Alexis’ feet thundered across the pavement as she ran. An overwhelming compulsion gripped her, driving her body to the brink out of fear and necessity. She absolutely had to reach her father. Every few minutes, she’d pass another student or parent with the same crazed look in their eye heading to God knows where. It seemed that everyone had finally caught on to the magnitude of the situation. The only problem was that they were running in the wrong direction. Looking into the dead eyes of one staggering woman who’d seemingly pushed herself beyond her limits just to make it this far, Alexis couldn’t help but see her own mother there charging off to what was most likely her death.

No! I can’t think like that! Mom will survive. Mitch will survive. Dad and I will survive this storm and reunite our family. The last three assertions echoed over and over in her mind, creating a mantra to which her soul marched.

As her breath ran increasingly more ragged, she noticed a fog that seemed to sweep in behind her and nip at her heels. A new sense of urgency flooded her mind as she noticed the way it snaked forward. Alexis wasn’t sure if she was just dehydrated and imagining it, but she swore she could see actual snakes made of mist moving at the leading edge, twirling and diving like they were swimming parallel to the ground. At their backs was a moving tidal wave of soupy white that gleamed malevolently. Gazing back over her shoulder, she could no longer see farther than 10 ft. behind her.

Within her heaving chest, her heart pumped vigorously at the sight, adding figurative flames to her step in a desperate gambit to escape. Alexis knew deep down that her failure to keep ahead of such a phenomenon would mean entrapment at the very least. If her instincts were true, the worst case scenario...she simply didn’t want to explore it. I must go faster! Like this, Alexis and the fog played a mortal game of tag until she felt the presence at her back recede and her eyes fall upon the boiler company where her father worked.

Alexis’ family lived on the southwestern side of the town whereas the school was located to the northeast. Ever since she’d left her house, she’d been running almost due east to reach where she was now. In effect, she’d run an “L.” Her brother’s school, unfortunately, was almost due west, a scant three miles away from the Blue Ridge Mountains that loomed in the background. She could still see their tree-clad tips, forlorn and imposing about the wispy fog that threatened the valley, but they looked even further away now than they ought to, like she she’d been cut off from them.

Shaking her head, she reminded herself as to why she was here and turned, breaking into a sprint that carried her through the gaping gates of the entrance. Stomping heavily to a weary halt, she looked around cautiously at the collection of prefabricated buildings in her surroundings. Everything was eerily quiet. There was no wind and something else seemed like it was missing as well. Realization struck as she thought back. The roaring and shaking! There weren’t any sounds that gave evidence to their existence anymore.

Rolling on the balls of her feet, she tried the main door for the administrative building where her dad worked. As expected, it was open for the normal business hours, yet not a soul could be found in the lobby. She continued padding down the corridor that led her further into the array of offices in the back of building. Since there was no electricity, the meager smattering of light that managed to make it through the thick fog at the border of the facility did little to illuminate her path in a building with few windows.

Eventually, she could no longer discern the flooring, so she carefully picked her feet up, stepping higher and desperately trying to remain as quiet as possible while not accidentally kicking anything. She’d seen too many movies to be stupid enough to run through a darkened building in a creepy situation like this.

*Shlick*

Alexis froze at the sound of her shoe trying to pull off of the tiled floor. Forcing herself to resist the urge of confirming what the fluid in the hall was immediately, she waited until her eyes finished adjusting to the low light and then looked down. A huge sigh of relief escaped her mouth as she realized that someone had just spilled coffee in their panic, probably from the earthquake and tower’s emergence. She was already hopeful that it wasn’t blood like she’d initially thought because there wasn’t that smell in the air - that iconic tangy hint of iron. She’d visited a butcher with her father several years ago when he’d bagged a doe during hunting season, and she’d nearly gagged then.

Frowning at the light, sticky squelch that her shoes now made, she pursed her eyebrows together, trying to will the darkness to become lighter as she tread forward once more. A few more feet however and she was eclipsed in total darkness. She stopped moving once again and felt a spring of fear well from within her soul again. She’d always tried to act tough. She put on a facade to the other teenagers at school, always assuming the aloof cold beauty personality. But here, in the overwhelming darkness of her environment and current situation, she couldn’t help but let out a self-mocking snort of derision.

