Enter: Keith Marx
It was another day in Mapleville. The Sun was shining down brightly in the sky, warming the day to a good temperature. The gentle breeze of the wind cooled the day just enough, and most would’ve considered it the perfect day. The town was busy as usual, but something about the people bustling through the streets was different. Instead of flowing with and against each other, all of them were running together in the same direction. All of the people were sprinting away from something. Amongst them was a boy destined for special things in his life. This boy had wild, spiky blonde hair and light brown eyes. His name was Keith Marx. On that day, Keith wore a black, military-style jacket that reached just past his waist. Underneath that, he wore a plain yellow shirt that wrinkled onto itself as it reached his blue jeans. Finally, on his feet, Keith wore a pair of black boots.
Of course, Keith was running in fear like everybody else and he occasionally glanced back at the beast behind him. They were all fleeing from the monstrosity known as a Wildebeest. The Wildebeest hunting the citizens was classified as Gamma Level Leon, which was considered to be one of the weaker ones. However, even at only half the size of a full grown Leon, it was too much for a weaponless crowd. It was pitch black with gray markings flowing from its paws, up its legs, over its shoulders, down its back, and to its tail. There were also small, white spikes poking out at the beast’s joints. Its mane was gray as well. Furthermore, it had a black tear-like object in the middle of its chest that was surrounded by a circular patch of gray fur.
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A Wildebeest is a human transformed into a monster. They are the result of what happens when a human’s soul becomes too corrupt with sin, mutating their mind, body, and soul until they are nothing more than a bloodthirsty monster. There are five different classes for a Wildebeest; Omega, Gamma, Delta, Beta, and Alpha. Omega is considered the lowest class while Alpha is regarded as the deadliest.
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While everybody continued to rush away, the beast’s blood colored eyes scanned the crowd in front of it as it prepared to lunge, snarling as it picked out its prey. Keith, seeing this, split from the crowd, branching from them to the street through an alley on his left. Other citizens had gotten the same idea and moved to the streets at their sides. Noticing this, the Leon crashed through a building, sliding to a stop as its growl turned to a roar. ‘Just my luck!’ Keith thought as he kept moving. Keith weaved back to the main street and the Wildebeest charged past him, focused more on the group that was running from it. Halfway through the alley, Keith was stopped by a feeling that he just couldn’t explain. ‘I-I should keep running… I shouldn’t go back… I shouldn’t, but…’ he argued with himself as his left hand shut into a fist. Instead of continuing down the alley, Keith turned and sprinted around the corner after the Leon.
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Just as Keith rounded the corner, he saw the beast crash through another building. Its claws scratched the street as it slid and the sparks it caused lit the remains of the wooden building it came through. By the time the building had ignited, Keith was already running toward it. With no time to act, Keith crossed his arms in front of him and sprinted forward. He slid out the other side of the building, small flicks of flame disbursing as he stopped. He peaked over his arms and his eyes widened tensely. In front of him, the Leon was growling at a little girl as people scattered into alleyways.
“Mommy…! Daddy…!” she sobbed as a brown teddy bear dangled in her left hand while she wiped her right eye with her right hand. The Leon raised its left paw into the air as the girl continued to cry for her parents. Keith growled in frustration as something formed around him. Then, two lightning bolts sparked from his eyes and met in the middle.
The Leon swatted at the girl and was confused as a lightning bolt cracked where the girl was. It looked to its left and saw Keith with the girl in his arms. Electricity slowly crackled out from around Keith’s body and smoke was coming from his shoes as he knelt down to set the girl on her feet. Even the girl was clearly surprised as she stared past Keith’s shoulder for a brief moment before her gaze turned to him.
“Go find your parents.” Keith said gently with a soft smile. The girl nodded and ran into the closest alley. Once he saw the girl was safe in the crowd, Keith sighed, but not in relief. He had a slightly sad look on his face as his now yellow eyes looked at the ground. “I don’t understand you Wildebeests. What did we ever do to you? The hell do you want from us? Whatever… Now,” he started. Then, lightning began to spark wildly around him again, flowing toward his back as he turned and glared at the Wildebeest. “You get yours!!” Keith growled. Then, he pushed off of the ground and the street beneath him cracked while some pieces spiked upwards. Once he was in range, he punched the Wildebeest and made it slide a few yards down the street. ‘It’s weird… This power I feel is crazy. My whole body feels supercharged. With this strength, I can move at extreme speeds. And this lightning… It feels like I’m moving as fast as it. I don’t know what’s going on, but I won’t waste it!’ Keith thought, looking from his sparking hands, to the lightning around him, and finally at the Wildebeest.
