A freezing, unpleasant wind passes by, colliding with all that dare stand in its path. Snow bolts down from the sky like lightning, striking unassuming players. Players. That’s what fate views mortals as. Simple toys playing around in its dominating grasp, inevitably awaiting their END. This is but one of the many privileges fate gives its people, and now, fate has found its new toys...
“Huh… what…?” Two high school students, one male and one female, each with coily dark brown hair and confused expressions sit on a subway seat, perplexed at their situation. They can’t recall who or where they are. Everything is a blur.
“WHO are you? WHERE are we? Was I not just in my bed; why am I here now?” The girl with big brown, kind eyes and soft features begins to panic and rattle off several questions one after the other.
“Chill,” the boy says, “we’re on a subway.” His oddly calm demeanor does nothing to reassure the frightened girl.
Suddenly, an eerie sound brings about silence in the vehicle. “What is that? Who’s there? How did we get here? I want to go home!” Small beads of perspiration collect near her temples as she gets up and begins to look around, shaking.
“Calm down,” says the mysterious, but almost soothing, voice of a woman.
“Who’s there?” The boy asks as he stands to his full height, shoulders back, bracing for anything.
A figure abruptly appears before them. A statuesque, caramel-colored woman adorned with large gold hoop-shaped earrings matching the color of her eyes and a big, curly afro. “My name is Adaer. I shall see through your journey, Riashi and Shori.”
“How do you know my name’s Riashi?” The boy asks while still on guard.
“It’s all thanks to fate, as is why you’re here,” Adaer says.
Riashi stops to contemplate the situation and asks. “So, I’m assuming you’re the conductor of this subway?”
“You’re correct,” Adaer says calmly, “the “Infinity Subway” to be specific.”
Shori decides to cut into the conversation. “So why are we here? Explain.”
Adaer directs her attention to Shori, who almost feels frightened by her very glare. “You all are known as LOCKERS. You’ve been called here to conquer the ‘Time Benders,’ and their lackeys known as ‘The Lost.’ The Lost reside in a dimension called Eternalis, which has been overthrown and ruled by the Time Benders. It is populated with people who disappeared from this very subway that were taken, tortured, brainwashed, and mutated. They work under the Time Benders with the ultimate goal of destroying the universe.``
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“Um, what?” Confusion etched across Shori’s face.
“You all are the only ones suited for such a grueling task. I have brought you here to fight against The Lost and destroy the Time Benders!”
“Um,” Shori repeats, “all that stuff you said was cool, but… who… called us exactly?”
“Me, destiny, and fate called you all.”
“How is that even possible? Why us?”
“Look, I don’t have time to explain; just know that you can save us all,” Adaer says as she turns around. “Bon voyage!” An eerie sound is audible again as she disappears as quickly as she’d appeared.
“What the heck!? Where’d she go? Was she like a hologram or something? How could she leave without explaining? I’m in high school hoping to make the cheerleading squad, not be some sort of superhero!” Shori looks worn out. “Riashi, is it? How could you sit there so calmly!?”
Riashi looks over, almost impassively. “It’s simple. We’re LOCKERS that have a mission we need to complete.”
“I get that! I don’t know what a LOCKER is, why we were chosen, or who you and that lady are for that matter!”
Riashi sighs. “That’s why you just roll with it. You’re just making everything hard on yourself. It’s not like you have a choice in the matter; you were pulled here and you aren’t getting pulled back unless someone else desires so.”
Shori grunts and mumbles. “I guess I could at least try... W O A !”
Suddenly, the subway car stops, almost flinging the duo into a window. Shori looks startled, while Riashi is playing it cool.
“We need to get out of here,” Riashi says, “Let’s go, Shori.” Riashi swiftly exits the subway car.
“Hey, wait!” The very second the two leave, the subway begins to accelerate off. “Hold on!” Shori cries. It shows no signs of stopping, disappearing into the distance. “Dang it! Where’s… Riashi?”
Shori looks around. The whole area looks like a barren wasteland, the sun scorching down, a stark contrast to her snowy hometown. She turns around to see Riashi darting around with two guns, shooting at no apparent target. However, surrounding him, gooey monsters began to explode and disappear. “LOCK ON!” Riashi cries, gazing at one of the monsters. He kept on pulling the trigger.
“Wha-- when did you get guns, Riashi? Did you have those the whole time? What were those things?”
“I’m not certain, but I think they were The Lost. They surrounded me not long after we got off of the subway.”
Before Shori could respond, more gooey monsters appeared. Riashi continues to shoot as Shori worries they might soon be outnumbered. Shori looks around and realizes that something’s swiftly coming towards her with malicious intent. “What do I do!?” She panics. It advances towards her faster than ever, but she’s helpless. Shori, then, notices Riashi gazing at the monsters–repeating two words. Suddenly, she knows what has to be done. Shori looks directly at the slimy being, all her fear gone. Those same two words come out of her mouth…”LOCK ON!”
When she does, two guns materialize in her small hands, and with her eyes shut, she shoots quickly in the direction of the approaching creature. When she opens her eyes, first the left and then the right, the gooey assailant–along with the others–is gone.