Dawning Metropolis Part 1

This used to be a small town which people never knew existed or if they did they would ignore it. I lived here when it was like that but since I've been gone, it's changed. That small town I remember has been transformed into a giant metropolis, this change happened after 'The Weather Turn' by a group of people who saw the opportunity and seized it. From what I know, that group of people started out as good and honest people but somewhere along the line some have started to turn and even though this place is masked as a paradise there is a darker side hidden underneath it all. Some of the group are people I once knew, some I even called friends but to rid my home of the darkness destroying it I must confront them and if they are involved in the darkness of this place their lives will be forfeited.

The view of this place as a metropolis is daunting at first glance, I'm used to it being small buildings and hardly any people but as I sit on the train coming in closer to the city the image is awe-inspiring. Beautiful skyscrapers growing into the skyline, natural forestry instead of being destroyed are converted into wildlife preserves and public parks, the sunshine lighting up the city being reflected off the skyscrapers instead of being constantly covered by rain clouds and the beach has turned from a rocky hell to a sandy haven. Even the train I'm riding on is a big step up as it catches the attention with it's futuristic style, the speed it can travel and the fact that it has stops around the entire town, well it's not a town any more it's something much more.

Since getting on this train people seem to be giving me dirty looks I don't know if it's because of the marking on my face or the five foot case taking up an entire seat. Whatever their issue is it doesn't bother me except for the two guys a few seats away who have been following me since before I got on this train. I'll have to deal with them soon so I don't lead them to my first destination but I can't do anything on the train that could cause a public scene and get me noticed, I can't have that. My stop is coming up soon I'll wait until then to make my move. The train starts to slow down when your in the more populated areas so you get to see what the place is like, there's businesses, hotels, apartments, street vendors and a lot of people. Going through each district there are a lot of differences between them from the architecture of the buildings to the type of shops, each held something unique to it. The district I'm going to they have to close the shutters on the train and keep them closed for approximately 10 miles by my guess. When they reopen the shutters all the glamour of the districts are back so even though they give the excuse it is a private sector I know there's something else there. I'll have to check it out after as my stop is coming up and I have to deal with my followers.

The train slows down to a stop when the conductor announces the arrival so I step out into the aisle and slowly reach the overhead compartment for my bag while two pairs of beady eyes watch my every move. I throw the bag over my shoulder and pick up the case then head out with two tails. The train station in this district is a raised platform so you have to climb down two flights of steps before hitting the ground, so lets see how good these guys are. I ran for the steps but instead of running down them I step on the railing and leap off gripping a lamppost and sliding down to the street. I see them above looking over the railing at me and they know they've been spotted, that's when they start sprinting down the steps instead of watching them I head for an alleyway up ahead. As soon as I curve into the shadows of it I look back to them and they have just touched the street so they'll be meeting me and I can ask some questions so I lay down the bag and case ready for them. When the first guy comes into the alleyway I kick his shins so he drops to his knees then raise my knee with pure force straight into his chin causing him to collapse onto the floor, not surprising seeing as his chin just shattered, that's when the other caught up. This one seemed more alert as he didn't rush forward instead he slowed down so I couldn't catch him off guard, that's quite annoying. I guess I'll just question him before beating him then, “Why are you following me?” The man said nothing but stare at his partner in front of him. “I want to know why you two are following me?”

“Orders, nothing personal.” So he does talk, good.

“Who gave you those orders?”

“That is confidential.” He speaks like he is untouchable, that the fact he's following me is something I can't control, he's about to learn a lesson on that. I lunge at him without a warning, going over the guy on the floor, punching him in the face making him take a step back but that's all. Then it's his turn he swings wildly at me giving me enough space to dodge and get in close where my elbow finds his gut releasing all the air in him making it easy to just throw him down. Now maybe he will answer my question. “Who hired you?” He looks up at me fear instilled in him but still he doesn't talk so I lean down closer to him and grab his shirt so we end up face to face and I ask again, “Who hired you?”

“I don't know!” He speaks but way to quiet to hear I think that may be my fault, so I shake him to try getting something I can hear “What was that?” He speaks properly this time.

“I don't know! I'm telling you the truth, we were hired anonymously to follow you that's it. I promise you.” Unfortunately I believe him especially seeing how there is tears strolling down his face and his lip is quivering. So I just let him go, pick my stuff up and leave the alley, it's time to visit someone in this district.

After travelling through the district I get to one part where there are no skyscrapers for a mile, most of it is one compound with a three story building in the middle, I guess that's my destination. The gates are at least fifteen feet high and the walls around twelve feet so I guess I try knocking first, there is three guards at the front gate all armed and not your rent-a-cop, these guys look like trained security with some violent history but they're the ones I have to ask to get past. The biggest one stands in the booth while the other two stand by the gate so I walk over to him and into the booth, he has his back to me and as soon as I open my mouth he turns around, with speed someone his size shouldn't have, pulls his gun and points it straight at my face. “Hands in the air and speak your business!” He shouts loud enough for the other guards to hear but they don't move they just look this way. I reply “Hey, I want to get in there so can you let me in?” he doesn't seem pleased by my question so he keeps his pistol raised, a bit of a nuisance but I'll leave it be. “There are no appointments for today so you ain't coming in without an appointment now leave.” he waves his gun as if to shoo me away. “Come on, can't you just let me in. I'm sure I'll be welcome.” I kind of begged him but that did not work instead he got more worked up, his face started burning bright red, a vein on the side of his neck started protruding and now he was more violent, “LEAVE NOW!!” he bellows at me and pushes his pistol into my face. Now he's gone to far, I reach up quickly and snap his wrist back, turn the gun around and switch it from his grip to mine and now the gun is pointing at him. “Don't point a gun at me again!” My voice is calm a bit too calm for someone who just disarmed a guard and that's why I scare him more than if I roared at him, emptying the chamber and setting the gun on his desk I turn and leave. The other two guards haven't moved but they keep eyeing me like I'm dangerous.

