The Chosen- Prologue

It was happening. Again.

There was no way to stop it, no way to resist. Soon, they would all be taken, they would all be turned into mindless slaves, forgetting who they were, losing the ones they loved. Swallowing, the boy lifted his head, his face pale, his tawny eyes frightened. He looked around him, ignoring the way his shoulder throbbed, his muscles ached. Men were on the ground all around him, bleeding and dying, or dead already. His friends. People he'd known forever. They were dying. He shook his hed, tears filling his eyes. This couldn't possibly be happening, but it was. It was happening again. Once had been enough; once had taken things from him, had ruined his home and thrown it into disarray. But for it to happen a second time? Was that even possible? It hurt too much to think about it. He couldn't allow them to die like this. He had to fight back, to resist. As a wise friend had once told him, 'Never give in; if you give in, even an inch, then it truly is the end, my friend. Don't give in; don't guve up hope. Just keep fighting with what you have, with everything, and pray that it turns out okay. You may lose, but at least then you'll have a chance. If you give up and surrender, then it's really over.' Thinking about that, his eyes flared. He was going to avenge the deaths here. He wasn't going to give in; never. He would never give into the darkness.

The darkness wasn't really a person, or really a thing. It was something more, something so much more. A person--a spirit, it seemed--possessed and haunted with dark beings, turning their thoughts deadly and dark. But it wasn't a person anymore, oh no. It was something so much more, so much more powerful, so much more focused. It couldn't be defeated, because it was feeding off of the fear and hatred of others, and there was absolutely no way to rid the world of evil, of fear, of hatred. At least not completely. In everyone there was a little evil, a little hatred, and a little fear. Even in himself; he hated the darkness, even feared it a little. He wished ill upon it, and therefore he was just as bad. The darkness could feel his hatred, could feed off of it for weeks, or maybe just days. He knew that the darkness liked to capture people and feed off of their fear for as long as he pleased, or as long as he could. The darkness would torture them, kill their loved onces, threaten them. Whatever it took to make them fear it and hate it with such a raging passion that it could feed upon.

And suddenly, he thought of his friend. Matt. Matt had come to him not too long ago, and he remembered how happy he'd been, how relieved he'd felt. At first, it'd seemed that the other male had been captured by the darkness, and many had thought that they would never see him again, that he was as good as gone. He'd nearly gone made with sorrow, with fear, with rage. Matt and him had become close, and for that friendship to get cut short so suddenly...it seemed so unfair, so unjust. But then when Matt had come walking back into the house, he'd been so thrilled. He remembered choking in sobs and grasping the other male tightly, refusing to let go. As it turned out, Matt had merrily been hi8ding out, recovering from a severe wound across his back. It'd still been a little bloody when he'd returned, but not as bad.

Matt was a Chosen. The Chosen were a group of people who were supposed to defeat the darkness, a group of people who were supposed to restore order to the Colonies. The Colonies were different worlds, different universes. Different dimensions. They traveled through them by summoning up their will and creating a portal, or dimensional gate, to whichever Colony they wished to arrive on.

He remembered when Matt had first come to his Colony, a place called Grai. In the Colony, the Kur had ruled. The Kur were a bunch of royal people who lived and fought for the Colony, for the land. At first, Matt had been so clueless, so silent and defiant. But then he'd eventually opened up, and the two of them had immediately bonded.

But as much as he'd wanted the friendship to last, he'd known it could not. Matt had his own Colony to protect, a place called Earth. As much as he'd wanted Matt to stay, they'd had to part. He longed to see his friend again, just to know that he was okay, that he was well. But it appeared that they might not live that long, and his stomach lurched at the idea. If the darkness consumed them, then everyone would surely die. Everyone would surely perish, lose themselves in the fight with the darkness. They were the last hope. He, Renn, was the Chosen, the Protector, of Grai and all in it. He was Water. But what could water do against the darkness? Nothing. It was just a liquid, after all. The darkness didn't quite need to breathe, so there was no hoe of drowning it. No, if they were going to defeat it, they were all going to have to come tegether, and fight. As one.

'Matt,' Renn though helplessly as he lay on the ground, struggling to get to his feet, but his body hadn't the will nor the strength to do so. 'Please hurry. I need you, man, I can't do this alone. I need a little help.' Though they'd been separated for a while, he knew Matt would come if he was in danger. Surely he knew that something was wrong. He was a Chosen after all; they could sense these things. Signs would appear, and Matt would be warned, as would the others. 'Please, just hurtty.' He felt his head start to spin, and gave out a small, painful groan. His head fell back to the ground, and his tawny eyes slipped closed. He was exhausted, hurt, and frightened. He just needed a rest; needed all of this to be nothing but a dream, a terrifying nightmare. But it was real...it was all so very, very real to him, and he hated that so much. He longed for the day when they would be free from the darkness, free from the evil menace once and for all. Then they could get back to enjoying life, to haning out with friends and relaxing, thinking about absolutely nothing. The thought made him sigh. That day seemed so very far away, almost impossible. 'Please hurry, you guys. Please, I need you. I can't do this alone; I'm not strong enough. I need a little help,' was his last, fleeting thought before darkness consumed his vision, sending him into a wavering unconsciousness as his body started to recover.