Reign of Darkness (complete)

-Kelly-11:43AM-

"What do you mean I can't fight?" I screamed at the soldier.

"Orders by the CSA," he said simply before turning and leaving the huge room.

This was so unfair. Now I really couldn't do anything. And it was all that darned Chief of Staff of the United States Army's fault. What did he know? I could do things. I could... hit like a girl. Win a spelling bee. Read a 300 page book in under an hour. Okay, I admit it; I'm pathetic. Suddenly something hit me. I ran over to Maribelle and asked,

"What are you planning on doing with Aiden?"

She stared at me for a moment and said quietly, "I dunno. I can't keep him with me, and I have to fight. Why?"

"Can he hang out with me? I've been ordered not to fight, since I'd probably just get in the way. So can he?"


-Raven-11:57AM-

I shouldered my gun, trying to get a feel for it. Guns were really something new for me; I had used knives before, my fists, my powers, drugs... but a sub-machine gun? Absurd. The skies had already darkened, and it felt like I was wearing a tank top in winter. They were coming at what felt like warp speed. Glancing around me I took probably the last look at my companions.

Maribelle and Kelly were talking about something or another. Gary and Julie were boxing minus the gloves, and I chuckled. The girls here were so tough. Ballow was still picking out a weapon, but had somehow ended up in the planes. Spencer was aiming a gun that honestly looked really awkward in such a pathetic man's hands. Damien was leaning against a wall with earphones stuck in his ears. Cadence was just standing around, her arms clutched around her ribs, staring at the floor beside her. I thought back to when I had first met everyone. We had changed so much. Even I had grown darker, meaner, into a loner.

Today, my misery would end. Today, I would be free of this living nightmare. Today, I would die.

"Attention," a loudspeaker rang. "All personel, please report to your designated posts. The enemy has come. Repeat, report to your designated posts."

This was it. The last fight of my life. It was time for the Final Battle.


------------------------------------------

Again, if you don't post for this fight, you don't get a reserved spot in the sequel. Just a reminder.

I'll post Fridaay(:


Julie
My heart skipped a beat, and then began to beat faster and faster.
This was it, this was the moment I had been waiting for all these years.
Years of waking up crying every night in agony, whenever I closed my eyes, I could see the faces of my parents.
There hearts being ripped away from their fragile bodies.
10 seconds...that's all it took.
That's all it took those horried beasts, to kill my parents.
And now...it was my turn.
I was going to kill those shadows, every one of them.
Even if it killed me, I wouldn't give up till my very last breath.
And I would kill the man behind all of this.
Joseph.
The air in the room changed rapidly.
The tension, would have been obvious to even a stranger, who would have walked into the room at this moment.
I stared at everyone else, their gaze meeting mine.
"This is it. Let's kill those things." I said.
Then we all walked outside.
It was raining, and the thunder boomed noisly.
How cliche.
We heard a low buzzing sound, and then darkness.
They were here.
The shadows were here.
"Prepare to die." I said a smile playing on my lips.

Maribelle

I cradled Aiden and set him in front of Kelly, knowing he'd be safe. He was half shadow, he had already told me they wouldn't harm him. He said he'd talk to me through thoughts the entire fight, I smiled and wrapped him in a huge hug.

"Aiden, if I don't make it. I want you to help whoevers still alive. Okay, baby? Can you be strong for Mommy?" I said, a tear brushing down the side of my cheek.


He grabbed my forefinger and nodded, he didn't like to talk too much I had found. Aiden talked like there was nothing through thoughts though. He was intrigued with everything he saw, I loved him.

"I love you." I said, standing up. I needed to get my weapons ready.

Please, keep my baby safe. He's all I have left... I sent to Kelly, hoping she'd understand. She nodded.

Aiden waved at me as i walked away. After I couldn't see him I ran, tears streaming down my face, to get my weapons prepared. Hurrying, I began sharpening my knives and putting ammo into my guns. The sleek noise of the metal to metal contact had begun to make everyone tense.

We had waited for this moment, we knew it wouldn't have taken long. Now, that the moment had come everyone was scared and praying that they would be good enough. If I did die fighting, at least I will die doing something to help this world.

I'll just state the obvious here, not pointing fingers *fingers point at self* ...Ahem, anyways.

Long posts are better, and feel free to skip a few hours. This fight should last somewhere between eight hours and two days. Just say what time it is after your characters name.

***

-Raven, 12:24 PM-

Walking single file (or more like pushing everyone into a big mesh) towards the door, I realized how insane what I wanted was. I tried to think of something worth living for, but everything that came to mind were the reasons I wanted to stop. Contradiction. Everything in my life contradicted itself. Sooner or later, I realized, I'd just have to pick on side and live with it.

