice.
Aeneas nodded embarrassed. He didn't realize that his face must have been red by now.
Aeneas stood up straight rubbing his forehead which still stung from the impact. "Sorry," He apologized.
"It's fine, you seem pretty fit for someone who doesn't run," Easton laughed.
"What happened to all the people?" Aeneas asked.
He noticed a change in the air as there was no one else around him aside from them. His eyes widened realizing that he was surrounded by shadows. They looked like they weren't alive in the least. Aeneas backed away from them slowly, stepping backward until he could feel a hard surface against his back.
"Look sharp kid!" Easton shouted.
Aeneas gawked down at his phone as messages became blurred as they kept popping up on the screen. Then as quickly as they appeared he couldn't even read them properly.
[A̶͒͊è̸̯n̶͂́e̷̊͝a̷̋͛s̸̓̕,̶̋ Easton bȅ̷͠ ̷͆͝y̶͑our gú̋a̷͑̈́r̶̕͝d̷̽͠ ̴]
"What is going on?!" He shouted.
A loud echo of laughter could be heard in the distance, it sounded as though someone had a large bell tied around their neck. The laughter seemed sinister in nature. He stared at the group of shadows that was slowly closing in on them, he began to feel more uncomfortable by the moment.
"You ready to go?" Easton asked.
Aeneas watched Easton flip all five of his throwing knives together holding tightly to what now is a thin steel sword A large gust of wind blew through the alleyway causing a few leaves to blow off the trees. Aeneas felt his hair float on his forehead as if he was flying high above the clouds,
Easton raised his sword and charged toward the shadow. With a powerful strike, he sliced its neck.
"Shadows sometimes get in the way, but you need to be careful," Easton noted.
He noticed the thick green ribbon tied tightly against his neck. A familiar feeling made Aeneas curious as he watched.
A snarling grunt could be heard circling them as crunching leaves could be heard under its long nails tapping the ground in the form of a heartbeat. As Aeneas turned his head to look ahead of them something huge appeared right in front of them. The figure stood about 20 feet tall with its back to them. Its shoulders were broad and it had short black fur.
Large red eyes stared down at them. The creature's teeth glistened as it grinned exposing rows and rows of razor-sharp teeth. It let out another roar. The beast growled at them as its mouth opened wide showing off rows and rows of yellow sharp fangs, It charged at them charging straight through them.
Aeneas flinched from its sudden movements which knocked him to the ground. He looked up just in time to see its huge teeth coming directly toward Easton. They could hear the sounds of the cars honking again as the veil slowly washed away like water. They then came into view.
Easton was already fighting as he swung his blade at the beast but he was unable to reach it as it dodged each swing and slammed Easton down. Aeneas watched as his partner struggled as the jaws of the monster were about to rip apart his neck.
"Fuck!" He yelled.
The barriers released as the wolf took off with his tail between his legs, but the beast wasn't done yet, the thing was quick and surprisingly agile, and it jumped in between them slashing open Easton's abdomen. He cried out in horror as blood oozed out of the wound.
It jumped away licking its lips with a crazed expression in its eye as it glanced down at Easton as the latter sat up coughing.
"Easton," Aeneas said quietly, staring down at him.
Blood flowed freely down his torso as Easton gripped onto his stomach trying to keep from bleeding out. A maniacal laugh could be heard from above as the sound of an arrow piercing into the beast's heart brought its attention away from him. The animal staggered backwards looking at the arrow in disbelief before collapsing to its knees.
"I did it!" A voice cried out.
"Good, now we can help that poor man get treatment," Easton muttered.
"Treatment?" Aeneas asked.
He noticed the cute brunette carrying a bow and arrow above the creature with the arrow pointed down at it. The girl was covered in blood. There was also the strange boy that seemed to glow slightly with a faded white aura. They stood on the opposite side of the alley with the other two.
"Yes. Now let us help him and I will tell you later," Easton replied.
"Not all of us attack based!" She yelled.
The boy chanted something from afar before a white light appeared. It shined brightly and soon formed into something resembling a shield. It protected them for a moment as a spear of bright silver flashed past them making contact with the wolf which howled in pain as a deep scarlet color spread on its chest. It stumbled to its feet as if it had only just become aware of their presence.
"He will become human again and forget this ever happened," Easton explained.
"So, we just don't fight bad guys?" Aeneas questioned.
"Not really, but I mean there is more to life than fights too," Easton noted.
"Well this was boring…" Aeneas sighed.
[If you want a real battle then I can let you handle this one!: Yasha yelled.]
Aeneas paused, noticing something in the corner of his eye causing him to chase after it. He ducked under some low branches as he followed it. At last, he reached it and held his hand over his mouth and nose. He couldn't breathe. Something grabbed hold of his arm and shook him roughly.
"Where did he go?" Easton asked.
He saw a trail of blood on the ground leading towards where he ran. He followed it wondering where he might be heading. As he got closer to where it led, he realized that the footsteps were heading into a graveyard, a cemetery filled with dead bodies of humans who hadn't paid their dues to the gods. In the center of the graveyard was a large wooden cross.
"How am I in the world of the ancients? Where did Aeneas go?" Easton thought.
The crows began to gather around a section where a million swords were pushed into the soft dirt of a plot of land. All the swords were identical in every way except for some differences. Some had runes engraved on them, others were covered in old writing written in Greek,
Some were even made out of different materials, such as bronze and iron, marble, or wood and stone. One particular sword had a small inscription on it: 'My soul is with your godly father. You may not find me here, but never lose hope, for he shall save you,' It read.
"AENEAS!" He shouted.
"He is right here!" A crow cackled.
"Fuck…" Easton replied.