Chapter 2: Quiet

  “When faced with two choices - Attack or Defend. Always Attack. For even if you do not come out the victor, as long as you showcase enough strength, your enemies will think thrice before ever assailing you again.” - Charles Acquion (5th King of Khrysalis)

  I’ve never been a stranger to fear, in fact my relationship with fear has always been quite the opposite, a sort of familiar feeling I clutched onto when I couldn’t recognize anything else around me.

I’d like to think that this attitude has helped me make it far in life, how far? Well, only time will tell.

Sheldon had begun walking towards me, the smiling pissant slowly strutting through the barely lit alleyway.

I scanned and searched for any sign of Keller. The unusually large prick was nowhere to be found.

“Must be my lucky day!” I mused loudly

While I wasn’t a stranger to fear, I also wasn’t a stranger to taunting whatever it was that was giving me that feeling.

“Your guardian isn’t here to save you this time Sheldon!” I roared

Calming down my thoughts, I analyzed my situation. I had two choices.

Attack, or defend…

I bolted into a sprint towards the smiling freak, hands over my ears to defend against what I knew was coming.

“SSSCCCRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEECCCHHHHHH”

The sheer magnitude of Sheldon’s scream was enough to shake my entire body twice. This cry wasn’t like the one at Kingsley. Which only forced me to wonder if I’ve only seen a crumb of the pale man's power. Regardless, “I’ll definitely feel this tomorrow.” I mused. As I glanced at the remains of the shattered glass and panes of windows that had fallen onto the alleyways streets.

With my hands still on my ears as I closed the distance, I lunged a kick at his abnormally sized head, no. I tried to take the fuckers’ skull off.

Dodging was all the petite man did.

Dodge and scream.

Over and over, all the man would do was dodge and scream.

It hurt to continue my assault, the screaming began to leave effects on my body. Blood had begun coming out of my nose and ears, combined with the disorientation that was starting to show in my attacks.

So when his back hit the brick corner of the alleyway wall. I watched the realization dawn on him, the fucking glee slide off his face. As he came to understand that he dodged his way into his own personal little hell.

Keller? Yea, he was a monster, but he’d never come to truly get under my skin or make me afraid in the way the petite man had. Sheldon on the other hand, had inadvertently built up an unprecedented amount of wrath and frustration in me.

Could you blame me? I just jumped at the opportunity to release some of that emotion.

I removed my hands from my ears, ignoring the noise as I unrelentingly sent uppercuts and body shots into the petite man. With a kind of strength that I myself was unaware I even possessed. Sheldon couldn’t dodge anymore and was forced to suffer the hits. Yet no matter how hard I hit him, still the screaming wouldn’t stop.

I always hated loud noises, and always was one that preferred peace and quiet in my surroundings.

So I did what I could to provide my senses with comfort.

Calming myself, coming to reach that familiar state of serenity, yet holding the feeling of anger and wrath beside me.

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I reached into the screaming petite man’s throat and pulled out his vocal cords. Along with a plethora of blood and intestines. The rest though, wasn’t a big deal.

All that mattered was that the noise ceased.

For I’d been brought back to the rightful place, where my surroundings were left with peace and quiet.

Strangely enough, as the petite man’s lifeless body fell to the ground. In the corner of my eye I spotted a shattered pane of glass laying on the ground, with my bloodied reflection on it.

When did I ever learn to smile with so much glee?

✧

‘Holy Shit.’ I said to myself in a daze

I wiped my eyes just on the off chance that what I’d seen was fake and I’d been dreaming the entire thing.

“Nope, still here” I whispered.

Why’d I been whispering?

I just witnessed Sheldon, the 15th ranked member of The Collectors, have his throat ripped out of his body by a scrawny teenage boy with an unusually long wingspan.

“And what the fuck was up with that grin?” I muttered to myself.

As a native to the Third Zone I wasn’t the type of girl to freak out in the face of violence. But even that was just, freakish. The Collectors weren’t people that just got taken out like that, their completion rate for missions was nigh perfect, barring the occasional mishap.

“Just who is that boy?” I wonde-

As fast as humanly possible I dropped my head below the window ledge, as I held my breath and began praying to every deity imaginable I wasn’t spotted by the bloodied, grinning monster scanning his surroundings.

It must’ve been over two minutes before I released my breath, panting and slowly raising my head to take a cursory glimpse as to what was going on in the alleyway. To which I found no sign of the teenage boy, just the body of a departed Collector bearing the “XV” tattoo on his pale neck.

I had to inform someone, anyone, about what took place tonight.

Reaching in my pouch I pulled out my pen along with some enchanted parchment, and began to write.

To whom it may concern,

Sheldon, also known as “XV” , a member of The Collectors. Carrying the title “Screamer” has been deposed by a teenage boy with an unusually large wingspan. Requesting further instructions.

* Julia Sinclair (Watcher of the Third Zone)

Enchanted parchment was more useful than ever. Long ago, a certain madman took it upon himself to revolutionize the way denizens of Manesha communicated. Before, we did it by way of birds or various other fast traveling animals. Now, all it takes is an enchanted scroll or piece of parchment. Some Ink, and you can communicate any message you want, just write it down and think of them.

I never truly understood the science behind it but all I knew was that it worked for me, and everyone around me.

Being a Watcher, it was my duty to keep track of all important events or useful information that took place in my designated area, which would fall under the Third Zone. I knew my superiors would receive the message on the huge piece of enchanted parchment hanging from the wall. It was what they used as a sort of information board, collecting correspondence from Watchers everywhere.

Being a Watcher was a simple job, my simple job.

I was never the type to enjoy being around danger, until I’d come to see just how valuable the information I provided was. Nowadays, I feel better knowing that the knowledge I relay makes a difference. What kind of difference does it make? It varies, but the majority of the time it’s a positive one.

For now, my next steps were to get a move on.

✧

Arriving at the Watchers headquarters was always a numbing experience.

Whether it be the eerie pitch black building with no windows or decorations, the headless white humanoid statues with eyes all over the figures seeming as if they’re watching your every move surrounding the entrance, or the plethora of black birds that never made any noise or echo, any movement or shift in stance. Just stood perched on whatever ledge or fence they could find, gazing at whatever it is they could see.

They were definitely still alive though, definitely.

As I quickened my pace, Octavius came into view.

Octavius was the official guard for the Watch entrance. An angular, short statured tan-skinned man, with two different colored scleras, one white, one black. Oddly enough, Octavius had an unfitting appearance for someone with the position of Guard for a prestigious institution sanctioned by Prince Xander himself.

Regardless, the man did his job well, he wasn’t the type to talk more than necessary, and was widely known to not so much as smile when doing his job. Nevertheless, the multicolored sclera man had never caused me any problems.

Normally, during my visits in the past, Octavious was a man of few words, only bothering to offer me a nod of acknowledgement before letting me in the building. Today, however, must’ve been special.

“Julia Sinclair,” The tan-skinned guard said in a monotone voice. “They’ve been waiting for you.” He smiled.

CHAPTER 2 - END.