CHAPTER 1: GATE

Twin moons hovered above him.

Abel’s head swam in pain, his body prone atop a skyscraper. Wind and azure fire whipped feverishly in the streets below, the roar of flames dwarfed only by the other worldly shrieks of its victims.

His vision blurred and warped. Struggling towards a clump of clothing on the ground next to him, his hand shot out, only to find a mound of dirty rags.

“-iya?”

His voice raked against his throat. A cough tore itself from him as he struggled to stand.

“Miya?”

His voice wasn’t a hoarse groan anymore, now a bark of panic.

“Asher?!”

His panic welled even higher, threatening to send his headache over the edge of bearable pain. He scrambled to edge of the roof and peered over. Grotesque shadows danced with the flames across the sides of buildings whose height seemed a physical impossibility.

Where was he?

He scanned the surrounding area.

No time to panic. They need me.

The thought drove purpose into his movements. There didn’t seem to be any obvious way off the roof. Piles of trash and debris littered the surrounding space.

They couldn’t have gone far.

Of course they could have. You know nothing about the situation.

Abel picked at his scraggly face, a nervous tick he had picked up years prior, adult acne scarring cheek bones from his unthinking assault on it.

They could be in the fire.

He shook the thought from his head. No time to think like that. His hand caught on something beneath a pile of trash and he muttered under his breath in excitement. It felt like a handle.

“Thank god,” he said, hoarseness still coating his voice. Clearing away the trash revealed a man sized door connected to the latch he was holding. He yanked it, only to wrench his back. The door failed to move. His tugs on the door became frantic.

“No. No. No. NO. NO NO NONONO-” he screamed. “FUCK.”

The blood pumping in his ears nearly masked the approaching vehicle. Cresting the top of the building roared an alien aircraft. Its body was like a helicopter’s, but that’s where the similarities ended. Blue jets of fire shot from twin engines on its sides. Metal, black as night, armored the outside. The passenger bay was open to the elements, giving him an unobstructed view through the craft. He couldn’t see a cockpit and had to shield his eyes from a sudden beam of light that obliterated the darkness on the roof.

“Prepare to be rescued,” said a metallic voice from some unseen speaker on the craft. “Please do not resist.”

A figure dropped from the passenger bay of the aircraft and moved toward him, their form cast in shadow from the spotlight at their back.

Abel backpedaled and tripped over a pile of debris, the fall reminding him of how badly his head was pounding. His panic rose once again, despite his best efforts.

“What have you done with them?” he asked. “Where am I?”

He wasn’t expecting an answer; it was more a panicked reaction than an actual question. He jumped in shock when the figure responded.

“Stay calm, civvy. Not sure who they are, but in case you hadn’t noticed, you’re in the middle of an active Incursion in the Inner Reach.”

A hand, red and covered in tattoos, shot out, yanking him upwards. Abel yelped at the vice like grip.

“Don’t worry, you’re safe now-” the figure’s voice trailed off as Abel finally got a good look at his supposed savior. Twin horns jutted out the side of an all black helmet that accompanied matching body armor. From what skin he could see, it seemed to match the crimson of the hand that gripped him.

“What in the Abyss...” the figure whispered, their voice amplified over the surrounding cacophony by technology in the helmet.

“Please,” Abel said, “I don’t know who you are, or what an Incursion is, or where the... the.. Inner Reach is, but please, tell me you’ve seen two others like me. Or at least vaguely similar. A woman and child.”

The figure’s grip tightened. “We need to get you out of here. They could already be back at base camp.”

The creature yanked Abel off his feet and unceremoniously tossed into the waiting transport. “No please, you don’t understand, they were just with me!”

The figure hopped up beside him as the craft started moving.

"Sorry, that's not possible," said the figure. The helmet's face plate melted upwards, exposing their crimson face. Golden eyes gleamed back at Abel.

"Why?" Abel asked, half a plea, half his curiosity getting the better of him.

"You're the only life form we scanned in that building not trying to tear a hole in us."

Abel slumped back, his head resting against the wall of the aircraft. The figure was now sitting across from him, face thoughtful, their eyes sweeping over every surface of him. Abel thought they might be female, but was uncertain in the dark of the passenger bay. The only light was from the streets below them, burning in blue fire.

Abel sucked in a breath. Miya and Asher were going to be at the base-camp. They had to be. He shivered as wind whipped through the cabin.

"So what's your name?" he yelled over the roar of the wind and engines.

Anything to keep his thoughts from spiraling.

"Vel'tek Someor. You?"

"Abel. Abel Yarbrough."

"Abel? Strange name. Where you from?"

"Indianapolis."

"Never heard of it. That's got to be past the City, so Northward? Or are you from the West?"