Now that I can't get through the gates I have to go over the wall so I pace further up where there are no cameras and it is far enough from any gate to be hidden. I throw my bag over the wall then strap the case to my back and take a run at the wall. I easily climb up and over it then fall into the garden, grabbing my bag off the ground and start pacing through the garden of the compound before I get spotted by anyone. There's cameras pointing at almost every angle blocking my route to easily accessible areas so I have to go the long way around, skipping from one bush to another until I hit the stairs to the main building, I don't know if it's a home or just a business place but this is where I need to be. I climb the stairs crouched down slightly to get better cover, the cameras point at the front entrance and the side entrance but there's a gap with a window so that will be my entrance, the only issue is the guard patrolling. I stay on the steps for a few minutes watching the guards steps and how long he takes before he moves from one camera to the other. That is twenty. So I have a twenty second window to take him down and get into the building, it may be a bit of a stretch with no weapons on hand and just trying to knock him out but it can be done. I move out from my spot just as he leaves the side camera, running at him I collide with a thud knocking us both to the ground he's still awake so I cover his mouth form a fist with a slightly raised middle finger to be able to hit him in his temples weak point knocking him unconscious. Then move to the window try to open it but it's locked so I have to smash it to get in, it may make a noise but I have to take that risk. Instead of injuring my hand I use the case and smash through the window, as soon as I'm in I quickly move through the entryway and open a door to a giant hallway with two sets of stairs either side leading to the next floor.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP.

A loud siren starts blasting and then this empty hallway starts filling up quickly, armed guards everywhere, I quickly dived behind a table and tipped it over for cover. It seems to be made out of some metal/glass mix but it looks sturdy so I hope it's bulletproof because that's when people start firing at me. Gunshots are going everywhere in my direction but not coming through the table yet so that's a good sign. I lay the case on the floor and open it, there are my twin katana with the custom made belt next to my dual pistols and bag of tricks. For this situation I wont need my bag of tricks my pistol and katana should be enough but I better use non-lethal bullets, now it's my turn. I draw one katana and start twisting it around blocking any bullets I can't dodge and with the other hand I start shooting people, some get hit in the chest, some in the arm, some in the leg and some in the head. The amount of people still standing starts dwindling and some start shouting something about getting a shooter and running away, it doesn't bother me at the moment so it's fine for now. As soon as my magazine runs out I switch out the pistol and replace it, the same goes to the katana to save it from too much pressure, then carry on reducing their numbers, some people get back up but the number still goes down. I count eight people not been hit by me and three people who have got back up, one of them has been shot five times, now that is strength but he still has to go down, so I keep shooting them until a burning pain starts in my arm. I know this pain well, I have been shot but it can't be by these guys because I have blocked everything they shoot at me so that means there is another shooter, it seems they were talking about some guy who has good skill. I have to turn quickly as another bullet comes at me but this time I noticed it but only just, if I was a few milliseconds slower my other arm would be shot.

I get back behind the table for cover to regain some composure. I've only bought myself a few minutes so I've got to make it count. Now who ever this guy is they have to be good as I couldn't notice his presence and seeing how he's not visible means he is using a high powered gun and shooting through the wall. I take a quick look over the table at the wall and notice two exit holes from different sides then have to quickly duck before another bullet just skims my head. Whoever this person is he's good, then a loud bang goes off in front of the table, then a bullet comes through it, the noise of the bang was bigger than the actual impact but he used an explosive round to open a hole in this table to shoot through. That first bullet he shot through is an arms length away so I reach for it and quickly return to my position. If this guy is a known marksman he may have marked his rounds if so I could find out who it is, so looking closely on this I find it, the marking just had to be his. What the hell is he doing here, it's a blade with the letters AR on it. I never thought he would be here. I shout out to him “Hey Aiden, you having fun!” There's silence no gunfire or people talking until,

“I must admit this is quite enjoyable, when they called for me I never thought I would have to stop you. What you doing here Mal?” Yes my name is Mal. Well it's short for Malcolm, Malcolm Green.

“I'm just as surprised your here and I only came to visit an old friend but I had to break in because the gatekeeper wouldn't let me in. Hey, how about we end this Aiden?”

“I'm up for that Mal, so just like last time one bullet and you have to block it. Got it?”

“Yea I got it!” This is something we've been doing for a while so I put down my pistols grab both katana and step out. Everyone is frozen in place and there stands Aiden with a new rifle in his hands and he raises it up to take aim. BANG. He fires the one shot and I with both katana slice down and cut the bullet causing it to split and just skim my head. Aiden lowers his rifle and starts laughing, it seems as though he enjoyed it well the way I can feel myself grinning shows that I enjoyed it as well. The other guards seem to have lowered their guns so I head for the stairs when one of the guards shoots at me. I move my body out of the way but not quick enough as I get clipped in the arm again. This pisses me off. I end up shouting at him, “I've had enough!” Then I raise my katana and throw it straight towards him making sure to put enough force in it. It cuts straight into the stone wall just below his ear, it seems like cutting his earlobe should be enough to stop him from shooting at me again.

