Prolouge: Ash and Ruin

Jim comes home from school, but his family is soon attacked, but neither party is an average person. Jim has to escape the collateral damage before it's too late.

This is the beginning of a larger piece that takes place 10 years before the rest.

Ash and Ruins

      Jim swung his body with a grunt as he pushed himself to take the last three steps leading to his parents' apartment. He considered himself to be in pretty good shape for fifteen, but walking up thirteen floors with a completely full backpack was taking its toll. He leaned his right shoulder on the wall as he walked, making a slight scratching sound against the striped paper. Once he reached their familiar apartment, first on the right, he reached in his pocket and began looking for the correct key.

      Before putting the key in and unlocking the door he looked around to make sure that no-one had followed him. His parents had taught him how to spot someone following him and had drilled it into his head to check every couple of minutes when he was very young.

      Jim stepped over the threshold of the door to a familiar smell of some combination of meat and garlic. He had forgotten today was the seventh of the month that meant it was his favorite roast, cooked all day in a crock pot. “Don't forget to take off your shoes, Jim,” came his mother's familiar voice over the clicking sound of Jim re-locking the door.

      “Don't worry, Ma. I was planning on it,” Jim panted back, sliding his feet out of his shoes and dropping his backpack on the ground next to them.

      “Is everything all right? You sound out of breath;” This time it was his father's voice coming from the same room.

      “Yeah, I'm fine; Stupid elevator is broken again,” Jim said making his way to the kitchen in search of a drink.

      “Did you check if you were followed? They could try to catch you off guard if they think you're tired,” his father asked with an air of nervousness.

      “Of course I checked, I remember the important stuff, Dad,” Jim said impatiently. Though his father's constant questions got on his nerves, he understood the reason for them. He only knew the base facts of the situation. His parents were part of a government-corporate contract that allowed people with proper credentials to get a sort of treatment. Jim didn't know the specifics, but he knew his parents and thirteen others were successfully treated. They had all gained nearly limitless physical attributes such as strength, speed, and endurance. When they had explained it to Jim in his infancy, he had thought of them as superheroes, without the tights and names.

      Then they had to go on the run. A fourteenth person, a religious fanatic somehow got a black market version of the formula and began doing what he called “God's work,” attacking everyone who had undergone the treatment. He went by the name of Gabriel. His black market mixture made him more powerful than any of the others and he had mercilessly killed them all, with the exception of Jim's parents.

      They had run without getting into the fight in a desperate attempt to save Jim from collateral damage. Gabriel killed all thirteen of the others in one night, causing more damage than any recorded natural disaster. Jim's family was put into a program similar to witness protection and were sent to live in Boston. The government could do little more than that against the power he possessed.

Jim walked into the living room, plopped down, and lazily reached for the remote on the other side of the couch. He turned on the TV and began flipping through the channels aimlessly. Right as he settled on a station showing some old school cartoons, there was a knock at the door.

      Jim's father there within seconds peering suspiciously through the peep hole. “It's Jeremy,” he said, his brow creasing in a questioning manner. Jeremy was the handler the government had assigned to them, but he had only seen them twice: when they had had to go on the run and when he had had to tell them that Gabriel had began gathering followers. There was a thud. In that moment Jim faced the most terrifying thing he had ever seen, fear on his father's face. “JIM, RUN!” his father said, eyes wide.

      The door exploded, and in a blur of motion a figure burst through it, hitting Jim's father and propelling him down the hallway with incredible speed. Jim jumped off the couch and ran through the now empty doorway. He had to follow the plan, his parents had had the treatment. He hadn't even been born until a year after they got the treatment and was completely normal. Once he had crossed the threshold, he began running back towards the stairs he took earlier, but before he had gotten more than a few feet from the apartment he tripped over something soft and heavy.

      He scrambled to his feet, but as he did so he noticed what he tripped on. It was a man in a suit completely limp on the ground. It had been years, but Jim knew that it was Jeremy, dead on the floor. Jim took only a second to regain composure, using his arms and legs to crawl into a run. He had to get away; He would mourn for Jeremy if he survived. He knew that Gabriel probably wouldn't chase him, since he hadn't had the treatment, but he still had to get out of the area to avoid the damage that would come from the fight.