The truth was that Alexis was terrified. She couldn’t even begin to think of another time in her life that held a candle to her circumstances now. An icy hand of fear threatened to choke the will to live out of her at every moment. Because really, who can survive against that? A hulking earth train of death had showed up on humanity’s doorstep, bent it over, and said, “Hope you’ve got lube, because otherwise this is going to be painful.” She wasn’t disillusioned like most Americans - she knew life wasn’t meant to be fair, but this was taking it to a whole new realm of “fucked up” and “shit happens.”

Frustrated, she separated herself from her thoughts and found a peculiar sensation that she’d forgotten about - the blanket of whatever that was still surrounding her after that not-shockwave. She felt it sticking closely to her skin, swirling and adhering to the minute surfaces on her body. She felt it as she breathed it in, circulating it through her lungs and expelling it back out into the chilly hallway air. A thought occurred to her that, quite frankly, embarrassed her that it’d taken so long for her to realize the possibility. It was only a theory, but what if what she is feeling...is mana?

Immeasurably excited by the tiny prospect of hope, Alexis concentrated on an outstretched left hand, imagining a coalescence of the immaterial substance that seemed to hang heavily in the air. She desperately willed the particles contained within that palm to come together and bind into light. The result was shaky at first, but eventually an absurdly tiny gem of pure, pale silver light formed a few inches above her hand, sending rays of light and shadows dancing across the walls. Sweat ran down her temples from the inordinate exertion until she finally was unable to hold her stare any longer and unknowingly blinked for the first time in several minutes.

Heaving a large breath, she allowed herself an exultant smile and psyched herself up to begin concentrating again, reminding herself that she needed to hurry, instead this time she focused on her left hand’s pointer finger. There, she imagined light coating the half inch at the very tip. This time, she felt a suction force from within her arm that spiraled upwards along her veins towards her hand, not unlike the feeling of having blood drawn, that reciprocated a dull ache once a seemingly large amount had been withdrawn.

Her eyes never wavering, Alexis watched as she successfully pulled off an E.T.!

Memorizing the feeling of what her finger felt like at the moment in her mind, she slowly averted her eyes and walked forward into the curtain of fleeing darkness. Bolstered by her success, Alexis felt the fear cease its tumultuous bubbling within her chest and recede, only to be replaced with a swelling of pride. I may very well be the first person of this apocalypse to successfully cast magic! With enough time, she wondered if she’d be able to create spells like the one’s she read about in books and on the internet. After this first test, it was reasonable to conclude that this wasn’t the type of setting where a chant was needed (so far as she knew) to invoke a magical effect. It may be the case that she was only limited by her imagination. How great would that be?

Suddenly, a slight *squelch* and *crack* came from a pitch black room to her immediate left. What followed was what sounded like something...eating?

As if it had never left in the first place, the primal fear she had initially been feeling was back in full force, taking root within her heart and forcing its way into her mind so strongly that tears came unbidden from the sheer pressure alone. Eyes wide, Alexis forced her trembling body to turn towards the doorway she’d foolishly neglected to check. Rays of pale light streamed within, illuminating the scene in a twisted light show cast by her shaking arm.

Alexis now knew why she couldn’t find a soul. Everyone in the building had tried to barricade themselves within the break room, the only space large enough to accommodate the entire administrative staff at once.

Splintered fragments of the hastily barricaded door were strewn in a fan shape burst leading into the room. There were no remnants of a plank, only shards. Bodies were flung everywhere. Blood...so much blood coated the floor and walls in gruesome streaks, even the slight *tap* *tap* of thick dripping could be heard as it pooled and fell off the main table, only to join a slick, crimson layer below. A few arms and legs were laid around, separated from their owners, forever unable to be reunited and given a proper burial. The faces...only fear and pain were portrayed in the unseeing eyes of the dead.

Alexis once again heard the sound that now encapsulated the entirety of her dread. A rustling came from further in and she could only stare in mute horror as a shape in the darkness moved from a shadowy pile of corpses. Twin golden eyes reflected back at the frozen girl as it moved its head to look towards the door. It was large - almost 10 feet tall - and slowly stood up. Bending its neck to the side to not hit the ceiling tiles, the creature cautiously and curiously regarded the shining light that blinded it.