Instead of going up the rest of the stairs I go back down to the table grab my bag and close my case then head for the other stairway. When I get to my katana the guard is still frozen in place blood trickling from his ear onto my blade and then onto the floor. I pull it out of the wall grab a piece of his clothing and wipe the blade clean yet he still doesn't move, good, so I sheathe my katana and head up to the next floor. There stands Aiden with his rifle hanging at his side looking at me with a big smile on his face like he just saw his favourite comedy show. He walks closer to me and pats me on the arm where he shot me as his way of greeting me. The pleasantries have been enjoyable but now to the reason I'm here. “Where's the boss of the place? I know she's around here and I need to see her.” Aiden signalled to one of the guards and away he went.

“That guy will get her for you but what are you doing back here, you told me you couldn't come back so why now?” For all the comedy Aiden is, when he acts serious for that rare occasion it means he is concerned. “What I said means nothing now, there is a darkness in this place and I'm here to get rid of it. This was and always will be my home town so I have to protect it.” Aiden opens his mouth to say something else when she walks in. Emilia Mazzeo.

The last time I saw her was the day before I left this place, she used to be the happiest person you could meet always keeping people uplifted and having fun when they were near her. She always used to have that glint of pure joy in her eyes no matter what happened because she could see the good in things but what I see now is not joy that is pain and anger of the purest kind, something big happened while I've been gone. The moment she notices me I can't help but smile at her reaction; she turns around then turns back, starts rubbing her eyes and even slaps herself. When she stops reacting to me she starts walking closer then speaks. “No you can't be here, you just can't be here.” Tears start running down her face, “Your supposed to be dead. Everybody thinks you are dead, that's what we were all told!” her voice starts to get louder so I interrupt her.

“I had to make everyone think that, where I was going and what I was doing I had to rid myself of the life I had. That means no connections to anythi...”

“Rid yourself of the life you had! Are you crazy! We mourned you and now you tell me all that sadness was for nothing! You heartless bastard!” Then came something I never would have expected. Her fist came fast and hard punching me straight into my face, got to admit she has one hell of a punch, she caught me around my cheek bone and with that much force I may end up with a black eye. After punching she throws her arms around me and gives me a big hug, it seems as though she hasn't lost all the joy in her and that's good. When she lets me go she wipes her face of all the tears and steps back. Standing in front of me is not the girl I once knew, she shows off her features more than before bringing out the beauty she always kept hidden, she throws a mean punch and has a gun holstered to her waist, she is now one tough beautiful woman. I guess I really have been gone a long time. Once she gets her composure back she speaks calmly “Let's go somewhere more private and talk about the reason your here.” I just nod my head and follow along with Aiden who has been frozen solid while me and Emilia were talking.

We reach a room which looks like her office, there's two standalone chairs and a sofa facing a large mahogany desk with the boss' chair. Emilia heads for her chair while me and Aiden head for the standalone chairs. When we're all seated Emilia starts the business talk. “What brought you back here Mal? It has to be something important to come back after all these years. So what is it?” Aiden looks intrigued as well so I just tell them the truth. “There's a darkness in this city that will bring it to the ground and then keep crushing. I don't know who it is but I intend to find out.” They both look at me like I've said something crazy but they know it's the truth. Aiden speaks up first, “How do you know about this in the first place when you haven't even been here?”

“I got attacked by some hidden faction in South Africa and then in Brazil. When I got some information out of one of their guys I was told that the wheels were in motion to destroy what was built and then recreate a kingdom in which they rule.” My story seemed to have captivated their attention so I carried on. “I kept chasing after them from city to city and country to country but they were always one step ahead. They made one mistake though and that was when they went after Mr Frost, he was the guy who taught me how to fight at first. He was a tough guy who held them off until the end but even that was not enough as I was too late. He was killed by them and there near his beaten and broken body was a map. A map of this place and the word 'Dawning' at the top. That means this is their first target, they will destroy this place if I don't stop them and one of your group who started this metropolis is involved with them. Mazzeo this is now your city but it once was our town and that's why I can't let it fall.” Emilia seemed to be contemplating this when they went off again.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

I didn't set them off this time. Emilia grabs the communicator, “Why is the alarm going off, I have the intruder here with me so can someone turn that damn alarm off.” Silence remained then a worried voice spoke back “Boss we have trouble. There are intruders coming from every entrance of the compound! Prima this is an invasion.” That stopped our conversation and Emilia ran out of the room so me and Aiden kept on her tail, We ended up in the surveillance room, all the cameras showed trucks full of armed soldiers storming the compound all heading for the main base. I run to the entrance way where I broke in from. This is the place to hold them off so I call Emilia and Aiden and when they get to me I explain my plan. “Mazzeo you need to split your forces, send most to guard the rear entrances and then a few to the sides. Me and Aiden will hold the front entrance.”

