The Colors And The Deal With Death - Chapter II: Our Story Begins...

Needless to say, I start to panic, losing my breath little by little. I walk over to the bars, and see that the other cells have people in them, but the others I was with, are all gone. Suddenly, a huge man with short blonde swept-back hair, wearing the traditional guard uniform comes to me.

“You. Come with me. The warden would like a word with you.” The man says, as he opens the cell and puts my hands in cuffs, before pulling me away.

I am whisked away to a dark and foul-smelling office with an ominous red light that sticks out like blood in snow. In the middle of the room is a desk, where the warden, an incredibly large man with a pubescent boy’s moustache, sits on his greasy behind and hides his feelings in a long cigar puff... or at least that’s what I made of the situation. On the other seats, everyone else is already there, likely waiting for me.

“Lizzie!” Poppy shouts in a sickly sweet way.

“Lizzie?” Andy asks, knowing my name after trying so hard to keep it hidden.

“I was going through the list of offences your group has committed in that incident alone. Use of illegal explosives, trespassing on sacred ground, and worst of all, desecration of a place of worship. That will get you doing hard time alone. And then, we have my little friend here.” The warden says, getting out of his seat as he reads from a piece of paper.

He stops walking when he reaches Nuko’s seat, looking at him with the biggest smile on his face.

“This isn’t the first time you’ve pulled something like this, is it, boy? You could have been tried for any of your little stunts in the past, but this time, your little friend isn’t there to slap your wrists and call it a day. I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time.” The warden says, holding him by the collar of his shirt, getting close to his face before blowing his cigar smoke into it, likely getting into his eyes.

“Hey, knock that off.” I say to him, though I honestly don’t know where that came from... I just really hate people who abuse their power.

This proves to be a mistake, as he focuses his attention on me. He picks the piece of paper back up.

“Don’t think you’re safe, missy. Miss Eliza Carlyle, youngest daughter of Bernard Carlyle, the reverend of Arc’s Capita Chapel. Daddy’s little runaway, I see, though not before grabbing his wallet.” The warden says, holding the wallet I thought was in my back pocket.

“The five of you will be transferred to a life of Watcher Central State Prison. As for poor old Nuko, a life of Ravensgate Maximum Security Prison. First thing tomorrow morning.” The warden says, acting as our judge, jury and executioner.

After that bombshell drops on us pretty heavily, a young man in a black suit and shoulder length black hair walks in.

“Warden Burkin, a moment of your time?” The man asks, with a smoother and softer voice than anticipated.

“Mr. Mayor? What brings you all the way downtown?” The warden asks, not able to run fast enough to kiss his feet.

“Well, it’s actually a matter considering your new inmates here. If I may, I was hoping to interrogate these people for myself. There is something I must know.” The mayor says, walking towards us.

“What? With all due respect, sir, these are hardened criminals and their pictures have been posted on many social sites as proof.” The warden says, likely excited he finally caught someone... not that he’s in any shape for a lengthy chase.

“Really? Because all I see are fluffy little bunny rabbits.” The mayor says, petting Nuko’s spiky hair, flattening it down a bit.

“But this is my first catch in a while. I’m not going to let you-“ The warden says, raising his voice to a higher volume.

“Why don’t you go make yourself useful and gather information on our little runaway? After that, go take a well deserved break or something.” The mayor says, taking the warden’s seat.

“Yes sir. Don’t try anything funny, you little hooligans.” The warden says, before closing the door behind him.

The mayor waits until the coast is clear before he turns back to us.

“So, I was told that you were found after you fell into the hole that you ripped into the shrine.” The mayor says, getting out of the seat to look out of the window, the sun finally fully out.

“We didn’t mean to, I promise.” Poppy says, in a sobbing mess.

“Wait, so the guy who actually committed those crimes, he’s still out there?” Roxy asks, building up the courage to ask what we’ve probably all been wondering.

“Yes, it hurts me to admit. We were unable to apprehend the perpetrator after he ejected himself from the machine. The machine was taken down by some unknown force and is currently being scrapped down to fine weaponry as we speak.” The mayor says, calmly and confidently.

The mayor slowly opens the door and checks the corridor to see if anyone is coming, clearly having a plan in mind.

“Come with me. These security cameras are giving me the heeby jeebies. We’ll discuss this matter more in my office.” The mayor says, ushering us all out, as we all look at each other with confused looks on our faces.

After a few minutes, we went from one office block to a bigger and nicer smelling one. He pulls up a seat for each of us before taking his own seat.

“Now, let’s talk seriously for a moment. Tell me everything you remember while you were in that hole.” The mayor demands, in a much more serious tone in comparison to his normal voice.