But it was a little too late for that realization, considering a heavy rain was starting to fall on my head. It was too late to have second thoughts. I was all set. We had made it to the "battlefield", a vast plain of well-watered grass. Anyone could have honestly mistaken it for the backyard of a mansion. It was only about thirty yards from the HQ, which I considered a military version of a college campus, with twenty buildings all mushed together.

A low buzzing filled our ears, and soon the horizon was pitch black, coming closer, closer. All around me were hundreds of soldiers. I was separated from the others of the group by two dozen people on each side, at least. The strategy was to fight. It was going to be close quarters, more like an ancient battle of the Goths and Romans than your modern-day war.

The green cameo of the soldiers. The beige, bulletproof and knife proof clothing of us "Paras", in other words, the group. The dust-colored tanks. The sleek black machine guns. The silver war planes. So many colors filled my eyes, even in the dark skies and rain. Soon, more colors would fill these eyes.

Gray, the color of gunshot residue and smoke from atomic bombs.

Black, the color of Shadow blood.

Red, the color of human blood.

And total darkness, the color of my own death in my own eyes.


Taking in a deep breath I let a smile show itself on my face. These monsters had destroyed my life, and saved it. They had killed me, and resurrected me. They had taken my happiness, my humanity, my very soul, and given in return. In so many ways they had affected my past, they had made me who I was, whether I liked it or not. And now, it was time to destroy them.

As the first cloud of shadows started to take substance, my jaw dropped. They had learned to grow twice as big as before, almost twelve feet tall. And this time, they weren't all of the same horrifying shape. Some looked like traditional shadows, monstrous gargoyles, with teeth the size of a man's hand and horns that could be used as swords. Their skin was stretched tightly across their bones, making them look almost like skeletons... like how I had seen myself in the mirror. Their tongues were pointed and like a snake's, flicking in and out of their huge mouths.

Some of the others were like werewolves, half humanoid, half wolf thing. A handful looked like rabid dogs.

The rest I don't dare to mention, since a few of the soldiers passed out once they came into sight. The creatures just appeared out of the cloud, never ending. I wanted to scream 'Charge!' like a dork, but a tank's loudspeaker did it for us all.

"Fight for your lives. Fight for this Earth. Fight for your humanity! Attack!"

Us "Para"s (no I didn't pick the name the nerdy paranormality scientists gave us) charged them using powers we hadn't even known we had a few weeks ago, before training.

For example, I could turn into a tornado. And that's exactly what I turned into right then, a swirling mass of air ready to send disgusting shadows to their graves.


**4:13 PM**


We had gotten off to a bad start. The estimate was that we would be outnumbered five to one. Well, yes, that was true, but it was really more of fifteen to one if you counted size. Those... things wouldn't stop! Already they were having to set aside another building for medical purposes. There was blood everywhere, it was amazing we didn't slip.

A shadow slipped in it's own puddle.

"Now I've seen it all," I muttered to myself as I threw a grenade at a swarm.

-Kelly-6:27PM-

I leaned against the wall with Aiden at my side, watching as soldiers passed by carrying injured people. From what I could see, no one I knew. Yet. There had to be a way to make this less depressing. Something to distract us.

"Wanna go... uh... watch a movie or something?" I asked the boy beside me. He just shook his head and continued searching the faces of the hurt people. I sighed. We had only begun this war, and hundreds of soldiers were hurt. A three week old third-grader had to see all of this. And to boot, it was far from over.


-Raven-7:59PM-

WARNING: GRAPHICLY GOREY

[spoiler]I was so exhausted. We all were. We, the human beings of Earth, had been fighting non-stop for... a long time. No one had a watch. Why didn't anyone have a a watch?!

Shooting wildly at a crowd of shadows I screamed, "What time is it?"

Behind me, Maribelle yelled, "What are you talking about?"

I turned on my heels and yelled back, "I wanna keep my sanity as long as possible, so someone better tell me the frikin' ti--!"

Slowly I glanced down at my waist. A thin, black, serrated sword was sticking out of my stomach, through my supposedly knife-proof clothes. Things became fuzzy. A high-pitched cross between a hiss and a buzz echoed in my ears.

A crash. A snap. A scream.

I sank to my knees, and felt something pressing on my shoulder. I looked, it was beige. It was the hand of someone from the group. My hand felt down to where the blade thing still protruded from my body. A warm stickiness covered it. I raised my hand, either for dramatic effect or to dumbly see if I was bleeding.

