Footsteps Encroach Thee/ Encounter (Abel)

(3 days before incident/ morning)

I woke up still sitting in the dark confines of the dumpster. I look around with my eyes fully adjusted to the darkness. Black bags lined the inside of the interior with me in it. Oddly, no pungent smell was being produced. Nor, was I complaining.

I straightened myself to peak my head out the dumpster. Opening the lid slowly, I gradually survey the alley. Nothing. No one in sight. Not a trace. I look towards the sky to get a glimpse of the seemingly endless buildings. I was taken aback by what I saw.

The first thing I had noticed was that the rain had stopped. The air around me was still brisk and bitter to the bone, but it was warmer than before.

The second thing I noticed, the sky was producing an eerie weird glow. It was strange. Artificial. The glow was soft and looked like the light you’d see during sunrise, but....... it wasn’t. It appeared “man-made”.

“No,” I thought to myself, “It’s all wrong.”

It was. Simply and truly it was. The more I thought about it, the more my head hurt. I retreated back inside into the confines of my dumpster. At this point, my head was throbbing.

“Where the hell am I?” I pondered quietly. Nothing about this was right. I sat in the trash scratching my head.

“Thisss must be a dream,” I thought to myself, motioning at everything around me.

If it was, it was very fucking weird one. A twisted one at that.

“But one I’m in nonetheless,” I finished.

I sat there in the trash of my dumpster, marinating in my own confusion. There were pieces to this puzzle that were missing.

I took a pause for a second.

“There were too many pieces to this puzzle missing,” I said quietly to myself.

This was very true; however, there were some pieces that I did have.

For starters, my name was Abel. I was born in Jackson, Mississippi.

“Ok,” I thought, “That’s always a good start.”

I slowly look down at my hands and take in a deep breath. Inhaling the exhaling. That’s about it.

“Yet, I don’t remember my mid to last name. Nor, do I remember anything past my date of birth and where I come from. All I remember is I woke up in a destroyed building and everyone was dead,” I took another deep breath, “then the building exploded.”

I slouch back slamming the back my head softly into the side of the dumpster.

“Well, what a pickle I seem to be in,” I thought sarcastically.

I continued to dance with the thought of this just being some weird dream.... when I heard a noise. It was small at first. I could barely hear it. But then it got louder and louder and louder. The echos of clicking hitting pavement.

“Footsteps,” I thought to myself.

I sat up. My body was quickly getting hot with adrenaline. My fists clenched and breathing labored. My mind was racing, but my vision was clear. I listened again. The footsteps where right in front of the dumpster now. Whoever they belonged to, they were dragging something.

My fists clenched tighter. I was bleeding blood from them both. A small spire of smoke was beginning to accumulate from my hand, but I was too pumped up to think. Burning hot anger fueled my veins as one formed on my forehead. I silently growled from within.

The dumpster lid was flung opened and I pounced out. A scream could be heard as I flung myself onto whatever creature was outside the dumpster. I landed on it and pinned it down with one hand. The other hand was high above my head. My fist, strangely, in flames.

I sat on top of it, ready to wipe it from existence when I stopped myself. Staring at the object in front of me. Deciding my next move.

“It’s a girl,” I thought to myself. I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion. It was girl all right and not whatever I saw last night. However, she looked different.

This girl couldn’t have been no older than 13 years old. She had long dark purple hair that lay sprawled out on the cold, wet concrete. Her face was extremely pale with very little to no pigment. Her nose was sharp and had a long bridge. The girls ears were abnormally pointed and her eyes....... just like the bodies in the corridor.

“Cognitive hazard,” the whispering voice from earlier had returned, “Don’t look into them.”

“Too late,” I thought, “I couldn’t pull my eyes away from hers.”

I sat on top of her and examined her for a while. Nothing about this was making sense. Where am I? I couldn’t put it together.

I continued to look into her eyes until something caught my attention. A small drop of something falls next to the girl’s face. I broke eye contact to examine it. It was a small speck of something golden orange. It had fallen into a puddle and now was sizzling in the rain water. Another drop fell from above, then another. Not wanting to take my eyes completely off the girl, I look up slightly.

“My hand,” I said aloud.

My hand was fiery yellowish orange.... and it was melting. Drops slowly continued to fall beside the girl; which, I had forgotten about. My hand was melting, yet...... it wasn’t.

I don’t know how to explain it. It’s strange. My hand was producing a dark red smoke that faded almost immediately when it left my hand. The mid of my forearm was a glowing golden orange. It was a complete contrast to my tanned skin. From the wrist up, my hand was a blindingly, dim hot white.

I stood up, still looking at my hand. It was still dripping.

“What the hell,” I thought to myself in silence.

I looked down to look back at the girl. She wasn’t there. The adrenaline I originally had resurfaced. I raise an eyebrow and look around. I let out a low hiss.

“Where the fuck..” my thought process was cut short.

Out of nowhere, a large glowing green hand clasped itself around the entirety of my face. I struggled. The hand was huge and gripped tightly around my face.

Something was wrong. Very wrong. My body felt like the life was being sucked out of me. My skin grew colder. I could no longer feel my toes. The world grew darker quickly. I was dying.

Instinctively, I throw my hands around the arm to try and pry it off of me. A blatantly loud sizzling sound could be heard as my grip tightened. It was immediately followed by the shrieking bellow of a large man. His grip loosened, and I fell onto the cold wet pavement.

I sat on the ground catching my breath. I could feel my energy returning to me. The light of the city brightened around me. I tried to regain my footing, but a potent force slammed into my abdomen.

The force sent me flying into a wall behind me. I could feel the brick wall behind crater slightly as my head and back hit its surface. Adrenaline returned as I tried to use the wall behind me to stand myself. Out of nowhere, a strange device clasped itself around my wrist. A loud beep sounded. A faint electric current pulsed through my being as electricity licked the brick wall my hand was on. I tried to move, but I was stuck in place.

A strong force slammed my head back into the wall behind me. Immediately, the energy within me was beginning to disappear again. I tried to move, but I was too late. In an instance, I was unconscious.