We all list off the events that have taken place so far, leading up to our imprisonment. He looks surprised to hear this, but he also doesn’t look at us as if we were lying.

“I see. So, Arc came to you guys? You? Please, if I may, I would like to test all of you.” The mayor says, going up from his seat and opening a cupboard behind it, containing two padded batons.

“Batons? What are these for?” Nuko asks, hitting the padding with his hand.

“For training purposes. Practical yet safe. So, who’s first?” The mayor asks, taking his stance in the middle of the room.

“Are you serious?” I ask, a little bit confused as to why the people of this town put this guy in charge of their tax money.

“Alright then, bring it on.” Andy says, taking the baton and assuming his stance.

In not even a surprising turn of events, the mayor manages to wipe us all out one by one. I think I was the only one able to land a single hit, but that’s even sadder to think about. The mayor laughs to himself.

“You guys need work, like a lot of work. If you manage to find these rings you mentioned, I’m sure you’ll stand more of a chance. But I’m not here to berate you, I’m here to help you.” The mayor says, putting his batons away.

“Help us?” How you gonna help us?” Blanche asks, though I bet she’s just excited at the possibility of walking free, as we all are.

“Not much, just doing research on these rings, telling you where they are and how to get them when they come, preparing you for a scrap, and honestly, keeping you out of prison.” The mayor says, driving a very convincing argument.

I don’t think we all need to confer as we all look at each other and silently nod our heads in agreement, like little obedient dogs.

“So what do we have to do in return?” I ask, almost knowing there is some kind of catch in there somewhere.

“Simple. All I ask is that if another invasion happens, be it man or beast, I can count on you guys to be at front and center. Refuse, and I can let the warden have his way. I trust my guards just fine, of course, but once you have these rings of yours, I’m sure you’ll be unstoppable in no time, or my name isn’t Salvador. So, what do you say?” Salvador says, putting his hand in, likely wanting us to all put ours in.

We all comply and just like that, we were protectors of an entire city, and to a lesser extent, the world.

That day and night come and go so fast after that exchange. It all feels like one big dream, especially since Salvador has offered me a place in the city in exchange for a payment system considering pay for our jobs. It’s not a huge place, just a living room, bedroom and bathroom set-up, but hey, at this point, I’d take it if it was just a bathroom. That night, I have one of the best night sleeps I’ve had... ever. That is until I decide to try the bathroom. It is a small room with a toilet, sink and a mirror in between. I get myself ready to get back into bed, but I can feel something. Something doesn’t feel right from behind me. I look into the mirror and see the same demon I always see. Losing my breath once again, I pull myself away from the room and close the door. All I could hear was the voices in my mind, the voice of my father, remembering all of the awful things he said to me. I try to force the voices down into silence before climbing to bed. Some things never change.

The next midday, after getting up and settled in, I hear a knock on the door. I go to the door and see Poppy standing there in a summery yellow dress.

“Hi Lizzie. Glad to see you got a sweet little place out of this deal. I was just thinking, since we have to spend quite a bit of our time together, working as a team and such, I was wondering if you wanted to exchange phone numbers in case of an emergency.” Poppy asks me, a little nervous to ask as she twiddles her thumbs.

My hands start to shake a little. This is the first time anyone has really asked me for my number. In normal circumstances, I would say no firsthand, but like she said, we are part of a team now, apparently, so it would be wise to keep her on my good side. Besides, she’s innocent enough.

“Oh yeah, of- of course.” I say, taking her phone and putting my number in for her.

“Thanks. Hey, we’re all going over to Andy and Blanche’s place tonight. You coming?” Poppy asks, as peppy and excitable as I’ve grown to assume of her already.

“Andy and Blanche? They have a place together? Are they a couple or something?” I ask, trying not to get too curious about it, but I just couldn’t resist.

“Andy told me they were siblings. Anyway, best be off. See you tonight.” Poppy says, before skipping away... she is just too sugary sweet, and yet, she’s impossible to hate.

I close the door before my phone starts to vibrate. It’s the first time it’s actually vibrated in years, so I’m surprised it didn’t just erupt in dust. I take out my flip phone and see one new message from an unknown number.

???: “Boo :p”

I’m assuming that this was either Poppy’s number, or an odd coincidence for a wrong number. Either way, I save the number to my phone. After getting my small bag unpacked, which honestly takes about five seconds, I just sit on this rental armchair that came with the house, and sit around, letting it all sink that this is not an elaborate dream. This place doesn’t have a TV, but even in my family home, we had never owned a TV set, so I’m not too fussed.

