[Edit!] Chapter 1: The day my life ended.....
Chapter 1: The day my life ended.....
A beautiful evening sky, painted a brilliant orange by the setting sun. That was the scene outside my aparment window, five stories up from the ground, in an old, eight story apartment building in the middle of Boston. I sighed contently as I stared at it, but it was not to last. "OI! Zack, quit gawking at yer view and look at the screen!" Grunting, I looked back to my Alienware laptop, and the skype window that dominated the screen. I took a quick look down at the time in the bottom left corner. It read six fourty-eight p.m. Looking back to the middle of the screen, I saw four names. Leeroy Jenkins died, Golems8877, derpface28, and Cheesedoodlesofdoom, a.k.a, my buddies Chris, Jacob, Mike, and Ed. Their pictures were all a bunch of random memes they changed weekly.
Chuckling, I looked at my camera, seeing myself stare back in the camera window. I was getting some five o-clock shadow on my caucasian skin, basic pink lips, clear complexion, deep brown eyes, and wild, light brown hair. I then switched my camera off, pressing the plus sign on the call bar, bringing up the share screens option and clicking it. The window automatically minimized itself, showing my blank art program open in the background. Clicking "Ok," my entire screen was outlined in red, signaling the others could see it.
"Alright gents. I worked all day yesterday trying to finish this, and I finally got it right. It's an anthro pic, so don't say I didn't warn you. AND NO! There is no porn in it!" I heard several D'aws as I explained those few details, causing me to automatically facepalm in response. Going to the top left of the Painter window, I clicked the File tab, scrolled down to open and clicked it again. This in turn, brought up my computer, automatically in the documents tab. I scrolled down to the file labled "Sunset" and clicked that. The window closed, and the Paint screen changed, showing the file to be an incredibly detailed painting of a meadow, with the setting sun in the background. Sitting on a tree stump, was a individual I made to look like he was in his early twenties. His face was covered in light grey fur, as was the rest of his body (that wasn't covered by clothes.) His head was turned to the side, so he was looking over his shoulder, showing his muzzle and wolf ears. His hand and feet were normal and uncovered. He sported a white tank top and blue jeans, showing his lean body.
I leaned back in my chair and waited for a response. The guys were silent for a few minutes, studying the picture with their keen eyes. We all lived close by, and all went to The New England Institue of Art, same class as well. That's how we met three months back. Ever since, we've hung out, and viewed each other's artwork. At exactly six fifty-six, Jacob spoke first. "Not bad. A bit cartoony for my taste, but not bad at all man! You really improved on your shading." The others agreed quickly, making me smile slightly. "Thanks guys. It took me awhile, and I even scrapped the damn thing a few times due to a major mistake or two. And did anyone else notice the date?"
I was met with silence then, before Mike spoke up. "Holy shit. I totally forgot today is the 20th. Happy end of the world, eh guys?" Chris chuckled. "End of the world my ass. The only thing screamin End of the World is all the riots going on. Personally, if someone tries to break into my home, I'm beating the living shit out of them till they get a hold of themselves." Ed and Jacob agreed. I shook my head and sighed. "You sorry ass holes are so violent! I swear, it's a wonder that you don't include violence in your art!" The only reaction I got was all of them yelling at me. "WHO SAYS WE HAVEN'T!?"
Everyone burst out laughing, including me. We just let the funnies flow for a few minutes, at least until I calmed down. "Alright you sick bastards, that's all this week. If we're still alive on the twenty third, coffee on me. See ya." I didn't wait for the replies, just hung up and closed my laptop. Groaning, I stood and took a look around my apartment. It was relatively small, dominated by my huge desk and laptop, the couch not even ten feet behind me with a plasma screen mounted on the wall with an xbox and a stack of games under it. Not even twenty feet to my right was the kitchen. Past the kitchen was the bathroom, stark white with a shower, toilet seat, and sink. No bedroom. Everything was a mess too. We had the week off, so I got lazy besides working on that picture. Groaning, I got up from my chair and stretched, cracking several stiff joints before heading to the bathroom and flicking on the light switch.
