A puff of steam condensed around my mouth as I exhaled tiredly. My eyes wandered and kept glancing over to the top right of my phone watching as the minutes ticked by. I was in for a real ‘talking too’ at this point. I had promised I would be home in time for dinner no matter what, but destiny had a way of defecating on all your plans and inviting you to piss in the rain.

I shoved my hands into my pockets along with my phone, attempting to keep the chill out from the cold winter wind that was blowing across lake Michigan and making me feel like my damn bones were getting hypothermic.

“I swear to god if this bus is a minute later I'm gonna run.” The empty threat was directed to no one, but it gave my mind a sense of ease knowing that my complaints were being voiced. I had earned the right to complain and no one would take that from me damn it.

The vicious time restraint was due to the fact I was expected home and ready for a professionally cooked meal from my one and only, my second half, my pea in the pod, my doodle pumpkin one might even say.

I scoffed lightly into the night air at my own wittiness.

I know Sarah hated the pet name after a not-so-pleasant family reunion she had brought me to, which involved a carving competition and a clumsy slip of her hands. I told her repeatedly I never blamed her for it, but her fiercely competitive attitude and thirst for victory wouldn't let her accept it in the end. For me, it only added another memory that made me smile randomly throughout my day.

I had been away for almost a week and a half now after I was assigned flights out of the country, and the thought of seeing her warm hazel eyes brought me the warmth in my heart that could not be explained through simple terms.

I have been a pilot for just over eight years now. With the ninth year marking my 34th birthday which was in fact today. This also means I had been with Sarah for 10 years and a few months.

I knew she had some sort of cheesy set up at our apartment with plenty of balloons and a few close friends. Little did she know that what was in my other pocket was going to make the evening one to truly remember.

I unconsciously felt around for the velvet-covered cube just to reassure myself I hadn’t lost it in the span of 2 minutes since I touched it last.

Everything had been meticulously planned out with the others while keeping her none the wiser. And I'm sure I would hear through her choked-up gasps, that I ruined the surprise, while she whispered the one word I would need her to say to make everything in my life become whole.

If only this goddamn bus would show up! I stopped daydreaming about the rest of tonight's plans and grabbed my phone to see another five minutes had passed and still no bus had arrived. The scheduled time was 7:45 and it was almost 8:10. I knew I should have just called for a ride, but it kept saying no signal, which didn't make an ounce of sense as I stood almost in the center of Chicago.

I pinched the bridge of my nose in exasperation while looking straight up praying that the damn bus would show. instead when I opened my eyes, what greeted me was a sight that would be ingrained in my mind for the rest of my life. The darkness that should have been the night sky was swirling in an unexplainable pattern. Almost like I was looking into a kaleidoscope but with all the colors being different variations of black.

A memory of Sarah and I discussing how the shade of whites doesn’t actually matter popped into my head for a moment. I still held firm that eggshell and cloud white were the same damn thing, but I suppose that was the least of my worries at the moment.

My breath caught in my throat and I blinked a few times repeatedly trying to see if it was just jet leg that had hit me harder than ever before. Did someone roofie my diet coke in the airport?

All of a sudden I saw something explode out of that swirling mass, and its shape was oddly human. They landed a couple of dozen feet over my head a little into the street with a resounding thud that sounded extremely painful. I didn't even pause to debate about it. At that exact moment, not for a single second did I think to rush over to that mysterious figure and offer my help.

My only thought was to move my legs in the opposite direction at a very high speed. Stranger danger was a lesson that I took seriously, especially when the stranger landed out of a fucking interdimensional black hole or whatever the hell that mystical thing was. I had no intention of becoming tomorrow's news headline. All I wanted was to get home and make right with the woman I loved and the plans I made.

The next two figures did not so much as explode out. Rather they distorted into existence a few feet in front of the blackness, facing the downed figure that was still unmoving on the ground. The mere fact that they were floating was extremely unsettling and made my decision in running even more cemented.

I turned on my feet and sprinted with all the energy my legs could muster after sitting for a twelve-hour flight.

I felt my feet hit the ground three times before the lack of cement against my loafers was very apparent. A shiver of unparalleled unease coursed through my body like a bolt of lightning and a force of what could only be compared to gravity settled on my body that I couldn’t shrug off.

“Do not move creature, this matter may not concern you, but your mere presence at this moment has tied your strand of fate. Falro go recover the animal and place it in your essence-hold.” With a stiff nod, the figure standing next to the one who had spoken to me darted at a speed I could not follow with my eyes. Appearing next to the lone shadow on the floor. His movements were erratic but oddly mesmerizing with strange hand gestures and a sort of whispering flame with no color seemed to emanate that my mind could not process after everything that had just occurred in the last few seconds.

Then with the same type of inhuman speed, the figure on the ground sprang up and launched some sort of strike at the character trying to do some sort of devil summoning on top of them. At least that is how it looked through my hooded eyes while I struggled to keep myself standing

A series of shock waves exploded out around the area that shook not just the ground but something in the way the air snapped made even my arm hairs stand up. To say I was afraid would have been the largest understatement of the century. Sheer terror ran through my veins as my eyes attempted to track the movements of these apparent alien demigods in my presence.

The whole time the one that had ordered the so-called Falro had not moved a single inch in the ensuing rain of chaos that swept over this small side street. It all was happening only a few dozen yards away from the airport entrance.

‘Why was no one coming out to see what was causing all this noise and commotion!’ I thought to myself. My sight stretched over to the far-off light coming from a set of double sliding doors, hoping that I would see airport security or some type of law enforcement come rushing to the scene and save me from this hellscape.