I was, except for one problem. The blood was black, like a shadows. I glanced up at the blurry head before me and said the most powerful and the most simple words in the human language,

"Help me."

A grasp. A gunshot. A breeze.

Darkness.[/spoiler]
***

Raven's not dead, just unconscious. Someone's getting her to one of the MASH's. Here's a spot for someone to jump in.

ADDED:
Sorry, JD. I should've spoilered that just in case. Didn't think it was too bad, but oh well. I never know. Apologies!
*Slaps self for breaking own rule*

God, I hate gore.
I just can't staand it.
Did you seriously have to put the sticking out part? =/
Aha, I'm sorrryyy...I can't staand blood when it's *shudders*
Haard to explaain.

Aha, anwaaays I liked the "Wanna go waatch a movie or something?"
lol

Texaan...:/
Are we still doing the "thing" we plaanned?
Maaybe you can post about thaat...?
We really need to move on, and I would post, but I'm not sure whaat to post..

-Joseph-

Joseph paced the floor of the makeshift "tent", aka a few pieces of blown up tank leaned against each other.

"Calm down, Joseph," crowed a dark figure, his shrill voice barely audible against the gunfire and pouring rain. "There's nothing to worry about. We're outnumbering--"

"I never wanted anyone to get hurt!" Joseph yelled. "People are dying because of me. Because I left them."

"A small price to pay to make them look up to you, no?" the figure calmly continued.

A bomb exploded nearby, the flames barely reaching their fort. Joseph squinted to look at the people hurt. He hoped that the rain would cover up the tears starting to stream down his face. Why did they have to kill? It wasn’t worth it. He should never have let himself be so blind. Families were being destroyed because of him. All because of him.

On the ground, where the bomb had just exploded, lay the soldiers in their cameo uniforms, either hurt or dead. But one soldier stood out from the rest, wearing beige—

Julie. No. No!

“Julie!” Joseph screamed as loud as possible, running towards his one-time friend. She couldn’t be hurt. He wouldn’t allow it. He had promised her that much.

She raised her head from the ground to see who had called her name. Joseph got on his knees beside her, muttering under his breath. His companion screamed at him, running up behind.

Once Julie noticed who it was, she found a new strength.

...And attacked with a hunting knife.

“Julie!” Joseph screamed.
I looked up.
He went down on his knees mumbling something.
Even though I was in pain, I slowly lifted myself up.
I took out the hunting knife in my pocket, and punched Joseph in the face.
He fell to the ground shocked.
Then I pinned him, so he couldn't move.
This was it.
I was going to kill the person behind all of this.
I slowly raised the knife, and brought it down, but then I stopped.
So close.
So close.
So why did I stop?!
I stared into Joseph's eyes.
"Come on Julie. Don't be weak. Kill him. Kill him now." My mind screamed at me.
I shook my head.
I couldn't.
I hated Joseph.
But at the same time I loved him.
I looked at the knife, and then threw it to the ground.
Joseph stared at me shocked.
I got off of him, and fell to the ground.
I was defeated.
I couldn't kill him.

Posting soon, I promise. No muse whatsoever ... And I need to catch up. But, yeah. I will post soon .... I hope.

-Joseph-

Joseph crawled backwards frantically and scrambled to his feet. She had tried to kill him. Not that he blamed her, in fact he felt like doing the same at times, but... why hadn't she finished him? Life was so confusing. She hadn't destroyed him given the chance. She had waited. Like something was stopping her. Now she was collapsed on the floor, possibly dead. Before Joseph could see what had become of his first --and probably only-- friend--

"Finally," gasped the squeaky voice behind him. "Now. Finish her."

Joseph glared at the man, an unnatural hate filling his eyes. They flickered in reflection of bomb flames too powerful to be doused by the rain. His brow furrowed, and he walked towards the man.

"What are you waiting for?" the cloaked figure demanded. "Kill her!"

"No, Smithal," Joseph growled. He almost scared himself with his voice, it was so different. "No. I'm not going to be a part of this killing."

"Idiot!" Smithal screeched. "You will do as I say!"

This was all his fault. The death. The sorrow. Julie hurt, maybe even-- This was all his own fault!

"No," Joseph said. "There is nothing in the world worth all this destruction."

"Kill her and I will make you rise above us all! I can do that with just one word! Now kill her!"

Joseph's eyes darted from the unconscious Julie, to the fighting between human and shadow, to the people who had once been his friends, to Smithal. And idea formed in his mind. A probably stupid, but tempting, idea. Quickly he headed over to Julie, drawing a tool shed hammer from on of the many pockets on his coat. Bending down, he whispered in her ear, "Julie, I promised you one thing. If you were ever at my side, I would protect you with all my might. I'm not asking you to join me. I'm asking you to help me destroy him."