Abel blinked. "Depends. Where am I currently?"

Vel'tek snorted, as if the question itself was ridiculous "EndsMarch."

An explosion, followed by screams, punctuated the statement.

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"EndsMarch?"

A small, sad smile flitted across the figure's face. "The one. The only. The Eternal. Praise be."

Abel blinked again. That had cleared up nothing.

Vel'tek sighed, the faceplate of their helmet melting back down. "If you don't know that basic fact, I'm afraid you 're in for a rough time."

As if his brief time there hadn't been brutal already.

"Hopefully, I'll be out of here as soon as possible."

"And for your sake, I hope you find whoever you are looking for," Vel'tek replied.

What was that in their voice? Pity? Contempt? Abel couldn't tell through the helmet.

He fiddled with his face.

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The city gradually changed beneath them, or more accurately beside them. With each passing minute the skyscrapers that had seemed so daunting to Abel were now looking puny compared to the behemoths they now flew past. Metal and glass, gleaming in the dual moons, zipped by as their travels carried them deeper into... something. Abel wasn't sure where they were headed, but it seemed to get safer the longer they flew. The fires below had given way to what he assumed were street lamps at ground level.

Their journey ended as they came to rest in a hangar near the top of one of the tall structures. Tents, cots, and tables had been set up in the hangar with red and yellow-skinned figures rushing about. As they touched down Abel could finally get a good look at one of creatures. His eyes widened in surprise and his breathed hissed through his teeth.

Demons. He was in the presence of demons.

Every single one had a pair of horns on them, each set varied in shape and size. Their skin ranged from the deepest crimson to golden yellow. And everyone had tattoos. Loads of tattoos.

His panic bubbled to the surface again.

Miya must be terrified. Asher too.

He stutteringly turned to his savior, still in the seat across from him.

Calm down. They obviously won’t eat you or anything.

Right?

"S-so, uh, what are you people? Like, species-wise," he asked. He prayed he wasn't about to get a fist through his chest for asking.

Vel'tek cocked their head at him. In a single motion, Vel'tek hauled Abel out of his seat and the aircraft itself, dragging him over to a large green tent that was busier than the rest.

Pushing open the flap revealed several tables parallel to its walls, each one lined with equipment and with a creature sitting behind them. Vel’tek unceremoniously dumped Abel into a metal chair at one table. Sighing, the creature across from him looked up to give him a once over. Their eyebrow raised as they surveyed him.

"Name?"

"U-uh, Abel. Abel Yarbrough."

They raised a slate grey tablet and tapped away at the screen.

"Safety designation?"

Abel stared blankly. "What?"

"Safety designation."

"I don't follow."

The creature leveled an unamused glare at him. "Listen, it's already been a long night, and I'm not in the mood for jokes. Safety. Designation."

Abel shook his head. "I'm not from around here."

"Obviously. But we found you in an active Incursion zone."

Silence stretched between them.

"And?" Abel squeaked.

The creature sighed. "So you've obviously been in the city long enough to get classification."

"Honest to God, I woke up here."

"In the middle of an Incursion?"

Abel shrugged. "I guess? Look, I'm just looking for my family. Once I find them, I'll be out of here, promise." He wasn't even sure if he could get back home. Or where home was in relation to here. But he needed a goal to focus on, otherwise he felt like he might collapse.

The creature’s gaze didn't move from him, and Abel thought he could sense a hint of malice there. He almost didn't catch the split second glance they shot to Vel'tek behind him.

"Excuse us one moment," said the creature across from him. "Wait here."

They got up and pulled Vel'tek out of the tent with them. With nothing to do but fidget, Abel surveyed the table in front of him. Aside from the tablet, none of the technology looked familiar to him.

It was then that he noticed the teeth on the tablet.

"Shit!" Abel cried, jumping out of his seat. The rest of the tent’s occupants, creatures checking in and being checked in, turned to give him curious looks. Silence fell across them.

"Sorry. Sorry," Abel said, sinking back into his seat. The tent went back to its previous level of noise, but now the occupants seemed to be aware of him. They shot anxious looks over his way every few seconds. Abel could feel beads of sweat forming on his brow. He distracted himself by examining the tablet from across the table.

He hadn't been mistaken. Clacking and chittering in the right corner of the tablet was a ragged, razor sharp maw. He nearly jumped from his seat again as an eye, inset into the top of the tablet, popped open. Its gazed frantically darted around the room before resting on him. It stared for a second before the mouth made a cackling noise.

Abel stared wide eyed at it. "H-Hello."

A series of guttural noises that he could only interpret as talking sounded from the tablet, its mouth clicking as it stared at him.

"Don't suppose you'd be able to give me some answers," he muttered.