“Your crazy you two can't hold it by yourself, I'll stay and help.” I don't know if she can even shoot that gun she has or if it is just for show, “Do you know how to shoot?” This made Aiden and Emilia chuckle, I guess I missed the joke. Aiden speaks up on her behalf, “She can shoot just as good as you as I've been training her for a while, she can also beat the crap out of any guard she employs.” I guess that answers why they were laughing. “All right your with us but I also want the big guy who I shot five times and kept getting up.” Straight onto the communicator she went relaying orders to her men until there we stood, four of us at the front against numerous soldiers, this is where you get the rush from. Aiden looks to me and says, “Hey Mal, you remember the last time we fought together in Australia.”

“Yea, that was quite extreme.”

“Well this seems to be even more than last time. It should be fun.” We both laugh and then I head down to the main floor and move the table towards me, Aiden above raises his rifle ready, Emilia takes cover with the brute I shot waiting for the enemy to break through.

BANG!

Dust flies everywhere debris from the door and wall come flying through the room, we all take cover then the fight starts. I unsheathe my katana and open up the bloodshed.

Next Part

The Unkown Hero

Though the flesh wounding bullet had been shot ,

the soldier still carried on.

With each step he took his blood would spill,

making the roses weep with pain.

He went to help a fallen comrade,

with a wound more fatal than his.

He knew the chances of the soldiers survival,

were fine to nil.

Yet he threw him over his hollowed shoulder,

covering his blood stained wound.

He ran for a mile to the allied outpost,

searching for reinforcements and aid.

Laying down the soldier and bandaging himself up,

straight back to war he went.

He lifted a rifle to level his eye and pulled the trigger,

causing the bullets to fly.

He became a hero to the comrade he saved,

and even to the lieutenant that didn’t know his name.

He reloaded his rifle for the final stand,

against the enemy that was finally found.

He had perfect aim as every shot hit,

up until his time finally came.

The enemy fired rapidly,

forcing him to fall.

Gasping his final breath,

he bid farewell to all.

He was the unknown hero to all that was there,

as not one single person knew him at all.

Riders Part 1

It was midday, the time when the blazing sun reached it's peak and the wind started to blow up all the dust on the ground, the same colour was everywhere the sky and the ground, orange, that's the colour He was in as he got dragged into town tied to the back of a horse. He had been caught trying to steal off the bandits and so came his punishment from them. There were five of them, four were chip toothed and filthy hooligans but the leader stood out from the rest, he had perfect teeth, an expensive trench coat, finely cut hair and a magnificent stallion to ride. These five were on their way to the hanging platform to have themselves a show.


Now He didn't even manage to steal two gold coins from them as the first thing he tried to steal was their hot, roasting chicken and that was what got him caught, he always loved his food. So to be hanged for something he didn't even get seemed quite unfair but they were bandits what did they care about fair. "Come on, I didn't even take anything." He pleaded as he spit the dirt out of his mouth. "Who cares 'bout dat! We jus wan' a hangin!" replied one of the bandits, causing an eruption of laughter between them.


Even though His death loomed before him he complained no more and willingly walked to the platform, not even the look of despair crossed his face. The leader grew angry from the lack of pleading Why isn't he crying right now thought the leader as he finished untying the thief and started walking him to be hanged. "Why don't you go ahead and cry!!! Your gonna die soon!!! Hahahahaha!!!" screamed the men jostling, laughing and joking amongst themselves. Yet He stayed firm and showed not a care for what was about to come, he actually giggled at them. Only the leader heard the sound He made and the anger in him seemed to finally bubble over as he launched Him at the platform screaming at the loudest his voice could, "Why aren't you begging for your life, you lowlife, miscreant, maggot, vagabond?!", silence reigned supreme amongst the men.


Each man shocked and confused turned to face the one on his left and then his right just to see if they heard right, the leader was burning red and shaking violently while He looked up from the floor with a cut lip from hitting the platform, smiled at him and spoke "You can't kill me, the only reason I'm here is because I wanted the ride." He laughed at the leader while looking directly in his eyes. Each foul breathed, crooked teeth, rancid bandit blazed with shock and anger, they moved towards him as one unit. The leader silent and raging grabbed Him by the neck and lifted him off his feet, while the bandits set up the hanging platform and the noose for his neck. He was being held up in the air by the leader while being led to the hangman's knot, each inch closer the leader's grip grew tighter around His neck cutting down his air supply until he stood an inch apart from it and he could see all the frizzled strands of rope some of which held fragments of skin and blood from previous victims. The leader handed Him off so the noose could be wrapped around his neck and tightened, so he couldn't escape. The bandits had finally set Him up and now stepped back to watch the show, the leaver to release the trap door and hang Him was in front of the stage so that was where the leader situated himself. The leader stood next to the leaver ready to watch Him drop knowing he had the greatest view of all, while the others surrounded the platform in excited anticipation of the coming event.


The leader glared furiously at him and with a voice full of contempt asked "Any last words before you hang!" The leader expecting a bashful reply waited but He just stared back and replied calmly "No." The leader shocked at his reply yanked the leaver and let him hang. As the trap door opened and he fell through, the noose took hold around his neck and started to strangle him. His breadth was fading as no air got to him through the noose, this made the leader grin so wide and crooked that he looked more evil than all the other bandits combined. Each bandit cackled and smiled their crooked teeth smile while passing their hooch between each other and rejoicing that they finally had a hanging. His vision started fading, the sight of the bandits were growing dimmer, the bright orange landscape started turning grey and then a high pitched whistling sound rang in his ears but not just his also the bandits as he saw them twitch at the sound and then everything went black for him.