Alexis gulped painfully and her eyes darted over to the side for a split second as her body tensed up to prepare its flight. There she found the second thing that she dreaded. Amber eyes that once held so much love and warmth were staring out into the void of the room, unseeing and uncaring for the struggles of the living. Short, fiery red hair, matted with caked blood, clung desperately to the top of a skull - that of her father. Where the body was...she had no clue, as only meaty strings coiled beneath it on the counter-top.

Unable to handle anymore, something broke within Alexis. She backed away, shivering, with her eyes still glued on the scene before her.

It was then that the creature finally adjusted to the light that was blinding it in its newly acquired den. Seeing that another human, still alive and wriggling, was before it, a thin globule of drool leaked out the side of its mouth near a hugely protruding lower canine. Short, spaced out powerful breaths echoed out into the room, overshadowing the constant *drip* in the background. A rumbling low growl began emanating from the creature’s throat until it finally became intelligible.

Hoo….mann….meeeaaa...t.

At the words of the creature, because yes, that creature had just spoken, Alexis bolted from her position in the doorway, chased by a powerful roar that ripped its way into the hallway. Her feet carried her away from the brutal scene without any input from her. A brief moment passed and she blinked, finding herself having somehow climbed to the top of an access ladder of the adjacent manufacturing warehouse.

Now in the last hour of daylight, Alexis looked upwards only to be greeted by a perfectly placed raindrop that hit her squarely in the eye. Rain began drizzling down, turning her red hair into a shade of crimson as it absorbed the water. Collapsing to her knees, she bent over and wept. She sobbed and cursed the monster that took her father from her. She cursed whoever had started something like this on the earth. All of the grief behind her father’s heinous death welled to the surface and she let it out as quietly as her sorrow could allow.

A flurry of powerful wings beat from behind her and she could only laugh maniacally in despair as she thought she was about to be eaten by a dragon. With a clattering of talons on steel, she swiveled to see a wet and curious...gryphon? It had the golden brown body of a lion and the white wings and head of a eagle. A powerful beak was firmly clamped together while proud eyes regarded the human before it.

Lightning crashed around them and the storm that had swept in from over the mountains worsened.

***

Out in the void of space, Halley’s Comet sped with a deceptively tranquil countenance. 15 km long, 8 km wide, and nearly 8 km thick, the large island-like piece of rubble hurtled at speeds averaging at nearly 158,000 mph. Ice and gaseous mixtures continually break off into a tail, called a coma by modern scientists, pulled by a solar wind. From there, the evaporation of this dirty ice produces a light scattering dust to form into a tail that stretches almost 100,000 km across.

Deep within the nucleus of the speeding comet, under a mass of dark ice the size of Manhattan Island, a computer was running checks by sending pulses out to the nearby planetary bodies.

[Scanning geological data: Mars…]

[Readings: nominal, no developments since previous cycle]

[Scanning geological data: sub-planetary body designated “Moon”...]

[Readings: nominal, no developments since previous cycle]

[Scanning geological data: Earth…]

[Readings: error - unknown holes detected. Scanning...Pattern identified. Cataloging...complete. Approximating size of phenomena...complete. Error - Cause neither human nor natural. Scanning for possible third party...complete. Multiple new sentient organisms found. Proceeding with Reanimation.]

Gases hissed and a large chamber was melted out in a rapid series of artistically efficient beams that sublimated the surrounding dirty ice into the shape of a grand bedroom. Not long after, two icy pods opened up from the flooring and revealed their contents. In one was a brilliantly youthful looking young man that slept on an ethereal bed made of gases that were bound into form by a sheet of artificial gravity that prevented the particles from moving around the slumbering occupant. Golden hair could be seen streaming down underneath his muscular back, fluttering as he moved slightly in unconscious annoyance at the sudden exposure to the vacuum of the chamber.