      It was in that moment that Jim realized that everyone else in the building was in immediate danger, and none of them knew. He slowed his pace only long enough to pull the fire alarm on the wall, right before reaching the stairs. He bolted down the stairs, taking two at a time, holding the hand rail to catch himself if he tripped. This time exhaustion wasn't a factor.

      When he got down to the seventh floor, the doors on many of the landings began to open and people started pouring into the stairwell. Jim cursed under his breath; He hadn't thought about the fact that now he couldn't get out fast enough. Now there was a steady series of bangs and the building began to shake. His thoughts shifted to his parents; Could they win this fight? No, he couldn't think like that, they had to win and he had to get out of there.

      That's it, he thought, stopping at the sixth landing. He could make his way to the fire escape at the end of the hallway, and get out without having to worry about the crowd. He pushed the door open and started towards the hallway but stopped when he saw someone standing by the fire exit, staring at him. The man was average height and build, with a monk's hood and old wooden crucifix hanging from his neck. This was the attire of one of Gabriel's followers. Jim knew from the descriptions his parents had given him.

      “Sorry, kid. Gabriel's orders; You're not to leave this building. We're not willing to take the chance that you would cause problems,” said the hooded man in a monotone.

      “Get out of my way,” said Jim threateningly. He may not have had powers, but he had been taught to fight just in case. He knew that the followers were all just as ordinary as he was.

      The man began to move towards Jim slowly. Jim dug around in his pockets until he found the curved pocket knife that he carried. He took it out and flipped it so the blade was facing away from his wrist. He sprinted towards the man, trying to hide the terror that was wrenching his gut. As he closed in the man reached for him, but Jim was too fast. He ducked under the man's hands and slashed the back of his right leg opposite the knee.

      The man's howl of pain was stifled by a crashing sound as if an entire wall had fallen somewhere above their heads. Jim used the opportunity to open the window leading to the fire escape. He slid his body through the window as soon as it was open enough for it to fit through. Now he was outside making his was down the iron stairs as fast as he could. From above him there was a sudden crash and sounds of glass breaking. The fire escape began to shake and wobble. The supports were being ripped from the wall lower and lower. As he ran he pulled the hood of his sweatshirt up in an attempt to protect his head from the glass raining down on him.

      When it stopped Jim looked up just in time to see his mother's body hitting the building across the ally and breaking straight through the brick wall. Oh God, Jim thought, but he had to keep moving. The fire escape was beginning to fall now. He was still at least fifty feet in the air, but it was falling towards the brick building across the alley. The section he was on began to break free; As it pulled away he stood on the railing and jumped towards the window of their apartment building.

      He dove through it only getting minor cuts in the process. Regaining his footing he ran back towards the stairs he had used earlier; The crowd would've heard the banging now and likely would've started running. He began to hear a loud rumbling, right above his head, and a crack began making it's way across the ceiling. He sprinted towards the door and right as he cleared it there was a massive bang as the ceiling collapsed.

      He didn't look back. There was no time to see what was happening. Realizing he had been right, the stairwell was now empty, he sprinted down the stairs again. Once at the bottom he looked towards the exit; Just twenty more feet, he told himself. Just then, there was a thunderous crash. Dust and large pieces of rubble began pelting him from above and cracks began to form along the walls as they swayed. The building was coming down.

      Jim scrambled through the tattered remains of the door and began sprinting down the street. People were fleeing their cars in the streets and running in every direction, most of whom, Jim thought, had no idea what was going on. He heard crashing and creaking noises behind him as the thirty story building behind him began to collapse. He had never run so fast in his entire life, but it still wasn't fast enough, He could tell from the other people in the street; The building was falling in his direction.

      He altered his direction and began sliding and jumping across the street of abandoned cars, towards the other buildings across the street. If he could just make it between the buildings maybe those buildings would stop or at least slow the falling one, it's shadow now overtaking Jim. He just managed to get behind his targeted buildings when the other slammed into it, knocking him off his feet as if there had been an earthquake.