The bandits stood there in shock each eye turned to each other then to the leader hoping he had an answer for what had just happened but he was in shock just as much as the others. "Boss where did that come from?" one of the goons asked hoping for an answer but the leader just turned around to stare at the bandits with disbelief in his eyes.


"Oi Tyzan! You alive in there or what?" A strange voice bellowed through the orange dustlands surrounding a stranger walking with a horse and holding a bow in his hands. This stranger drew the attention of the bandits as one by one their eyes turned to him and all their shock had turned to anger and understanding. The leader knew what happened as soon as he saw the stranger holding the bow, he knew the whistling sound came from him. The leader without a second of thought and purely on reflex as if he had said it a million times, shouted at his men "Go and kill him!" The bandits only had knives on them as all their rifles hung on their horses to far away and the only one worthy of a pistol awong them was the leader but he didn't want to get his hands dirty with this stranger. The bandits ran at the stranger with rabid hunger in their faces ready for a bloodbath, they raised their blood crusted, blunt edged, crescent curved knives and slashed towards the stranger. The stranger just danced around them with spirited delight, a smile gleamed on his face from end to end, he was having fun while the bandits were trying to kill him. The bandits slashes were just inches from him before he dodged them and moved closer to the next bandit, and he kept repeating this process for his own entertainment over and over again, BANG BANG, two shots fired and one bandit falling to the ground.


Everyone stopped including the stranger, especially seeing how the dead body lay in front of his feet. "You missed me Mr Leader!" Spoke the stranger, causing a strangled expression on the face of the leader to appear, his burning red face had switched to a sour blue face in the blink of an eye. "Who are you and why shouldn't I shoot you where you stand?" asked the leader raising his gun to level the strangers head. The stranger not phased by the action calmly replied "Well, my name is Straga and it's nice to meet you. Oh and the reaso..."


"I win!" a voice screamed from behind the leader and as he turned around there was Tyzan standing in the hole where the trap door was, smiling a childish grin as he took the noose off his neck. "I beat you here Straga that means I win the bet. Oh yea, thanks for the wake up call Mr Leader it seemed as though I had fallen asleep just now." The leader dropped to his knees with his lips quivering and he kept repeating "How?" over an over again until it became a mumble unhearable to anyone. The bandits all stood around wondering what to do while Tyzan and Straga just walked to each other and gripped the others wrist performing their general handshake greeting and started laughing.


Straga turned to his horse and reached for an orange, dust stained, silk wrapped package which he handed off to Tyzan. Tyzan threw the package over his shoulder, steadied himself and then waved farewell to the bandits and walked off. Straga grabbed the reins of the horse and trailed after Tyzan, the bandits not knowing whether they should go after them or not just stayed frozen like statues as no order was given for them to move. Tyzan looked back over his shoulder with his childish grin and shouted to the bandits "Thanks for the ride." turned around and walked off in the direction of the nearby town. He had no qualms or issues over what had just happened, he brushed off getting dragged through the dustlands, thrown into the platform, being strangled and hanged. The only thing he cared about was the fact he had won the bet.

Niall The Gnome's Dark Past

In a place far forgotten and a time long ago there was the place of the gnomes, surrounded by luscious forests, fields and flower gardens but there was a dark side to this place. It was somewhere the dark gardener gnomes lived, these gnomes would go around destroying the flower patches, digging up the grass and helping the weeds to grow. Everything they did was to stop the growth of wildlife but there was one of them who did not like what he did. He was different from the rest of them yet he still followed their lead and destroyed the plants.

One day he was supposed to destroy a patch of roses but what he saw there was not what he had anticipated. A green gardener gnome was watering the roses; she wore a sapphire blue dress with a jade green vine design climbing on it, she had magnificent locks of earthy brown hair and her hat, her gnome hat was the most beautiful scarlet red he had ever seen. He tried to destroy the roses like he was supposed to but he just couldn't, something was holding him back and he knew it was her. When she looked up she smiled and gestured him closer, so he drew near, that's when she spoke to him "Come help water these." Shocked he didn't know what to do so just froze in place like a statue. She stood up and offered him her spare watering can and showed him what to do so he followed her lead and watered the roses with her. The joy he gained from doing this was unlike anything he had felt before.

Into the darkness of the twilight sky they went around watering all the flowers they could find until they both went their separate ways home. When he returned all the other dark gardener gnomes looked at him and questioned him on where he had been all day, he didn't want to tell them the truth so he just replied with a sharp "Out!" and walked through the house, upstairs and into his bed.

The next day he woke up and strolled out of the house straight to the roses patch where he met her yesterday but she wasn't there so he went to another patch and there she was watering more flowers, tulips this time. He wandered straight up to her with no hesitation and asked "What is your name?" she looked at him in his eyes and giggled like a little forest nymph, this made him blush turning his cheeks rose red. "My name is Leela. What's yours?" He looked at her with eyes of misery and whispered "I don't have one."  Leela smiled and replied
"Why?"

