Thousands of creatures had besieged the vehicle, in which a blonde, elf, teenage boy loitered. The vehicle had only just crashed into a wall. The dark, shadow-like creatures consumed it all with its reign of black magic. They outnumbered everything. And in that aspect, they were like the stars to Ashton.

Ashton's eyes were brimming with tears as he ran away from the vehicle, hearing his rounds and rounds again of his friend's loud wails. He sniffled, and coughed, and sobbed. He felt hopeless.

***

Ash, shirtless, bolted upright, panting heavily. He had been getting nightmares for over a year now, and they seemed to only intensify with age. He sighed. When would the horrors come to end? 

Ash was conspicuously different now. Most of his upper body was covered in tattoos. Anomalous words mainly in Spanish ... and other writings that seemed to resemble ancient runes. His arms, chest, neck; they were all covered in ink. His skin permanently marked. It was a good deal of ink, certainly. What's more, Ash had attained a lean physique. He had grown muscular body parts without having gone a single day to the gym. 

The room in which he lingered, was his bedroom. It was a rather small bedroom. It would take one under seven casual steps to make it from one wall to the other. And the condition of these walls ... well, they were partially demolished. The walls had several holes and cracks in them. Damage done either by his fists or his daunting metal bat. 

Ash slept with this metal bat. He slept with it to the point where it would be expected of a romantic partner to get envious. But Ash had no romantic partner. Not anymore and never again. As the growing king of the mafia, you couldn't expect to have a life of relationships and merriment. The only thing that beckoned merriment in Ash's heart nowadays was the swinging of his metal bat. It was, after all, his most prized possession. To him, it was all that he had ... the remnants of what was long lost. 

He clutched his hands to the metal bat, squeezing it firmly. His grip had gotten quite stronger. He peered closely at the bat. Then, he slowly carried his head to it. He closed his eyes, and poured his lips. He slowly pressed his lips against the bat.

Then, he slowly stood. He roved at his environment. Simply put, it was outright filthy. Compared to it, his old room was moderately pristine. There were old cigarettes prevalent; in every inch and corner of the room. The floor hadn't been swept in months. Furthermore, many of the tiles on the floor were broken from constant bashes. He scoffed. He finally understood why his mother was so bossy when it came to chores. He never thought he would end up like this. 

He started toward the door, his metal bat his his side. He opened the door, revolving the door knob, and then he pulled the door open. Standing in front of him was Xavier, his servant. He was a rather short man; in the apparel of a butler. He also had a strange mustache that nearly covered his entire upper lip.

Xavier peered up at Ash, handing him a cup of coffee. Ash took the cup, and examined it. It didn't look like it was poisoned. He wouldn't usually check for things like these. He wasn't paranoid when it came to his people. But there was always just something amiss about Xavier. 

Ash pretended to drink from the cup. "Tastes like shit," he said, walking down the hall. 

"You're welcome, boss," Xavier said, "And morning by the way."

Ash dropped the cup of tea on the floor. The glass had shattered. "Someone will clean that up later. What we need to worry about now is what you did to that tea. It's lava hot!"

Xavier glimpsed at him, carrying his cup to his lips. "I used my ability."

"I forgot that I'm like the only guy here without," Ash said. 

Xavier simped his tea. "Ah, c'mon, boss ... we both know that's all you ever think about. There is no way you forgot that."

Ash jammed his right hand in his pants pocket. "Actually no. I don't think about it anymore. I'm not Ashton. Ashton's dead. I'm Ash now. Remember that."

Xavier nodded. "If you say so. For a man to change his name ... imagine what he must've gone through." his voice trailed off and silence took its place. 

Ash hadn't replied. 

Xavier looked at him as they sauntered without direction. "Hey, boss? I've been meaning to talk to you in private for a bit. Wanna go smoke outside?"

Ash sighed, keeping his eyes to slits. "You have me for ten minutes. After that, I have to go to work."

Xavier smiled at him. "That'll do." he slowly opened his eyes as they walked and couldn't help but notice the metal bat in Ash's left hand. His right hand was in his right pocket, but the other was wrapped around the weapon. "Are you taking that thing with you?"

Ash slung it over his shoulder. "Of course. Why not? I mean, I don't have Dianne anymore, and I can't stay single so ..." he smirked, "I just love the way she swings with me. When we're together, things hit differently." 

Xavier averted his eyes. "I understand you. Someone with your caliber is bound to get lonesome. It's a lonely world out here, boss."

They had made it outside. They walked over to the barbed wire fence. Four chairs were near this fence. They both sit on a chair, already lounging. 

Ash, his bat on his lap, lit a cigarette with his lighter. He then slowly carried the cigarette to his lips. He sucked the smoke into his mouth, and puffed it out. The smoke hovered out from his opened mouth in the form of a ring. 

Suddenly, Ash was sent back into another flashback.

Cliff had a hole in his body, blood sontantly gushing out. He sat down on a chair, the world behind him appearing as nothing but blackness. But above him, there was a single light source. He loomed in this benighted world. His pupils slowly shifted. He leered dauntingly at Ash. He exhaled, a puff of smoke appearing as a ring escaping his mouth.

"You see the ring boy? That's what this is right now. The world as we know it is fucked. A ring has no edges, it goes around and around and around. You get the gist," he leaned in, his eyes glowing green, "that's how the world's gonna be from here on out. Apocalypse, Genocide, Carnage ... again and again, for all of time. You thoughts the creatures who rises from the earth were the real deal? I bet you're pissing your pants now that you've seen the real mother fuckers. This is phase one: Apocalypse!"

Sylvia touched Ashton on his shoulder. "Ash?"

"Are you even hearing me?"

"Ash!"

"Boss!" he heard Xavier's call, and was snapped out of it. He jumped, heart slamming against his chest. Slowly, his frightened face had turned into a sorrowful one, one that showed little emotion.