Duncan Ward was never a huge fan of banks, especially when it was being robbed. He sat impatiently amongst cowering people unfortunate enough to have their day wasted by some naive punks in ski masks. There were at least ten of them. Two were jabbing their weapons at the frightened bank staff while the others scattered themselves, looking out nervously for the police who never seem to respond on time. They were organised, but clearly inexperienced.
Must be part of some mafia.
Duncan sighed audibly and looked over to his companion with a hand over her mouth.
“I sure hope they get this over with soon,” he whispered. “We picked the wrong day to withdraw our funds.”
The woman remained motionless, her jet-black hair quivering with her trembling body. Duncan’s eyebrows began to furrow in worry.
“Lucy, are you alright?” his whispering became slightly louder. “It… it’s not that time of the month, is it?”
Lucy turned to face him, her bloodshot eyes shaking slightly as she nodded.
“Curse it. Of all the times… Keep it together, Lucy. The robbers will be done in no time and we can go get—”
“Hey, shut up!” a bank robber turned around to the source of his voice, waving his shotgun around dangerously.
“I’m so hungry…” Lucy whimpered, looking apologetically at Duncan. “P— Pray forgiveth me…”
Duncan shook his head frantically as his companion put her hand down from her mouth, revealing two sharpened fangs that she could no longer conceal. Her head snapped to one of the robbers as she breathed heavily. She stood up suddenly with a demonic growl and pounced towards him.
Screams erupted around Duncan. He cursed loudly, reaching into a satchel in his coat and tossing its contents into the air. A suffocating darkness immediately engulfed the entire area. Duncan watched grimly as Lucy leapt from robber to robber, sinking her teeth into their necks and draining their blood within seconds. He made for the exit.
Duncan leaned against the wall in a nearby deserted alley, waiting for his companion to finish her meal. The golden glow in his eyes faded away with the black smoke dispersing itself into the air. He blinked a few times, letting his vision readjust to the daylight as the powder’s effect slowly waned.
Police sirens wailed in the distance. He shook his head; there was going to be one hell of a crime scene waiting for the police when they arrived.
Not like it was any of his business though. The sound of wings flapping caught his attention as Duncan glared at a bat descending unsteadily in front of him. It warped back into a woman with a soft pop.
“That was my last packet of instant darkness powder, Mistress Carpenter,” he muttered. “Do you have any idea how long it takes to make one?”
The lady grinned in satisfaction as her fangs began to retract back into her gums. “Mmm… I haven’t had a meal like that in a century.” She wiped away a trickle of blood from a corner of her mouth. “This will last me for another year.”
“A thousand years old and you choose to act like a thirteen-year-old girl,” Duncan said exasperatedly. “You best hope those cameras didn’t catch you, Lucy.”
“Hey, hey. I’m still in my triple digits, alright?” Lucy pouted. “I’m only nine hundred and eighty-nine. And besides, I’m sure you blacked out the area quickly enough.”
Duncan opened his mouth to retaliate but was interrupted by a beeping sound. Both of them jumped, looking around frantically.
“What’s that noise?” Lucy piped. “It’s coming from your coat.”
Duncan reached inside his jacket and pulled out a vibrating handphone. Both of them stared at it curiously, trying to figure out what was happening.
“Oh!” Duncan said excitedly. “This is a cell phone; Boss gave it to us for communication, remember? I think we have to press this green button here…”
The screen lit up their faces as they put it uncomfortably close to themselves. Lucy let out a small gasp of amazement as she admired her own portrait at the bottom of the screen.
“Would you two mind turning off the video? I’m not showing you anything; you don’t need to see my face.”
“But how can we talk to you if we can’t see you?”
“Just do as I say. Press the centre button— Yes, that’s the one. Ah, much better.”
It was Duncan’s turn to be amazed. He brought the phone closer to him and uttered a rather deafening “Hello?”.
