(The Next Day)
Cores. They exist in every person, but most of the time, they are dormant. Lying in the heart, beating the very small amount of life force one possesses throughout their life.
But they can be trained, trained to evolve in a very particular way in order to develop abilities. The ones that evolve through training are given the term of artificially awakened. The ones that evolved unknownst to their bearer, are referred to as naturally awakened. Nonetheless, both are conduits.
Conduits, because they channel the life force. It all comes down to how you handle it.
But when there's a flaw in reality, the other side is supposed to fix that. Because the powers that a conduit develops already exist on the other side. And there can never be two equal realities.
-Train Depot Area-
"I know, I know, I've heard, I've learned, I did, about them, everything," A young boy around eighteen years of age whispered in horror, again and again, repeating the same words, same line, hiding inside the passenger compartment of a train.
The lights were shut, engines were off, and there was not a single soul anywhere near him. But he was scared to his bones.
Mica, was just an intern in maintainance department of electric trains, but he was a conduit too. As a naturally awakened, he studied about the threats, he contracted with organisation just to manage his survival. However…
"He-lp Mee-ee! I-I-I-I-I-" A thick voice layered with high pitch, an expression of amusement. This wasn't Mica's voice. It was a hound of the abyss. Mimicking its prey.
An eight feel tall, humonoid moving with animilistic crawl. It was pale, had hollow eyes that leaked dark inky substance. A face with without nose and a smile that stretched wide while mimmicing its prey.
The terrifying part wasn't just its appearance or the way it moved, but the numbers. They were two.
Mica's power was scrambler field. A neural disruption that affects in short term memory loss of the opponent, making it completely defenseless. But the hounds that were after him, had the same core, and his ability wasn't working.
Then suddenly, from both sides of the passenger box he was in, they tore in through the roof. Crawling sadistically with their hands and feets on the chairs and arrived just above the seat of Mica.
"Fuc- My life-"
----
"You're really beautiful…" A young man in his mid twenties, brown hair toned along stubble beard, sat in front of Meloni on a dinner table.
With red wines served on both sides and group chat opened on Meloni's phone.
-
: How is he?
: ..Answer?
: I rejected
: What?
: Dumbo? Another?
-
"It's just sad you don't want to date anyone…", The man added.
"I'm sorry, I told you my friends arranged a blind date without my permission, and I could've called but they didn't let me so I had to show up and clear discrapencies!" She replied.
"That just adds more charm to you…" He continued.
"Ay-don't worry, you'll find someone that matches you…" She shut her phone, and placed it in her bag. Standing up, she adjusted her long black silk frock with white tucked in shirt.
"But…I'm really sorry, I need to leave now, it's getting late!" She said.
"Uh-Okay…" He was dissapointed in himself.
"Don't worry 'bout the bill I'll pay for this," He added.
"Are you sure?" Meloni asked.
'Well, I don't have money to pay anyway,' she thought.
"Yuh, nothing to worry at all. How do you plan to go back? Should I call for a cab?", He asked.
"No, my house's just walking distance?" She replied.
"Really? Would you mind if I accompany you? Its getting late," He asked.
"Not at all. That'll be fine!" She replied.
....
"You know, its really difficult to meet someone like you these days", the man continued with his conversation again while they were walking down the street.
The sun had already set, and Meloni's house was on twenty-minute walk.
"Hm?" She was startled for a second, her phone was not turning on.
"Calm, sweet, optimistic, and a musician! I apologise to say this again, but your voice is just so soothing. I mean, I've never heard a sweeter voice than yours."
'My phone's not turning on?' Meloni had her own problems amid their one-sided conversation.
"What happened?" He asked.
"The phon-" She was about to speak up, but her eyes glowed violet again. A threat response.
A car stopped near them, and two agents wearing black suits with white shirts got out and jogged their way to Meloni.
She didn't back off, she knew who they were from the badges on their pockets.
"Miss, we are from Ferrum. There's an emergency and we need to evacuate you!" One of the agents said, pushing the man she was on a date with aside and indicating her to get in the car.
"We'll explain everything late, but we need you to follow us right now-" Just as they said that, a defeaning explosion from the car sent all the four individuals including Meloni flying, slamming them on the footpath.
On the destroyed sedan, standing eight feet tall was a humanoid figure with pale skin, hollow eyes, and a mouth wide enough to tear apart a human head.
Agents of Ferrum protected themselves with a veil of metal fragments hovering in front of them, but they still sustained damage. As for Meloni and her date, they were severely injured. Clothes burned from the sides, wounds all over the body, and with the presence of a hound, it was getting hard to breathe.
"What in the lord's name is that?" The man muttered, looking at the creepy creature in front of them.
"Run, Miss…Now!" The agents shouted.
Meloni gritted her teeth and supported herself up with all the pain that was searing into her body. Her hair was disheveled, their pins broke and lost, the glass of her watch was shattered, and her phone was nowhere to be seen.
She took in a deep breath, her mind was in panick. 'Is that the hound Ray spoke of?' She thought.
Meloni moved and looked at the man who had once called himself her date, terrified to the core. Without a thought, he ran in the opposite direction of the scene, but…
"No, no, no,-" The agents screamed as they glanced at him.
Death. It was what they saw. A human-like hand pierced the man's chest. Because there wasn't just one, but two hounds.
It then pulled its hand back, squeezing out the heart of the man who hoped to run for his life. It opened its mouth wide in amusement, squeezed out the blood first, savouring the crimson flavour, and then dropped the heart inside its mouth, gulping it in one go.
And all Meloni could do was just stare at the scene in horror. Becuase her ability to stun her opponents will also affect the agents who're facing a situation of life and death themselves.