"Us dark gardener gnomes don't have names we have numbers instead and I'm 32." He just looked and spoke with so much gloomy misery yet Leela still kept smiling and spoke something that made all that misery disappear, "Well from now on you can be called Niall. Niall the gnome." And just like that the newly named Niall's frown grew into the biggest smile he could ever make, if it was any bigger his face would crack. Niall and Leela spent the rest of the day watering all the different flowers from tulips to roses to carnations, every flower until the end of the day when they went their separate ways again. As Niall got home he was questioned yet again but this time the elders got involved but Niall stayed firm and gave the same reply "Out!" then went to bed.


 The next day he went out looking for Leela; first in the rose bushes where he left his watering can, then the tulips where she gave him his name and finally the carnations but she was nowhere in sight when out of the blue dark gardener 40 called for him "Follow me 32!" So he followed him until they met up with two other gnomes. The leader of three stepped forward and spoke, "32 we've been following you and we know about the girl, she's with the others and if you don't change back to a dark gardener we will smash her to pieces." This angered Niall, he had the watering can in hand raising it up an a rapid pace and then smashed the gnome to his left and then the one to his right so only the leader was left. Niall asked the leader "Where is she?" but the leader ignored him and stepped back but Niall stopped him from moving any further and used the watering can to chip away at the gnome leader. First his hat, then his arm, then his face until eventually he gave in and told Niall where she was, then he smashed him to pieces. Niall ran as fast as he could to where she was but when he got there Leela was on the floor cracking. He kneeled down to her and she stretched her hand out to him and whispered in his ear "I will always be with you whenever you smile so keep watering the flowers and when you smile remember that I will always be there watching over you because I lov....." Then she cracked and broke apart before she could finish what she was saying. Niall held her pieces and cried for the one he lost.

When he had finished his grieving he stood up with the watering can and swore vengeance on the ones who did this to Leela. His anger had been raised to a level so high his sky blue gnome hat started to turn an eerie hell fire red. Niall now started his dark gardener gnome hunt, searching through the gardens he found some growing weeds and some destroying the wildlife, he smashed, destroyed and annihilated every dark gardener he could find. By the time he was finished no dark gardeners survived except the elders who stayed in the house. He then went home for the very last time to confront the elders for what they have done.

Ramming the door open the five elders stood at the other side of the house staring at Niall with disgust and then to the watering can stained by the dust of all the fallen gnomes lain out in Niall's path of vengeance. The elders gasped in surprise in what he had done but Niall just walked straight toward the elders ready to finish it all. The elder 4 spoke up with aggression "What have you done to our brethren?"

Niall just softly and quietly replied "Your going to be joining them soon." Then he leaped forwards and came crashing through one elder with the watering can and smashing through the back of another one. He then ended up in between two elders who hit him but didn't do it hard enough so caused no damage. When they went to hit him again he dodged out of the way and let them hit each other with enough force to cause their own demise. Now only one quivering elder remained. Niall then brought the watering can above the elders head and the elder begged "Please 32 don't smash me up. I'm sorry." But Niall just looked at the elder straight into his frightened eyes and spoke "My name is Niall!" Then he brought the watering can down so hard the last elder shattered into many many pieces. This brought Niall's vengeance to an end so he left the dark house never to return again.

Niall created a new life for for himself with his newly built house surrounded in green vines, rose bushes and tulip patches. He would water the plants everyday just so he could smile and remember Leela being by his side. Niall did this until the end of the gnome age that's why if you see him around he will always have a smile on his face, a watering can in his hand and a purple hat which could never change back to how it once was.

The End

Phoenix Squad Part 1

They had no idea what they had just walked into. A simple routine search they were told, nothing to serious. All of it was a lie. In ancient Greece the Scythians would sacrifice a prisoner of war to the God Ares, that's what these people were, nothing but a sacrifice to bloodshed, violence and war. Moving in strategic squad formation covering each other as they move forward, they entered the warehouse.

Taking charge of the squad was ex-SAS Staff Sergeant John Burd who led the way, next to him was his second in command ex-Navy SEAL Lacey Barnes the first and only female Navy SEAL in history. Behind them were ex-Spetsnaz Lenka Volkov, ex-707^th Special Mission Battalion Hana Sang and covering the rear was ex-Mercenary from the Army Rangers Hayden Bennett. This group has been together for a few years now and to some they are known as the best but what was ahead of them may be too much even for them.

As they moved through the entrance to the warehouse John signalled each to follow and remain in formation as they searched the building starting at the offices near the entrance, they swept them thoroughly with speed, not a trace of life was seen so they moved onto the main floor of the warehouse. Swiftly moving through the corridor leading up to the main floor John could hear some kind of muffled sound ahead so he slowed the pace and signalled the others to move with caution, Lacey knew something was up as she could see the confusion in John's eyes and she could also hear the sound however the others, could not. At the entrance to the main floor John stopped turned back to his team and crouched low so the others followed suit. In a whispered tone he spoke “There is something up ahead, I can't make out the sound so proceed with caution and move in formation Echo-7. Understood!” In unison he got his acknowledgement gripped the door handle, then cautiously entered the main floor.

Splitting off into two units John commanded the unit to the left and Lacey the unit to the right, John took Hayden as he was the most efficient after Lacey, this was formation Echo-7. They hastened around the aisles searching for anything suspicious, John stops, the sound is stronger but it still doesn't sound like any known pronunciation. Turning around to face Hayden he speaks in a hushed voice “Can you hear the sound?” Hayden looks back with confusion in his eyes and replies “What sound, I can't hear anything?” Only John can hear the sound but he knew he was not crazy as Lacey acknowledged the sound as well so he just replies “There’s something here,” then continues on.