The following night comes around pretty quickly, as Poppy sends me the co-ordinates for Andy and Blanche’s place. I walk towards the place only to realise that she sent me to the wrong place. I end up at this huge pristine mansion, with a garden, big enough to give a profession jogger the sweats. Regardless, I attempt the door, ringing the doorbell. An old man with short grey hair and a little white apron comes to the door.

“Hello. How may I help you tonight?” The man asks in a charming British accent.

“Hey. I’m looking for people named Andy and Blanche.” I ask the man, though his accent makes me very aware of my strong French accent.

“Ahh, you’re one of Masters Andrew and Blanchett’s friends? Please, come in.” The man says, escorting me inside the biggest house I have ever seen in real life that weren’t described in the books I’ve read.

Weirdly enough, the place is even better on the inside than it is on the outside. The decor in the living quarters looked crafted to perfection, with sofas placed around the room to an OCD pleasuring degree, some amazing pieces of art that scatter across the four walls. The curtains and most of the theming of this room is red and white. However, the most eye-catching thing in this room is a big picture of what looks to be a family portrait. There is a man with brown hair and a huge beard tucked into an oddly out-of-place suit, and a woman with braided hair, wearing a lavished white dress. To their sides, two kids smiling politely. I can tell immediately that these kids are Andy and Blanche, even though I don’t know them that well, and lord knows if they actually like me. Meh, let them think what they want of me.

“Ahh, this masterpiece. The piece was actually painted by an artist that they saved from a fire. He was grateful, he offered to paint a portrait of the family free of charge. It always takes me back to when Masters Harvey and Winni were around.” The butler says, sighing to himself, likely remembering the days long gone.

“They’re not around anymore?” I ask, genuinely curious to know.

“Unfortunately. The call of duty was too strong for them to resist. They said they wanted one last rescue job and they would retire for good, but sadly, they never returned. The kids were devastated, though they keep up hope that they are still alive and will be back soon. I hope that’s true, though this conversation was between you and me, so please don’t bring it up to the masters, this has always been a touchy subject for them. Anyway, the others are all up here.” The butler says, leading me to a flight of stairs by the northern end of the room.

The staircase leads to a cold storage room, where all of the utilities are kept, like the mop and the broom. A mountain of boxes stands by either side of the room, keeping the room as literally straightforward as could be. On the other side, another door stands, a chilling breeze crawls its way in from the other side. I walk across the room and open the door, to see the others all there, waiting for me. Although, looking at it, Poppy isn’t here yet. I look around and realise that we are on the roof level of the huge house, which acts a lot like a second garden, with little flower gardens neatly placed around the four corners. A steel railing is placed around the three other corners to separate life up here and death by falling from here.

The rest of the room is made of normal stone tiles, as the others have brought out six patio chairs, two of them remain empty. The six chairs are sitting around a table, which houses cups and cans of fizzy drinks and one can of beer.

“Hey, you got the message okay. Come in!” Roxy says, sounding a lot more comfortable and excited.

“Thank you, Reeve. There should be one we’re expecting.” Andy says, looking over my shoulder.

“Of course, sir. The cleaning is all done, so I’m going to take a quick break.” Reeve says, having likely worked for hours already.

Ring, ring. The doorbell echoes through the house, as Reeve walks back down the stairs.

“So, Lizzie, was it? You settled into your new house alright?” Andy asks, patting the seat next to him, signalling me to sit down.

“Oh yeah. It’s all been great so far, thanks.” I say, not knowing what else to say, and I have the chance to make some actual friends, so it’s probably safe to not bring up the whole nightmare thing from last night.

As I talk, I notice that Blanche is giving me the stink eye before turning away. I really want to shake her down and ask what the problem is, but if she wants to be a baby about something, that’s her issue, her drama.

“Hey, where’s that magic girl? I thought she was with you.” Nuko asks me, though while I’m assuming he means Poppy, I don’t get where the magic part comes in.

“Now Nuko, I’m sure it wasn’t magic.” Roxy says, putting her arm around him.

“I’m telling you. How else do you explain what happened? She just put her hand on the cut on my leg and then poof, the skin grew back within seconds. It was so warm too.” Nuko says, with more confidence in his voice, likely knowing what he saw to be true.

Suddenly, Poppy comes in, as happy as expected, and takes her seat. Her hair is now a lot bigger and curlier than normal.

“Hey guys. Sorry I’m late. This hair was a wild animal and not an easy one to tame, so I thought screw it, let’s make a change. What have I missed?” Poppy asks, looking around all of us.