Staring into the mirror, I smiled at my Skyrim t-shirt and blue jeans. 'Oh video games, how I love thee.' Unlike the natural gamer, who goes out of his way to do everything to get every achievment, I go out of my way to do the Good thing, achievements or not.Turning on the faucet, I let the cool water flow for a few seconds before cupping my hands under it and splashing my face swiftly. Spewing out some that got in my mouth, I reached around on the floor until I found a towel, drying my face. Grunting, I threw it back on the floor and went back into the main room, flopping down on the couch. Reaching out, I grabbed the controller for the xbox and dug around in the couch, finding the remote after awhile. Flicking on the tv and xbox, I set out playing Halo Reach for awhile. I went through a good twenty matches before I heard a crash outside. I paused the game and ran to the window, stumbling over things along the way. I wrenched the window open and looked at the street below, gawking at what I saw.
There was a fire in a store across the street, and the street itself was filled with people holding torches, weapons, anything they could get their hands on. Looking around at the night sky in my limited range of vision, I saw the telltale signs of fire all over the city! Pulling myself back inside, I barged out my door and into the hall, sprinting to and up the staircase all the way to the roof. Once at the door leading outside, I tore it open and ran barefoot on the roof, looking around. The city was in utter chaos. There were fires and sounds of gunshots going off in every direction. I fell to my knees in shock. "Why? Why is this happening?....Is this really.....Really the end of the world?"
I stayed there, on my knees, listening to the city itself scream in agony as its inhabitants rioted, stole, and killed each other. The sky continued to darken, and storm clouds rolled overhead swiftly. Shaking myself out of my stupor, I got to my feet, shaking uncontrollably. 'The guys. I gotta check on the guys!' Course, as fate would have it, that becomes a no when three men in balacavas and carrying various makeshift weapons barge through the door leading downstairs. "GET HIM!" I didn't wait for them to move. I sprinted across the rooftop, jumping onto the building's fire escape and swiftly running down, the men in hot pursuit. I didn't even stop on my floor, nor did I stop to rest my aching feet. I just kept moving, adrenaline pumping through my veins as I did. When I hit the bottom, I could barely breathe, and the men were closing fast. I was in the alleyway behind my apartment building, strangely devoid of any rioters, and still about a story up from the ground. There was a dumpster nearby. My only option.
I vaulted over the railing weakly, falling towards the closed dumpster. Time seemed to slow down as the dumpster's top opened by itself, revealing a white light inside that blinded me as I fell through, the top shutting behind me. I landed softly on some sort of floor, panting still. I looked around at the endless white expanse, and the fog that went up to a meter from the floor, covering most of my body. Standing, I brushed myself off and looked around. "Wha...? Where am I?"
I jumped when I heard a wise sounding yet calm voice reply to my question. "Somewhere safe, young Zachary Harris." I looked around, eyes wide in shock. "What!? Who's there!? What's going on!? How do you know my name!?" The voice sighed, and I felt as if it were frowning upon me. "Please calm down young Zachary. I know you've had a terrifying experience just now, but you're safe now. As for my name....Well, why don't you take a wild guess?" I blinked, then looked around some more. I felt so stupid saying it. "Are....Are you God?" The voice chuckled at me humorously. "Yes. Yes I am young Zachary. And I am here to congratulate you."
I perked up and let my jaw drop. "Congratulate me? On what? I was just running away from some muggers!" I felt God smiling down on me. "Yes, but you didn't fight back. You see, the Mayan calender was merely a test, and you passed excellently." My jaw, if I were a cartoon, would be on the floor right now. "A test!? But...But.....How exactly did I pass?" He answered non-chalantly. "You passed by not becoming violent. You are one of the few humans who didn't use this as an excuse to go mad and start doing such things as what you saw outside your window. You remained passive until exactly midnight. Twelve, Twenty-one, Two Thousand Twelve, Twelve A.M." I just stared in a general direction, mouth still open. "As a reward, I will send you to any world of your choosing, with anything you want." I looked directly up. "Can my friends join me?"