To the right is Lacey and her unit proceeding with caution as told, each aisle they pass is the same; no signs of life or disturbance until a light appears further ahead, The closer they get the brighter it is but it flickers like a flame. Without a word they move closer and then the sound starts to become louder to Lacey but she keeps moving forward. “Ahhh!” From behind Hana drops to her knees holding her head in her hands and screams. “Ahhh it hurts, it hurts! The pain, make it stop! Please mak...” Swiftly Lacey turns grabs Hana around the mouth and holds her tight but it's too late as the light burns brighter now and the noise is even louder. They have been compromised.

On the left side John and Hayden hear the scream and now see the light, without turning to Hayden a distressed John pounces through the aisles and shouts behind “We got to regroup!” so Hayden follows. With each aisle the burning light and gibberish sound grow stronger, when suddenly another scream this time a fighters roar “Get away or I'll rip your throat out!” John understands the voice to be Volkov the behemoth Russian but he can't tell what is happening he is to far away. “Come any closer and there'll be a body bag for you!” this time it's Lacey and now John is worried, when Lacey loses it that means the trouble is titanic. With one aisle left John raises his gun to take aim and ready himself for the enemy but what he sees is nothing he could have expected. This is something he could only see in his nightmares.

Lying on the floor was Hana holding her head writhing back and forth in pain, next to her was Volkov on his knees petrified with a look of terror on his face. The behemoth being reduced to this state was a bad enough view but then there was Lacey being raised up off the ground by her throat struggling uselessly to fight against The Monster holding her. John horrified by the scene before him raises his gun aiming at The Monster's head “Put her down now!” Lacey squirms trying to release herself but this does nothing except bring her closer to losing conscious. Hayden caught up to John but he didn't look at the scene in front of him, he looked at the one thing John missed and that is the burning flame.

Hayden pats his hand on John's shoulder then points to the burning flame and whispers, “John, what is that?” The fear in Hayden's voice caught John's attention more than the words, then as he looked he saw what he missed. Something unimaginable was right in front of his eyes a burning flame that held life, well at least he thought it was a flame at first. With a more focused look he noticed what it actually was, with two outstretched wings, sharp piecing talons, emerald green eyes, a fierce beak and a size larger than an eagle all of this with feathers emanating burning flames. This was a real phoenix.

Now the fear took over John not because of the mythical creature or the monster holding Lacey or the fact that his team had broken down, the fear was caused by the black symbol embedded on the phoenix's wing. That symbol was a mark he could never forget as it's something he was marked with also. He looks at the monster holding Lacey and now he fears this monster but he still won't back down not when his unit is danger. Once again he raised his weapon to The Monster and spoke “I told you to put her down.” The Monster cackled then dropped Lacey to the ground, Hayden scurried to drag her from the reach of The Monster. The Monster had a mask covering his head it looked like pieces of skin sown together with different animal teeth. “What a coincidence that there should be a real phoenix here with the same mark as you John 'Phoenix' Burd. It seems like this was all planned. What do you think?” John not knowing what to think as no one alive should know about his mark not even Lacey. “Who are you and how do you know about the mark?”

“Well the answer is that this is all planned. It's been planned all by me. You and your squad were mean to come here all so I cou....”

“STOP THE BULLSHIT! WHO ARE YOU!” John shouting ferociously at The Monster, rage now piercing his calm exterior. “As always your very impatient Phoenix, if you wait until I'm finished then you would find out. Now where was I? Oh yea, you were all meant to come here so I could meet you.” The monster has no care for the rage John shows as he just continues on at his own pace he even moves closer to John. “Who. Are. You.” John takes one step toward The monster with each word until they stand toe-to-toe.

Lacey starts standing up but is still a bit unsteady on her feat so she leans on Hayden's shoulder for the support.  Volkov and Hana still remain in the same position, something ingrained into their depths keeping them from returning to the proper state of mind.  Hayden turns to Lacey with the look of despair in his eyes which took over Volkov, Lacey knows what happened to Volkov so she can't let that happen to Hayden.  She reaches onto her thigh pulls free her blade and jabs it straight into his shoulder.  Hayden's eyes widened and lost the despair but replaced it with pain of the piercing blade stuck in his shoulder,  “Damn that hurts, what are you doing?”  Hayden asks Lacey as he pulls the blade out of himself.

Hayden has been stabbed before so he knows the feeling of it from previous experience but that still doesn't dull the pain.  Lacey replies with a smile on her face “You were going to turn out like Volkov so I had to do something to stop that from happening.  Pain was the best choice.”  Hayden angered by what she did had no idea how to argue with her especially after seeing the state of Volkov so just wiped the blade on her vest then handed it back to her.  “This is a bad situation here, John never gets like this.  There has to be something we can do Lacey.”  A ping of guilt ran through Lacey as Hayden spoke as she knew that their strength was no where near what was needed.  “We can hope.  Hope that John can do something because Volkov was crushed without being touched and then entered that state he's in.  Then when I thought I had a chance he went from being five feet away to me being held by my throat in the air.  So whatever happens next all we can do is hope.”  Defeat was all that was seen in Lacey but she kept standing firm watching John and trying to keep the belief that he can do something but how long that would last was just ticking away.