It cackled. Scowling, Abel slunk further into his seat.

"Oh, screw you."

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"What in the City's name did you bring me Vel'tek?" hissed Asdron.

"No clue. Didn't seem like a threat though," said Vel'tek, her helmet now in her hand. She felt where the helmet had rubbed against her horns during the last round of rescue operations, a small divot forming near the base of the jet black bone. The pain had morphed to a dull ache instead of the stinging burn it had started as earlier that morning.

"So you just brought it back here?"

"Listen, you and I both know this has been a particularly bad one. And he seems like he's distressed."

"Yeah, Anomalies can do that you know."

"Have you ever seen an Anomaly outside its zone?" Vel'tek asked, arms crossed.

Asdron scoffed. "Of course not. But they're Anomalies for a reason. Where are his horns? His Pacts? He's no Daemon, mark my words."

Vel'tek sighed. "Fair enough. So do you want me to call Containment?"

Asdron bit his nail and glanced back to the tent. "Just to be safe."

"Yeah... Just to be safe."

They stood in awkward silence.

"He really doesn't seem like a threat though," Vel'tek finally said.

"Ack, I know. It's like a lost Scribe Mule. I feel bad sicking those monsters on it."

"But if you really think he's an Anomaly..."

"I do. And better safe than sorry."

Vel'tek slumped at that. "Yeah, I know. Go a head and call 'em. I've got to head out for another patrol any ways."

Asdron nodded. "Just don't go bringing anymore terrors in here anymore, okay?"

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It was only after the silence became eery did Abel notice he was completely alone. He had spent the last half hour studying the strange tablet in front of him as much as it had been studying him.

"Where did everyone go?" Abel asked, half hoping the tablet felt as uneasy as he did. It squawked in reply. Abel extracted himself from the metal chair and tiptoed to the entrance of the tent, the tablet's squawking growing frantic.

"Not so sure how I feel about this either, buddy," he whispered back. He pushed the flap to his side.

Only to be immediately launched off his feet. Abel crashed into the ground, his shoulder flaring in pain on impact.

Not good. Not good. Not good.

Gasping and cradling his side, Abel scrambled backwards, desperately trying to piece together the sudden assault. The flap of the tent fluttered open. Abel's breath caught in his throat as two hulking behemoths stepped through. Umbral horns protruded from their featureless faces, indents where eye sockets should be just barely visible over the neck of their jet black armor. Pulsing red tubes and symbols crisscrossed the metal plates that contained their earth shaking forms.

The one to Abel's left spoke first, its voice growling and mechanical. "Anomaly Detected. Enacting containment."

"Witnessed," replied its twin.

They moved forward in unison. Dull whines accompanied their advance as their tubes and symbols glowed brighter.

"I think there's been some sort of mistake," croaked Abel.

The goliaths raised their hands in unison. Red light crackled on their gauntlets. Abel rolled to the side, yelping in pain as crimson light seared the ground where he had been laying. The skin of his leg sizzled. Abel ducked behind a table, only for it to be tossed aside like paper. Making a mad dash for the entrance, Abel slid out the tent flap as red orbs of light hurtled past him. The orbs cut through the tent, sending sparks and charred fabric whizzing past his head, and detonated near a ring of onlookers. Gasps of panic filled the air as bystanders scattered.

"Anomaly has escaped," said one giant, its monotone voice betraying no emotion.

"Witnessed."

Abel sprinted towards the onlookers. They parted instantly, looks of panic and shock racing across their faces. He could see the aircraft that had brought him in still idling in the hangar. Vel'tek had failed to notice him yet, her back turned towards Abel as the crewman worked with something in the passenger bay of the craft. Pouring every ounce of energy into one last push, Abel careened towards his unsuspecting rescuer. He felt a rush of wind to his side and was just barely cognizant of his pursuers appearing beside him at a speed that should have been impossible for their cumbersome forms.

There was no plan. Only gut wrenching terror and instinct. Abel launched himself towards Vel'tek. He caught the crewman at her midsection, propelling them both out the opposite side of the craft. Abel whooped in victory, only for his excitement to turn to horror as he realized his blunder. The aircraft had been idling at opening of the hangar. And now their two awkwardly entwined bodies were plummeting down the face of a building three times the height of the World Trade Center.

"Why?" screamed Vel'tek.

"I panicked!" Abel screamed back over the roaring wind.

They spun end over end. Wind ripped at Abel's skin. He felt his stomach rise into his throat as nausea threatened to send its contents spewing across the nearby windows. Their flailing bodies collided with the side of the building, Abel's heading taking the brunt of the impact. The last thing he saw before losing consciousness was Vel'tek's arm, alight with intricate red fire.

Abel's world went dark.

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