My answer was feeling God frown upon me. "I am sorry, dear Zachary. But they turned violent in their last few moments. They cannot join you in this journey. I'd hate to cut this short, but I have others to tend to. What is your decision, Zachary?" I frowned deeply and looked to the fog colored floor. 'Stupid bastards....' Sighing, I looked up again. "Can you send me somewhere in which peace and harmony are the highest power, and the crime rate is supremely low?" I heard God "Hmmm" for a few seconds before answering. "Yes. I can. However, there is a slight problem...." I sighed. "What is it?" "The capitol of that world is under attack." I raised my eyebrows. "By what!?" "An ancient enemy, not seen for years my dear boy. I can still send you there if you want but...." I clenched up my hands into fists and stared up angrily. "You said you can send me there with whatever I want, yes? Can you grant me certain abilities and weapons as well?" I felt God raise a brow at me. "You want to fight? After what I explained to you?" "No." I felt him blink now. "Then why ask? I am curious." I gritted my teeth and answered. "So I can protect the inhabitants of that world. No one deserves violence if they only want peace."
I felt God slowly grin at me, strange as to how I can feel his facial expressions and yet not see him. "Very well Zachary. What did you have in mind?" I immediately went to work. "First things first. My appearence. I recently made a picture of a wolf anthro enjoying the sunset. Can you change me to be just like him? And change my eye color to one close to moonlight?" I heard a snap and felt my body rearrange itself in several places, yet I did not feel pain while it did so, only a burning sensation in my eyes that forced me to close them. When I opened them again, I looked down and saw a muzzle and black nose in the corners of my vision. Looking down at myself, I noticed the grey fur on my arms and feet. Looking behind me, I also noticed a wolf's tail, same color as my fur. I managed to make it sway back and forth. I then looked up again. "Next, eyesight. Make it sharp just like a wolf's and give me the hearing of one too." I felt my ears tune themselves, and winced when my eyesight became sharper, more defined with the next snap. "Then, my body. Give me twice the strength of the average body builder, minus all the muscles, twice as much endurance as a marathon runner, and the speed of a Olympic track runner, gold medalist." I felt my body suddenly tone itself with a new snap, and suddenly had the energy to do, well, anything! "Ok, now about clothing. I want to have ebony armor, like in Skyrim. All but the helm." Another snap, and I felt heavier. Looking down, I grinned at the sleek black plate armor covering my body, with celtic markings all over it. I looked back up again. "Make it so I don't feel the weight please? And also, a Thieves Guild Hood, with holes for my ears." I suddenly felt as if the armor wasn't there with the next snap, and I found a hood over my head, casting a shadow over my eyes. I cracked my neck in anticipation for the next one. "Next, weapons. I want to have two, swords at that. One being the Corrupted Ashbringer from World of Warcraft, and the other being an Ancient Nord Sword from Skyrim. I also want them enchanted so I won't feel their weight either, and so that when I release them against any part of my body, they'll stay there, say my back and hips." Another snap, and a sudden resounding clank. Looking over my right shoulder, I noticed the foot-long hilt of the Ashbringer on my back, causing me to chuckle. Looking to my left hip, I nodded in appreciation of the Short, single-edged sword at my hip. I looked back to where I guessed God to be. "Also, make them sharper than any sword in Human history, and reinforce them with another enchantment so they won't break please? I'd hate to lose these."
Another snap, and the blades shined once. I smirked and kept looking up. "Alright. Three more things. One, I want the ability to change into an actual wolf when I want, and change back whenever I want to as well. Second, I want my armor to be able to change according to either form. And finally, I want the ability to become one with my Shadow, in case I need a quick get-a-way." My armor and I shined once, and my shadow, from what I could see of it, became more defined.
I took a slow, deep breath before looking forward, frowning seriously. "Do it." With a flash that forced me to shut my eyes, I was plunged into darkness...