In the other capsule and similar bed was a steed of astounding pedigree. Fiery blue liquid-like plasma hair continually flittered about, anchored at the neck in a sea of zero-G flame. His body was crimson and hooves made of black steel. A gentle, sniffling snort resounded out into the chamber as it likewise was apparently unconsciously disturbed by the sudden change. Slight bursts of flame could be seen as rogue hydrogen particles met with the plasma, emitting a tiny shockwave of force in reaction to the combustive event.

Twitching slightly in the effect as it reached his ears, the golden-haired youth yawned groggily and sat up, lifting his eyelids to survey the area. A moment like this passed slowly as he blearily stared at the console emitting a red blip of light and then looked at the other capsule where the horse was residing. Turning over in sudden denial and slamming back into his cushion of air, the man weakly thought, Ruin, it’s your turn to deal with the alarm. Better yet, snooze it for a few hundred years.

Slight movement came from the opposite bed as the horse pushed out a snort of derision, sending a wave of icy dust particles bouncing about in an amusing display of imitation space snow. The last time you told me to do that, we ended up missing the start of the dark ages by about 200 years. Do I need to mention how pissed He was?

Half groaning, half yelling, the man pushed himself off from the bed and flew to the ceiling above where he bent his knees and proceeded to catapult himself about the zero gravity chamber in an attempt to shake the fog he was currently experiencing. After a few minutes of icy space pinball, he aimed himself at the center console and landed in front of it, grabbing hold of its edges to stabilize his balance and root him in place.

Tapping a few buttons, the gravity stabilized and the previous logs began to show. Reading the succinct data as quickly as possible, he reached current day and found the entry about Earth that triggered their awakening. Squinting at screen, he turned his head slightly towards the horse rousing itself on the other side of the room, thinking, Remind me again...there’s only one sentient species on Earth, right?

Kicking its feet into the cold black ice to push itself to its feet, Ruin’s fiery mane intensified and was joined by four smaller flames that floated shortly behind each heel, and also a tail of the same same blue ethereal flame. The light cast from the steed was comparable to mini star until it decide to curtail it back to a comfortable factor. Turning to answer his master, Ruin mused, Of course. Just the humans.

Shaking his head slowly, the man couldn’t help but blink multiple times in obvious surprise at what he was seeing. Moving to the side, he beckoned Ruin to join him at the screen displayed before him and waited patiently as the horse perused the same data. After a few moments, the steed lifted his head and met his master’s eyes. Master, this should be impossible.

The handsome youth nodded while stretching. I know. And before you ask, I already checked for an Edict. There was none and hasn’t been for the past 1500 years that we’ve slept.

What do we do then?

That’s what I’m wondering as well. The computer just ran an additional simulation to approximate the expected loss of life over a year span and...it wasn’t pretty. Sidestepping the fact that humanity somehow survived to reach a population of 7 billion, God knows how that happened, we’re looking at a massive majority of the population losing their lives.

The steed shook his mane in an approximation close to a shiver. Intervention it is then, Tyr?

Thinking a moment, Tyr strode over to a mirroresque slab of ice and looked at his image. He doubted the sculpted body he had would be too much of a problem. He just needed some clothes. Concentrating on a connection to his mind, he pulled some energy from the plane he was tethered to and condensed it, conjuring up a set of low-key armor and garb. He wasn’t too sure about the level of technology that humanity had advanced to, but he didn’t think his attire would draw too much attention. Finished dressing himself, he turned and shot a look at Ruin. Let’s investigate. This doesn’t sit well with me. Everything is too quiet with regards to all this destruction.

Agreed, Master. A saddle materialized on the back of the mystical mount and Tyr hopped up in a well practiced motion. Galloping forth, Ruin carried Tyr towards the wall where a wormhole now swirled, created by the steed’s intentional charge. Slipping through time and space, the pair arrived in the low orbit of Earth, observing the chaos below with their exceptional senses.

Storms raged all over the surface and there were some fires that they could easily discern. The magnitude of such a conflagration to be seen from several hundred miles away was just...Have to hand it to humans. They created things admirably according to their nature. Such cities and countries couldn’t even be imagined at the time when we were here last.