      He still wasn't safe; He shakily stood up and began making his way through the alley to another street. There was another huge crash from the building that had saved him. He looked up just in time to see a baseball-sized piece of rubble plummeting towards his head, and then there was an all encompassing blackness as he fell unconscious.

_________

      Jim's head ached; What was going on? Why was he bouncing? He cracked one eye open through the searing pain and saw the outline of his father, carrying him in one arm. Relief washed over Jim, but it was short lived as he opened his eyes wider little by little. His father's face was almost unrecognizable, covered with bruises, cuts, and swelling that masked his normally handsome features. His clothes were completely torn. Only a shred of his shirt remained and that was stained with blood. He noticed with a start that his father was carrying something else, another person. He recognized the distinctive hair piece that his mother wore, bobbing up and down loosely barely staying on her limp head.

      “Mo-” Sam began, but was cut off by a sudden burst of pain from his head, which he now noticed to be bleeding.

      “Shh,” his father said, a deep sadness in his watery green eyes, without breaking the pace, which Jim now realized was breakneck. They were moving through the ruins of their neighborhood. This was too much; He knew his parents were strong but how could a fight between three people cause something like this. Suddenly, Jim heard something. It was a big booming noise. Then a whistling sound.

      Jim felt a sudden impact; He just had enough time to see his father being propelled forward, before he was on the ground again. He couldn't see; The pain in his head overhauled all else. He heard his father's voice saying something, but it was so faint. He concentrated as hard as he could and opened his eyes just enough to make out a dark shape standing over his parents not five feet away. Jim tried to move towards them, but was pinned by the rubble of what he guessed was a building. Seeing the motion the figure walked over to him and looked down.

       Jim couldn't make out the features but he didn't have to to know that the man before him was Gabriel. He grabbed Jim by the throat and lifted him off the ground, making the rubble slide off of him. Then before Jim knew what was happening they were moving up. Gabriel was jumping up the rubble with ease. Jim didn't know why he hadn't just finished him when he was trapped under the rubble. He didn't have the energy to try to fight back, not that it would have done any good.

      It was when Jim realized that they were at the top of the Prudential Building on the ledge that he gave up completely. Stinging tears filled his eyes, not for his fear of death, but in mourning for his parents and the life that he could have lived. Then he heard Gabriel speak for the first time: “I'm truly sorry but, God's work demands sacrifices. This was not your decision, so I’m going to send you to God in the only proper way, by flying into his embrace,” he said with a hint of genuine sadness.

      Jim mustered every ounce of strength he had and spat a mouthful of blood at the man's face, aiming for his eye. Then he felt a sensation in the pit of his stomach as Gabriel let go and he began plummeting towards the ground. A grim acceptance had just taken hold of him when something in him changed. His body reacted of its own accord, flipping so that his feet his were going to hit the pavement first. He closed his eyes, ready for whatever was to come. He landed with a loud crack as the pavement gave way beneath his feet, knees bent, palms on the ground between his legs.

      He slowly opened his eyes and realized that he was alive: No, better: He was still in formidable pain from his injuries, but he hadn't sustained any new ones from the fall. He heard Gabriel's cry of surprise and began running, knowing if nothing else he had to try to escape. The scenery was whipping by in a blur: how was he moving this fast? He heard another crash that must have been Gabriel hitting the pavement in pursuit. Jim thought for sure he would be caught, but he heard a noise behind him, and stopped hearing the clamor made in Gabriel's wake.

      Something had caught his attention, but Jim had to get out of Boston. He ran with nowhere to go but away from this place. This city had turned from his home, where he had grown up, to a hell that he never wished to visit again. He ran as fast as he could, in any and every direction, until he finally blacked out out of sheer pain and exhaustion, greeting the dark abyss of unconsciousness as a welcome break from reality.

Author's Note

Still not a final draft, just wanted to know what anyone thinks.

Reviews

[Zeph]

Very interesting storyline you've got going here, I'd love to read more!

I also like your way of writing, especially in the end, ^^.
I'm not good at explaining or reviewing, but I felt like I had to say something about this.

Keep up the good work! :D

[NoblePariah]

Thank you! I'm glad you liked it, I appreciate you taking the time to read and review the chapter, lengthy as it is.