She opened her eyes just enough for him to see her ____ *what color are Julie's eyes?* iris' staring back at him. He continued in a rushed whisper.

"There are things I can tell you that you've been dying to know. Things about the shadows, maybe even about your family. But you have to help me destroy him. Hear that? Destroy. Do whatever you want to him, just let me help you."

He held out his hand, hoping she would take it and not cut his hand off.



-Raven-

Everything was fuzzy. The black and white sights, the sounds, the feelings, everything. I knew what was happening. That was what it felt like to die. Nothing made sense when I tried to make things out, tell them apart form the blur. None of my surroundings made sense. I had no idea where I was. Shapes and figures hovered around me, almost blending in with the background. Shouts and clanks and crashes all mixed together to create the most horrible sound ever. I felt pain, emotions, textures, but there were too many to make out. Nothing made sense.

My mind raced on it's own speed from the rest of the world. Everything I had ever felt crammed itself back into my heart.
How I had felt when I saw kids smiling and laughing with their moms and dads when I was seven: Confused, sad.
How I had felt every time I had been told I wasn't good enough: Angry, hurt.
How I had felt murdering my parents: Satisfied, content.
How I had felt around Spencer, and when he had kissed me: Loved, strong.

Strong. Like I could do anything and everything.

I couldn't tell my right from my left at that moment, but I knew one thing. Love made you stronger. It wasn't a weakness, something only to blind humans from reality. It was something that protected you, that gave you shelter when you were alone. It made you stronger. I could be strong and love, too.

I tried to mumble, "What time is it? Where's everybody? I have to talk to Spencer." But in the condition I was in, it probably came out more of, "wha... tie... wher... body... I... talk... Spence..."

What felt like hours passed before I finally fell asleep.




****

Anyone who posts tomorrow will get a sneak peak at the sequel. Hear that? It means, the more you post, the sooner we'll get this done, and the sooner we can get on with this series! I can't believe I called it that, but c'mon! FINISH THE STORY WITH ME!

Dude, Smithal just maakes me laugh. :p
Yes, I get to see the seeeqqquuueeeel:)
-Julie-

I looked up.
I was thinking about just ignoring Joseph, and hating myself for not being able to kill him…
But something caught my attention.
My parents.
The shadows.
Joseph knew about my parents. Were they dead?! Was he lying to me?! I am so confused.
I stared at Joseph debating if I should trust him or not.
“Please Julie. I am not lying. Trust me.” He sad sensing my suspicison.
I sighed. Life sucks.
I took his rough, red stained hands in mine.
He picked me up.
“Okay. So here’s the plan…”
God, I hope this works.

Okay, second bribe of the week: I'll be gone unil tuesday. Every REAL post on this story until then will earn you another 25 points. And every post involving a character's major story plot, for example Cadence and Ballow's plots, will earn you 50 points. Don't think this will work if you post things one paragraph at a time.

Now gimme posts so we can finish this story before I explode!

Making Aiden his own posts now!

Aiden

I grasped hold of Kelly's hand, and pulled her into the downstairs room. I needed to use my power to watch mother so i could help when i needed to. Kelly seemed a little hesitant but, she was told to keep an eye on me so she had to follow.

"Momma's gonna be okay?" I asked her, she looked down sort of lost of words. Her reaction told me all i needed so, i looked around the room in search of something to use my power on. Mommy didn't even know i could do something about this. I never told her no matter how much i wanted to, I waddled around the room looking under books and found a chest.

With my little hands i unhooked it and pushed it open, Kelly observed closely. Burrowing my head inside of it, I found a crystal. The crystal was dusty, but it could be seen through. I enclosed it into my hand and shut my eyes.

I had a power, a gift that was given to me to help mommy through this war.

I felt my feet lift off the floor and opened my eyes again, the whole room was white for a while. But, then I finally got sight of what mom was seeing. She was crying. She had just plunged a dagger through the heart of a shadow. I immediately sent her a thought.

I'm taking over the shadow, you just murdered. I'm going to help. I'll be safe, as long as i return to my own body.

She gasped, shaking her head.

Aiden, no. I can't let you come into this. Even if you are safe, I'm not. You cannot watch me die if i do. If you must come, I want you to leave as soon as you see them strike me. Be strong sweetie.

I didn't say anything more, i needed to do this.

I took hold of the shadows body, sealing my promise.

Heyy guys,
I won't be on this week, cause of testing, so I won't post.
Be on later next week after Fridaay.