Cal woke up groggily to his alarm, falling out of bed to turn it off Cal knew today was not going to be a good one. The manager at his work had recently awakened and had gone off to the otherworld to fight on the frontlines for humanity. Next in line for the position Cal was ready to start his first day off with a bang.
Throwing on a clean pair of pants and his red and white striped Kwik-E-Mart tee he ran out the door headed to work.
the streets of sector 52 where not as crowded as they had been before the gate crashed down 16 years ago but as over half of humanity hadn't awakened there was still people populating the main street of the city.
walking along the sidewalk Cal dreamed of what it would be like to be awakened, most went to the otherworld chasing money, others a place in the new world, but all gained power once thought unobtainable by humans. If he could Cal would leave in a second, chasing glory in the otherworld. everyone knew it would eventually become humanities home, more and more children were being born as awakened. The government was sure that the next generation would be of the last that was bound to their rotting world.
turning the corner of 15th and Van Buren Cal saw the bright neon sign shining in the fading light, looking down at his watch he saw that he had 10 minutes before his night shift began, hurrying down the street as to not be late he continued his fantasy.
Awakened were all given a unique blessing, although none could explain exactly what it was, all awakened could almost instinctually understand what it was. Mastery over your blessing granted further power to an awakened. At the peak of humanities power were the taken. Awakening granted you the ability to cross the gate, a massive arch that had fallen from the sky decimating the city that had once been below it. although it didn't look like it lead anywhere an awakened that crossed underneath it would appear in the otherworld in one of the 16 citadels that humanity had conquered.
Once an awakened joined a citadel it was their responsibility to help create a suitable home for the awakened who came after them, fighting deadly monsters populating the otherworld.
Opening the door to the supermarket Cal was thrown down by a man rushing out the door. Time slowed, Cal was falling to the ground. His arm flung out Infront of him his index finger touched the mans neck as he fell on top of Cal.
Cal had never seen so much blood.
Cals hand cut the mans throat as if he was running his hand through water. Against his control Cals hand continued to slide past the mans throat, leaving a bloody line straight across.
Cal hit the ground, the dying man falling on top of him. Blood spilled out all over Cal, soaking through his clothes.
Then he felt it. The pull of the otherworld.
A sinister darkness swirled in his peripheral vision, a feeling of longing he couldn't resist, a pull to a place he instinctually knew intimately.
Then the world turned black. A cold gust of wind blew against his face. He was in the otherworld.
He had not only awakened. He had become one of the taken.