“Actually, you arrived just on time. I went back to Salvador, and he says he has a big surprise for each of us, something for our first real job. He didn’t tell me what it was, but he wanted us all to fill in this form each. So, I thought we could do this and get to know each other a bit more.” Andy says, and though his heart is in the right place, the execution comes off more like a group therapy session, and believe me, I know all about those in my school days.

Andy places the papers on the table, using one of the heaviest cans as a paperweight, to stop them from floating gently into the wind. A very poetic sight, now that I think about it.

I let out a little groan, as I would to any teacher. However, my disapproval is lost on everyone else, as they willingly grab a piece of paper and pen, and immediately start writing like they took pleasure from it. I take a piece of paper myself, and start writing. Just to save you the boredom, I’ll give you the abridged version... we filled in the forms, asking us about our likes, dislikes, favourite thing, that kind of thing. No monsters, no action, just pure putting words onto paper. Very riveting stuff...

Anyway, after all of the paperwork was filled in, we each pass them back to Andy, who takes pictures of them on his phone, for some reason.

“Alright. Now that is all over. What should we do now as a group?” Andy asks, trying to get the fun started.

We each think of grand ideas to pitch to the rest of the team, going into trances as we collect our thoughts. The first lightbulb seems to flicker for Nuko.

“I know. How about a game of strip poker?” Nuko asks with a tone of pure optimism, though I can already visualise how that is going to go down.

“No.” All of the girls in the group reply, just as I expected.

“Oooh, how about a makeover session?” Blanche asks, in the most excited voice I’ve heard from her yet.

“No.” All of the boys, including myself, reply. Again, just as I expected.

“How about something we can all enjoy together?” Poppy asks, sounding like a cheesy kid show host.

“That would be great, if there was something we could all agree on.” Roxy says, thinking of something.

“Alright, then. Why don’t we just all share little stories about ourselves?” Nuko asks, with the optimism back in his voice, though not as much as when he pitched the previous idea.

“No way, I’m not doing that.” I say, having way too many stories like that, though not one of them appropriate for an introduction.

“You know, that actually sounds good. A great way to get to know each other really. Since Nuko came up with it, he can go first.” Andy says, speaking as if he has been made leader.

Nuko’s face goes from a delighted glow to a colour-draining grimace, as he prepares his story in his head.

“Alright then. Roxy and I were born in a place that doesn’t exist anymore. It was wiped away long ago, and us two were lucky enough to have been out at the time. Since I didn’t have any parents of my own, I stayed with Roxy and hers, until it happened. Since then, we got a new place here.” Nuko says, giving a little more insight to how they got here.

“It no longer exists? So it just went poof and it was gone?” I ask, a little skeptical of the absurdity.

“Even I don’t know the science behind the occurrence, but the entire place was swallowed by a black ball of some sort.” Roxy adds, as I finally understand what that weird black bubble thing was from yesterday.

“What about you, Lizzie? You’re the mystery here?” Poppy asks, unknowingly throwing me under the bus.

I hope that the question goes unnoticed, but as everyone turns to face me, I’m afraid I’m not that lucky. As my hands start to shake and my lips start to quiver, I try my best to think of an interesting story to tell, but these are the only people who have given me any attention in as long as I can remember. I don’t want to ruin that by being truthful. Working on what to say, I feel my lips start to move by themselves, before a wooden vibration is heard.

It is Andy’s phone, ringing on the surface of the wooden table. As Andy takes the call indoors, I breathe in relief, like I just watched someone narrowly miss a car on the road. A minute later, Andy returns to the roof, and clicks the phone, putting it back in his pocket.

“It was the mayor. He wanted to see us again. He has a job for us already.” Andy says, getting his coat on.

After a long walk back to the mayor’s office, we each take a seat around the desk, before Salvador comes in from the other room, carrying two briefcases in his hands, which he places by Blanche’s and Andy’s feet. With two more trips, all of us have a briefcase next to us, each with our names on it.

“I had to pull some strings at the defence department at the headquarters, but I got these back pretty quickly. Go ahead, open them. Thank me later.” Salvador says, closing the door behind him and taking his own seat.

With bated breath, I open the briefcase to find... clothes. Strangely smooth black clothes. These are actually pretty nice, though the lighting makes it hard to fully see them.

“They’re for your jobs. If you’re going to find those rings you told me about, you need to be ready for a few fights in between. These clothes are made of some of the toughest materials we have on the market.” Salvador says, beaming at us with prideful eyes, fishing for a compliment.

“Wow, these are amazing. Thank you. You didn’t have to.” Blanche says, over the moon with her new battle attire.