John standing toe-to-toe with The Monster ready for a fist fight may not have been the best option as he had no knowledge of how powerful The Monster could be but the mystery of who he was overpowered any sense he had.  “Who are you under that damn mask!”  Even though John's voice was calmer and quieter it held more contempt than when he roared.  This made The Monster chuckle, then he reached up and pulled the mask from the bottom of his head to the top until it was completely removed and there he stood exposed in front of the unit.  John threw himself back falling to the ground and even then he scurried back further until his back hit something solid, his breathing was erratic, palms sweaty and he felt the room closing in.  John was experiencing a panic attack.  Never in his life has he experienced a panic attack and he has been through many different wars and seen numerous scenes that would mentally scar people for life but none of that can compare to him what he just saw.  “What's the matter John?  Don't you like what you see?  You wanted to see who I was didn't you. Bwahahaha.”  The exposed Monster was enjoying the sight of John quivering on the ground.  “Y..Y..You're dead.  I saw you die in front of my eyes.  There's no way you could be alive.”  The walls of John's mind start to unravel as The Monster standing before him is something impossible to John and nothing is impossible to John.      

He slowly gets to his feet grabbing a piece of metal so he can keep upright, he speaks again “How are you alive?  I held your dead body full of burns, holes and blood in my arms.  I even buried you”  John now more agitated as he speaks now shouts at The grinning Monster “YOU CAN NOT BE ALIVE TAG!!!”

“I am very much alive and more powerful than I could ever have imagined.  Now I'm powerful enough to make them all pay.”  Tag confused John with what he said, who could he possibly make pay.  “What are you talking about?  Make who pay Tag?”  The grin on Tag's face grew to a crooked and unearthly grimace and then he spoke with an indescribable evil in his voice.

“Everyone!”

         

The sound of his voice frightened John, this is not the Tag he once knew, this is something different. Now more steady on his feet John moved closer and challenged Tag's response. “What could you possibly have against everyone? That's crazy!” To his squad he looked brave and unwavering but he was actually scared and afraid.  His hand was closed up into a fist but not to fight it's to keep the sweat in his palm from showing and he squeezed it tight to stop the shaking. Even though he was scared like never before he still stood his ground against Tag.

Tag looked at him with disgust at the question he just asked, as if John should already know the answer. He spoke back nice and calmly, “Crazy. No John, crazy is finding out the truth and not doing anything about it!” Tag now gets more agitated and the phoenix next to him starts to burn stronger and hotter. Then he roars, “THEY SENT ME TO MY DEATH!!!” On instinct John took a step back, raised his gun up and aimed it at Tag's face. His finger was on the trigger but he hesitated to pull it as this is still the Tag he once knew. The one he treated like a brother and the one he saw die. John will soon learn he is wrong.

“Hahahaha! Hahahaha!” Tag was laughing at John. He was amused by the thought that John could hurt him with a pistol. “Now John we both know you're not going to pull the trigger. You can't shoot me.” John's finger was still on the trigger but he was still hesitant as he knew Tag was speaking the truth so he slowly lowered his gun to his side. John desperately believes the person he once knew is still in there no matter how he acts at the moment. “What happened to you Tag? We were brothers. We counted on each other and now you're here saying this was a trap so you could meet us. What is going on Tag?” Concern was written all over John's face but Tag couldn't care. He moved closer to John then erupted again, “What happened!! What happened!! YOU LEFT ME TO DIE!!! You my brother, LEFT ME TO DIE. THAT IS WHAT HAPPENED!!!” Fury raced through Tag and John could feel it. The air started to burn as the phoenix blazed ferociously however Tag was the only one there who ignored it. John started feeling that the old Tag may not be there but he still held a little ray of hope that his feeling was wrong. John's feelings were hardly ever wrong.

Volkov started to gain some motion in his body and tried to move but most of his body was still in a petrified state. Hayden knelt down next to him to try helping him up, this did not go well. When Hayden touched Volkov a shock ran through both of them. Hayden got knocked backwards and landed on his back while Volkov stayed petrified but he started to mumble. Lacey ran to help Hayden get up and there were no reactions with each other. Panicked at what she saw just happen she grabs Hayden by both shoulders not remembering the stab wound she created. This made Hayden flinch and yelp at her touch causing an immediate release of his shoulders. “I'm sorry about that. I forgot.” Lacey spoke sincerely unlike when she would usually cause him pain. Hayden laughed it off but he was in more pain than what the stab wound caused. That shock did something to him. Lacy noticed the difference in which Hayden stood but she was more focused on Volkov and what he was mumbling so she walked close to him and knelt down.

After seeing what happened to Hayden she made sure not to touch him. Instead she tries to talk to him, “Volkov what are you saying?”  Volkov turned to face Lacey still mumbling quietly but with him this close she could here him. “I've seen it. We will die. It's going to kill us. Everyone will fall at the end.” A frightened Volkov is never a good thing but a crazy, out of his mind Volkov is something thought to be impossible. Never before has Lacey seen Volkov like this, it almost makes her touch him for comfort until she remembers what happened to Hayden.  Instead she stood back up and moved near Hayden to notice he was panting and unsteady on his feet. That's when the light went out of him. Hayden dropped unconscious to the ground and Volkov followed.