Ruin began a plodding gait towards the surface on some unseen surface, allowing the two to more fully take in the sight as they slowly descended. Strange black dots covered the world, but were more heavily concentrated on land. From what Tyr could readily observe, there weren’t any objects in the middle of the oceans. However, he didn’t write off the possibility completely as he knew the trenches in large bodies of water could go quite deep. Arriving in the lower thermosphere, the duo was finally able to see that the black dots were in fact massive towers. There seemed to be more to them, but nothing else was really visible at their current altitude.

Slowing down, Ruin came to a stop and Tyr removed himself from the saddle, jumping down to stand on the same invisible platform that his steed resided upon. Together the two took in the spectacle of a world in chaos. Tyr reached up and stroked the fingers of one hand through the fiery mane, unfazed, and still lost in the sight. It was at that moment that a flash of movement caught the rider’s attention.

Tiny, distant wings flew near a mountain peak. For it to be visible...That, combined with the utter destruction spread out before him like a serving platter, produced an overwhelming excitement deep within Tyr’s ancient soul. He wasn’t sure as to what was going on, but there was one thing that was he was absolutely sure about - he had to get to the surface. Every ounce of his being screamed at him to dive. Surge forward and join in the fray, his soul seemed to say.

Ruin noticed this change in his lifelong friend and shook his great head, amused. Tyr turned to his steed with fire in his eyes. We need to go down there.

A laugh bridged the mental gap when Ruin heard his words. Of course it would come to this. Nudging his partner with his dark nose, he moved closer in order for the man to mount but Tyr only shook his head and grinned.

Nope! Let’s race down this go around.

You have got to be kidding me. Race? How many eons have it been and you have never once beat me.

Today’s the day, you overgrown pony!

Chucking, the two blasted forward, punching into the mesosphere. Air resistance became more and more pronounced until flames erupted around their bodies, thundering with the sheer pressure exerted by them ripping their way through the particles. Now roaring with laughter at the thrill they hadn’t experienced in 1,500 years, the two were neck in neck as they sped up faster, tracing a burning meteoric trajectory through the heavens. Ruin was as a stallion galloping to battle, building up speed to charge into the unknown while Tyr sprinted alongside him in delight, a ravenous hunger growing in his eyes.

It only took moments before they were impaling clouds, sweeping apart whole storm systems with the force of their descent. In ill-concealed anticipation, Tyr materialized a large greatsword in his left hand that was intricately designed with scenes of war along the flat of the blade. Power exuded from its presence and consequently he began emitting a tangible amount of bloodlust that seemed to form and float in the air like bits of charred soot, dancing and burning with the intensity of living flame and overtones of brimstone.

Mentally, the two picked a place they’d never been before as their landing spot - the east coast of the New World. Back when they’d been planet-side during the Dark Ages, they’d had to go to the European regions for a certain task. Never before had they had the opportunity to choose where they were going in such a fashion. Grinning, the duo drew closer and slightly altered their path after spotting a monstrous tower that spawned endless streams of creatures from the bowels of the earth.

In the matter of a split second, Ruin increased the fire surrounding his body and exploded towards the tower, reaching it first at an angle. Narrowly followed by his companion, the two split apart the tower, massive fragments bursting outwards in a display of destruction. Their two bodies impacted the ground in the middle of a bunch of monsters which were obliterated along with a swath of hundreds of feet in all directions. The duo slid to a halt, gouging a deep tear in the countryside.

Removing the sword from the ground that he’d used to slow himself down, Tyr smiled warmly at the destruction caused by their race, despite his loss. Really, what was another loss to his best friend when they’d created something so magnificent together as a result? Using his voice for the first time since he’d left Earth 1,500 years ago, he turned to Ruin and said playfully, “Seems like we’ve still got it...and I’ll beat you one day for sure!” Turning his gaze towards the gathering monsters that stared at them curiously, he swept his arms wide, greatsword outstretched, and shouted loudly while the storm retreated from their presence, “Rejoice, ye mortals and beasts! The Horseman and Ruin have returned!”

So...what'd you think? I wrote the first section with Alexis while it was 2:30 in the morning, foggy as hell outside, and a full moon... I successfully freaked myself out at the time. Anyways, thanks for reading the chapter. Stay tuned for Chapter 3 - Unforeseen Complications!

~Bearcat