“Oh, but I did. Without you guys, this world is as good as dead. I just want to see you all safe. Luckily, Arc will come back to save us all in the end.” Salvador says, shuddering to himself, likely thinking of what would happen if we don’t succeed. As if this wasn’t enough pressure on us.

“So, what is so special about this Arc?” Nuko asks, before everyone turns to him like he committed sodomy with a goat or something.

“You really haven’t heard the famous story? The one they tell children in schools?” Blanche asks, as if it was common knowledge, but to be honest, I don’t know the full story.

“That’s fine. I’ll tell you the story. So the story goes that when the world was still new and fresh, people were more experimental with the way they chose to live. Some migrated underwater, some took to the sky, all trying to find ingenious ways to create an undying world. However, dark forces rose into the world to wreak havoc. No one was really any match for them, and all hope seemed lost. That was until a heavenly beam came from above, and down came Arc, an otherworldly being. With one fell swoop, he destroyed all of the dark forces and the world was safe. Most of the world fell to his feet and crowned him the saviour. However, Arc disappeared one day, putting himself to sleep in case he is needed again. Before he left, he performed a ritual to pass down his godly powers to his many disciples, so that they would be safe. Of course, it wasn’t mentioned that they became rings, or that it was proven real. To tell the truth, I was just as surprised to hear what you said earlier.” Salvador says, giving me more of an insight to Arc, and to be honest, even though I come from a long line of worshippers, I haven’t heard the full story before.

“So, a pretty big deal, then?” Nuko asks, summarising the entire story in just a few words.

“Yeah, that about sums it up. Anyway, I will meet you by the entrance of Watcher Central at 9:00 sharp tomorrow morning. There is something coming that I need taking care of.” Salvador says, opening the door to let us out.

We all leave the office, then the building, as we all drift off onto our own paths home. After saying goodnight to everybody, as awkward as things still are with some of them, I separate myself from the pack and arrive back at my new home.

I walk in through the front door, and look around the living room one more time. Of course, there isn’t much in terms of furniture or decor, but that will hopefully change soon. If I ever come into some money, that will be my first investment... I suddenly feel so grown up. Throwing my jacket and shoes on the floor, I run up the stairs towards my bedroom, which is really just a bed without a proper duvet, as I place the suitcase down onto the bare white mattress. I carefully open the latches and open the suitcase to take a better look at those garments that Salvador designed for me.

I pull them out of the suitcase and lay them out onto the bed. It is a black tough jumpsuit with a fancy black coat that comes down to my legs. There is also a strange masquerade mask with only one eye hole, the other one is filled in with a white X going through it. There is also a nice black hat that wouldn’t look out of place for a 20s style femme fatale. The last thing in the suitcase is a pair of black and white gloves, with an envelope attached to it. I open up the envelope and find a piece of paper, and what looks like... money! Huh? Strange, what’s the catch? I read the piece of paper, as slowly as I can, just to make sure I don’t miss out any small prints hidden within.

“Dear Eliza, I’m guessing you have already seen your costume by the time you read this letter. These 10000 currents should be enough to pick you up a weapon of your choice and any supplies you might need. Once you are prepared, meet me at the main elevator of Watcher Central by 9pm tomorrow. There is something coming for us that I need taking care of. Consider this your first job. Until then. Signed by Mayor Salvador Alberti.”

Throwing the letter aside, I decide to try on the costume, which fits weirdly too perfectly. The missing eyehole turns out to be a thin material with a small magnifying glass embedded in the centre. As far as weapons are concerned, I decide to stick with what I know, guns. Back in my more... dire days, my accuracy with a firearm was second to none. Saying that, I pull out my old handgun from my sock and examine it. It does look a bit beaten up with time. This beauty saw its fair share of shooting ranges back in the day. I suppose I should get a new one tomorrow.

Wanting a better look at my new attire, I go to the bathroom mirror and look into it. The usual demonic creature is there to greet me, standing right beside me. Finally losing my patience with it, I pull my gun out and fire its last bullet. I shoot the mirror, right where the demon stands. Though it is a burden I still continue to bare, this costume almost feels like I can embrace it and make it my strength, like a big hug with ungodly pent up vengeful ambitions. Never mind. That probably sounds weird. I’ll be okay.

I retire to my bed for the night, and turn out the lights, knowing that tomorrow will be the start of something new. It’s weird, it still feels like I’m in a big elaborate dream that I’ll wake up from eventually. As my eyes start to slowly grow heavy, I drift to sleep, thinking the same thing the others are likely thinking as well.

...This is how our story began...