“Geez, not so loud. I can hear you just fine.” The exasperation in the caller’s voice was as clear as day, even through the fuzzy transmission. “I’m going to need both of you to head down to Whitacre Street. I detected a rather powerful burst of life energy last night, and I suspect another immortal was just born. I did some preliminary research and found out that the subject is a man with the birth name, Jonathan Warner. Pick him up and for the love of all things good, please don’t scare him away. Especially you, Duncan.”
A click sounded from the phone and Duncan tapped the phone a few times.
“I think he has left,” Lucy tilted her head. “I still cannot comprehend what form of magic powers this thing.” She turned to Duncan, who was still muttering something along the lines of “I’m not intimidating…”
“Race you there?” she smirked at him before transforming into a raven. Duncan snapped his fingers as his shadow faded into his feet, covering his legs with a slightly glowing tinge of black.
“You’re on.”
~ ~ ~
Jonathan jerked awake. He got up slowly, brushing away the gravel sticking to the side of his face. A sickening stench of dried blood lingered in his mouth as he spat repeatedly, trying to get rid of the metallic taste. He stared at the ground for a moment, trying to remember when the government had decided to paint it red. And then he realised what he was looking at.
The man yelped and scrambled away from the blood-stained floor. He put his hand on the back of his head, half expecting to find a hole in it and confirm that he was a ghost, but found none. He was filled to the brim with energy and his memory never seemed better, which just made him more confused as to what was happening.
Jonathan looked around at the yellow rays of the sun slowly crawling along the empty buildings. Dawn was creeping in, and people would be filling up the streets soon. Jonathan had to leave quickly before they started asking questions. He put a leg forward as he began to run—
Jonathan could barely hear his own scream as the street whizzed past him in a blur. He found himself on the extreme end of the city before he could register what just happened. He sucked in a deep breath of air, suddenly realising that he had not been breathing ever since he woke up.
Oh, I’m definitely dead.
He took another unnecessary breath and steadied himself. His senses sharpened with focus as the world began to slow all around him. Jonathan looked in awe at a stationary mosquito in the midst of flapping its wings; he reached a finger to touch a drop of water falling from the roof; he examined the dirt kicked up by his feet, still frozen in mid-air.
Being dead feels amazing.
Jonathan took off running and found himself back in his home less than a millisecond later, much to Oscar’s surprise. The dog bounded about him and barked excitedly. He patted it as Oscar nuzzled with him, crying in happiness.
“Those bastards got you too, huh?” Jonathan said with a warm smile on his face. “Behave yourself in heaven, alright? And don’t miss me too much.”
“Found him. You lose, Duncan,” an unfamiliar female voice spoke from behind him.
“So close…”
Jonathan looked quizzically at the two mysterious figures standing in front of him. The female one walked into the light, illuminating her feminine features. She wore a dark coat that seemed tailor-made to her figure, and her bowler hat looked like it came straight from a 1950s noir film. It took all of Jonathan’s focus not to leave his jaw hanging at the stunningly beautiful lady smirking at him.
“Charmed to meet you, Jonathan Warner,” she spoke in a strange English accent. “My name is Lucy Carpenter, and this gentleman beside me is Duncan Ward.”
“Well met, lad.” The man beside her forced a toothy smile, which only made him seem scarier with his gruff tone of voice. “No doubt you are aware, you have been reborn as of yesternight.”
“I guess this is where we part ways, Oscar.” Jonathan petted the dog for the last time and walked up to them. “Alright, I’m ready. Take me to purgatory.”
“Purga…tory? Darn it. You must have scared him, Duncan.” Lucy glared at her blonde companion. “We’re not grim reapers, my dear boy. We’re immortals, just like you.”
“And we would like to formally invite you to join our association,” Duncan chimed in. He clasped his hands together and muttered something under his breath. His fingertips glowed in response as he snapped his fingers. Jonathan yelped in shock as a glowing square opened up from the floor. A bolt of electricity shot out from his hands in response to the sudden apparition as Oscar scurried away to hide.
“Why, aren’t you a special one?” Lucy raised an eyebrow and gestured to the pulsing square. “After you, Master Warner.”
Jonathan looked at both of them hesitantly and put a foot forward.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlMyq7kGrzK
and then Add to home screen.