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Keith leaned forward, slowly, as the Leon prepared to lunge. Then, as it pounced toward him, Keith bolted forward. Mid-lunge, Keith punched it into the ground and caused it to bounce back upward. With that, Keith’s left leg sparked intensely with lightning as he brought his limb up against the monster’s spine. As soon as Keith kicked the beast, it shot upward with a strong booming sound. Sensing his limit was approaching fast, Keith sparked into the air after the Wildebeest. He concentrated all of his power to his left fist as he twisted his body so his left side was facing the cloud. The lightning around Keith’s fist reached into the clouds, turning them dark gray as patches of yellow flashed wildly. Finally, a big bolt struck Keith and added to the electricity around his fist. As soon as he was able to, he punched downward on the Wildebeest’s chest. The conflicting momentums made the Wildebeest stretch forward as Keith put all of his energy against it. With another boom, the Leon crashed into the ground, traveling in a yellow, sky-cracking bolt. Keith landed on the ground next to the Wildebeest’s crater and watched as it slowly turned to a black liquid that seeped into the Earth. Within the next instant, Keith felt the exhaustion from the fight and lost consciousness, falling forward to the ground
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Keith woke up in his bed back at his house. His room was white with a small bed blanketed with light blue covers. He sat up, holding his head in pain as the rest of his body began to hurt. Reluctantly, he forced himself to his feet and staggered out of his room. Immediately, he walked down the hallway and knocked on the second door on his left.
“Come in…” a voice called weakly. With permission, Keith opened the door. He smiled as he looked at a woman who was lying underneath a light blue blanket. She had long, blonde hair and light brown eyes. Even though she was pale and sweating a tiny bit, she managed to smile as Keith looked at her.
“Hey, Mom…” Keith greeted.
“Hey” yourself, little hero.” she replied. Then, she looked to her right, which had been blocked from Keith’s view by the door. “I’ve been getting them all day.” his mother told as Keith looked at several bouquets of flowers resting on a black desk. One of the flowers had a teddy bear attached to it, which made Keith smile in relief. Then, Keith gasped in realization after his mother finished speaking.
“That’s why you're all sweaty and exhausted. Gosh, I’m sorry, Mom. I didn’t mean to-” Keith started, concern littered on his face and in his voice.
“Hey, hey, hey. Slow down there. I’m just cold is all. Just because I’m a little under the weather doesn’t mean anything.” she said, her smiling expanding. Knowing his mother, Keith sat down on her right, looking at the floor as he did. “Look, Keith… I know things haven’t been very easy these last couple of years, but don’t you go putting it all on yourself. I feel just the same as you do, and that’s why I’m going to let you go.” she said.
“You… You mean…?” he tried.
“Yep. You can go to the Academy and become a Slayer.” she stated.
“But… But, Mom-” Keith started as he looked up at her.
“Keith Jason Marx, don’t you dare.” his mother sternly interrupted. Keith looked down at the bed, not sure how to feel about his wish coming true. “Dear, you still have so much ahead of you. I’ve already done a good amount of what I’ve wanted. It just wouldn’t be right for me to keep you here, so you can go. Go out and live Keith. Don’t worry about me anymore. You’ve already grown big and strong. You’ve already made me proud.” she confessed from her heart. Keith’s lips pressed together as his body shook a little. He took a breath as he tried to collect himself, but he couldn’t.
“You… Sometimes you just… You are so cheesy!” Keith cried out as he wiped his eyes. His mother chuckled in amusement, finding her son cute. Then, she pulled him close and kissed his forehead.
“I love you, too. Now, go pack. I read that tryouts are soon.” she replied. Keith nodded with a sniffle. Then, he got up and walked out, leaving his mother alone with her smile, the flowers and a framed picture on her nightstand, sitting in front of her lamp. She looked at it from an angle, but the Sun’s glare made it difficult to see the full family picture. ‘God, he reminds me of you... He's following in your footsteps perfectly. He really is our son, isn’t he…?’ she thought as she smiled fondly at the photo. END.