Perhaps I was having some sort of stroke and imagining all of this. Having an episode of unregistered proportions and currently writhing on the ground with paramedics attempting to put me in the back of an ambulance.

Something deep inside my psyche told me this was far more real than anything I had ever seen in my entire life. As though the clash between these two figures was opening secrets into the very building blocks of reality. I swear I could see sparks of flame and specks of water chase after the figures long after they had been at that location. Their movements were only getting faster as if reaching a crescendo when suddenly everything was silent.

There stood one dark shadow holding the other with his hand through their chest. The lack of gushing blood was a definite surprise. I almost lost my diet coke all over the ground still as their fight ended only a few feet away from where I stood. Weighed down by an unknown force, I was made to watch as I could finally see more detail of both the individuals.

The killer had an unnatural sharp face with features that seemed sculpted, with an almost porcelain skin tone and eyes that glowed a deep angry red that seemed to show shadows of flames dancing in their depths.

The other being held aloft like a sick trophy had far softer features that I realized belonged to a woman.

She was undoubtedly beautiful in a mystical fairy sort of way. The innocent soft baby blue eyes of a faun that I had trouble looking away from after she made eye contact with me for a brief moment. At that moment she breathed one thing that would haunt my dreams for years to come.

‘I'm sorry.’ she shuddered and then a ripping sound crashed into my ears and the woman was gone with just a shining blue gem held in the red-eyed man's hand. It glinted and thrummed with an ungodly pull that made every cell in my body explode into activity as if reaching out to grab onto it no matter the cost.

“Well done Falro, The Coven will be most pleased with your performance. The little fox thought she would escape the Syphoning. What a pathetic creature indeed. The lack of essence in this backwater has made the battle… strange. No matter. You executed the forms sufficiently.” The slow clap of the man over to my left brought me back somewhat to my senses instead of being enthralled with the stone that still dazzled like a star.

“Of course my Imperator, she was no match for your teachings, such vile creatures need to be put in their place lest they grow out of control. Now shall we return to Bralomar before she attempts to break free from my essence-hold? I feel the stir of its conscience already.”

I looked back and forth only looking at their feet without moving a single muscle. Hoping with all my might that they would simply bypass my existence and leave. I prayed to every god I could think of and wished even harder.

To answer my prayers they both began to walk in the opposite direction, towards the now shrinking space where the shades of black continued to dance in the wind. I was never a very lucky man, the most I ever won was a coupon for a free pizza out of a random draw at work. After tonight I would never complain about my luck for the rest of my insignificant life. Some god truly shined down and was watching over me to pull me through this endeavor, of that I have no doubt.

Then like a moment out of a horror movie the larger figure that had been walking away next to the slightly smaller man that had just brutally skewered a woman with his fucking arm, turned and looked directly at me. There was no face to be seen though, as a mirage of heat obscured all his features from view.

“I suppose we must deal with this Husk before we return. This realm reeks of weakness. I cannot sense a single mote of the essence in any of the surroundings either. How grotesque.” The way in which he said Husk felt like it was the worst insult that could be given to a living being. As though my existence unsettled him to his core.

Still, his words held more power in each syllable than I heard from even the greatest public speakers I had ever listened to in my life. The look he gave me through that strange veil of heat was threatening to restrict my throat without him moving a muscle. How was this possible? What were these people and why was I standing among them? And where in the flying fuck was anyone else? How had no one walked out of the doors and seen what was going on?

“What would you wish me to do with it?” the red-eyed man asked as though discussing what to do with a piece of gum he found on the bottom of his shoe.

“Throw it into the Essence Seep. Even with its nonexistent Soul line, I want nothing connected to this moment. That could become unfavorable for us.” he said while shooing his hand at me like the decision was done and the deed taken care of.

A blind man could see that time was very limited, so I pushed all my willpower forcing my voice through the constriction hampering my throat, and felt something slip slightly giving me just enough control to yell out.

“Wait! Please, I don't know what is going on. Hell, I don't even know what just happened! there is no way anyone would believe me either way! Please I just need to get home. Please.” I pleaded with all the strength I could muster, hoping they would see the truth in my words. Flexing all the muscles in my body screaming for them to move.

Nothing warned me except the gust of wind that hit my cheeks. Suddenly I was held by the throat with a grip that would put a silverback to shame.

“Do not address the Imperator with your filthy mouthpiece swine.” Tears threatened to spill over my eyelids at the pain and force that was applied to my esophagus

I attempted to grab the arm that held me but I was wrenched off my feet like a child and thrown over towards the blackness that was only double the width of a man at this point. The asphalt shredded at my knees and palms as I could skid like a rock across the ground. The groan that escaped my lips was one of pain and terror as I saw those red eyes already looming over me even after just tossing me a few dozen meters.

“You don’t have to do this. Please.” I croaked out trying to crawl away from the demons that were tormenting me. I felt myself being lifted by the ankle and held above the ground while coming to realize just how large these individuals were. Not even having to raise his arm at all to keep my body fully outstretched from touching the floor.

“Cease your garble, bug. You will find no mercy here. Now, pray for forgiveness from Systemia herself. Perhaps then your existence will be less of a blemish on this plane.” With that, he launched my rag-dolled body towards the darkness with enough force to match a speeding car.

In the fraction of a second that I was in flight, my only thought was one word as my hands stretched towards anything to change my path.

‘Help!’