The Ascended, "This is the Future"

The Gallows

Far away from Redwhich City, in a deep fog, a hooded figure walked towards a damaged shack. A voice sounded from within. It was a tad higher than medium pitch, with a weak, fleeting, and terrified tone. "Blades in the night, shrouded by shadows, The Gallows reside, our end in sight...blades in the night, shrouded by shadows, The Gallows reside, our end in sight..." The Voice kept repeating this same short poem.

The figure walked up to a dark, damaged wooden door. They peeked through a crack, and saw a man sitting in a corner. He was the one speaking. He was bald, with ragged robes on. A faint lantern illuminated his already pale skin. Dark red markings covered his snow white skin. He held a knife in his right hand, cutting a new marking into his left arm!

He began speaking and cutting much faster! He seemed completely crazed! The figure opened the door, and walked up to the man. "I need to speak with you." The Figure said. His voice was male, with a very deep, synthetic tone. A cloak was covering his entire body. Even the open section of his hood was covered by darkness. His cloak was held together by a piece of metal. The metal was gold, in the symbol of a hawk.

The crazed man slowly looked up, revealing something quite abnormal. His eyes were completely gone! But not only that, his eyelids had been sliced off, so that his dark sockets would always show! "Who are you...?" The Man asked, "Your eyes...is this The Gallows' doing?" The Figure asked, "I saw the evil within this fog, and now I see no longer..." The Man answered, "Why do you carve these symbols into yourself? What do they mean?" The Figure asked.

"Blades in the night, shrouded by shadows, The Gallows reside, our end in sight..." The Man said. He continued repeating this strange poem. The Figure looked around, and noticed a damaged book. He walked over to it, and picked it up off the floor. It seemed to be a journal. "All the important information is always in the middle." The Figure said, opening the book to the middle page.

He looked at one of the entries, as it seemed to peak his interest. It read; "Today I shall continue my search for the beautiful woman I saw. Why she wanders this deep fog I know not, but her beauty is astounding. It's like a magnet...drawing me in for a closer look at her gorgeous face. This fog is odd, as it seems to hold such incredible things. But why...I must know more..."

"A beautiful woman, eh? Interesting. Who would wander such a deep fog?" The Figure asked himself. He looked back at the man, then shook his head. "I've seen enough of this strange fog." The Figure said to himself, before leaving the house. He looked forward, and saw a figure standing on a hill in the distance. It was a woman with a white dress. Though she was in the distance, he could still see her stunning beauty!

She was the woman of his dreams! "I...what...who is that...? She is so beautiful..." The Figure said to himself. He felt drawn in, as if he had to walk towards her. He started to, before something vibrated on his arm. He looked down, and lifted his arm out of his cloak. It had a black sleeve, with black, screen-like armor over it. He had a black glove, with some armor over it. His forearm had an actual screen on it.

The screen had a phone symbol, and a name under it. "David?" The Figure asked, swiping to the right of the screen. A voice rang out. "HEY!!!" The Voice shouted at the top of their lungs. It was David's voice. "Why are you yelling?" The Figure asked, "Sorry, this weird fish man keeps touching my knives..." David answered, "Uh...alright then." The Figure said. He looked back up, and realized the Woman was gone.

His stomach suddenly felt empty. He didn't know why, but it felt like he had seen a ghost! "Uhh...you there Mr. Firehawk?" David asked. This Figure, he was the Firehawk. "Hmm? Oh yes, sorry. What did you need?" Firehawk asked, "Do you have a time we can meet? The others are seemingly impatient." David asked, "Uhh...we can meet in like...two-ish hours, I'll head to your house." Firehawk answered.

"Sweet! Where are you at the moment? All is good I hope." David said, "I was heading towards Redwhich City when I entered an odd fog. I don't know what's wrong with this place, but it isn't normal. I suspect this is The Gallows' doing." Firehawk answered, "What do you mean by 'not normal?'" David asked, "Well for starters..." Firehawk stopped himself, as he looked all around him.

Strange silhouettes were approaching in the fog. "...It seems Stalkers are in a nice abundance here." Firehawk finished, "That doesn't sound good...you might wanna get out of there now...!" David exclaimed, "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I'll see you later." Firehawk replied. He hung up, and dashed away from the shack. Meanwhile, back at David's house, they all stood around his bed.

"Is he okay? That sounded like a worrisome call." Alex asked, "He found a strange occurrence, it seems to be the enemy's doing." David answered, "I see." Alex said, "So uhh...not to be the dumb one...but do we even know their name?" Gill asked, "You were held captive by them for a decade, and you never once looked at their symbol?" Knull asked, "HAHA. Real funny." Gill answered, "Oh right...sorry, I forgot you have terrible eyesight." Knull said.

"How do you just forget that?" Gill asked, "Well, you seem to have been seeing just fine recently." Knull answered, "Do you even remember my powers?" Gill asked, "Maybe I would if you explained more than 'I turn into a shark and control water.'" Knull answered. Alex shrugged, and David tried to do the same. His face quickly showed pain, and he stopped trying to shrug.

"Ow." David said, "Well, when will he get here?" Alex asked, "In two hours. And to answer your earlier question, Gill, they are called 'The Gallows,' according to our sources. Though nothing is solid yet." David answered, "They are called that." Knull said, "Why have we been playing the word game then? It seems pretty easy to just call them by their name." Gill asked.

"Because saying 'The Gallows' every time is way harder than saying 'the enemy,' and also makes us sound like a bunch of edgy losers." Knull answered, "Alright alright, settle down guys. I suggest we get comfy, because he'll be here soon enough." David said.

Soon they would find out more about The Gallows, but what would they discover. And what was the source of this strange fog?