Fall Foretold

The Unchaining

"You see those dumb eyes?", Jackson muttered to Felix, referring to Joe. "I knew he liked her. Unfortunately, she's never gonna like him"

"Why do you think so? He's handsome, strong and every girl's dream"

"The last point is a lie, I! am every girl's wildest dream", Jackson praised himself and leaned closer to Felix. "But Joe remains Joe while good girls always like bad boys"

"You think every girl likes you? I can only imagine you and Nelly together"

"Get out. Every girl dreams of me. And Joe has to be a bad boy if he wants that good girl"

Joe, suddenly, showed up on a seat beside them. "I don't"

"You don't what?", Felix asked.

"I don't love her", Joe said. "You were clearly talking about that"

"Then why were you staring?", Jackson asked. "With the two dumb eyes on your head?"

"What? I was just thinking. My eyes choose to fall anywhere they desire. My eyes once fell on Harry and Nelly, together at once!"

"Nah, that never happened", Felix objected.

"Who cares ?? The point is my eyes go pretty far...”

"Idiots!", Laura called them. "Everyone's working on their projects. Come on"

"Mine's not", Felix scowled as they stood up to go. "Charles says he's giving everyone a headstart"

"It's alright, Felix", Joe said, walking away. "Have faith in your team"

★

His eyes blinked, twice. He stood up in the weird darkness, not as afraid as he would have been. It was his second experience, like a trance.

He just couldn't stop imagining how it felt so real. "Hello?", he shouted, turning around. "Hello".

"Hey!", a familiar voice replied him.

"Who's there? Come out!", Joe shouted back. He really wasn't scared. A ray of light shone, revealing the same masked man. "Who are you?"

"You still haven't realized?", the man said, walking around. "There's a lot I need to do. You're holding us back"

"What are you saying?"

"I was you. You have to open up your heart or I'll only roam in the dark till the Unchaining happens and doom falls on us"

"What is the Unchaining? What key were you looking for, at the Daily Planet? Why do I keep seeing you? How is all this happening?"

"If you don't find that yourself, there's very little I can tell you", the masked man replied.

"How do you mean?"

"We are running out of time. Open up!"

The masked man vanished in the dark. Joe got scared, as something seemed to be approaching from his back. A huge hand suddenly pulled him from the back, almost throwing his heart out of his chest.

Everything had happened, within five minutes. He woke up on his desk, sweating heavily.

★

Jackson had given him a picture to know who he was going to find. Joe walked slowly, counting buildings so he doesn't miss Jackson's directions. The wind was blowing, softly, but the darkening skies predicted a. rain. He walked faster.

Then, he slowed again and stopped counting the houses. He had gotten carried away with the thought of Laura.

Back at school, they had worked together and completed a significant part of their project.

"What is your favorite color?", Laura had asked him while they were taking a break. He had been trying to start a conversation with her so he grabbed the chance.

"Favorite color? I like blue... and red and white... and black", he replied, keeping his eyes away from her.

"That's a list of opposite things", she replied and yawned. "I like blue. It's beautiful"

Jackson moved closer to Joe and whispered. "You guys may really get along"

"Yea", Joe whispered back. "Just shut up till we get married"

"What are you guys whispering about?", Laura asked.

"Joe wants to get married", Jackson blurted.

"Awwn!", Laura played along, throwing a cute look at Joe. "Who's the lucky girl?"

Joe was going to shout. He couldn't stand Laura's cute stare. She might see through him. He laughed.

"Get out. Nelly didn't accept my proposal", Joe joked and dramatized. "Imagine this; Joe weds the un-deflatable food garbage"

"Good. I almost thought I was among two boring guys", she commented.

Jackson didn't laugh. He just stared at Joe, wondering how long he'd keep up with the pretence. Then, they started talking about movies.

"Teen Wolf's my best, when it comes to tv series", Jackson said.

"Yea. Stiles is my best character", Joe said. "He'll become an alpha in the seventh season"

"Really?! I thought it ended in season 6. Scott and Malia already got married", Laura said.

"That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. I forgot to close my ears!", Jackson exclaimed. "They only dated. No marriage plans. There's no seventh season"

"Are you kidding? I watched a trailer on YouTube. Allison returned"

"Oh God! it's fan made, i***t!"

The cold breeze slammed his face. The wind was getting stronger. The rain could begin, anytime soon. Joe looked around. He might have walked past his destination. A man collided with him, unintentionally. The picture on his hand dropped.

"Sorry, kid", the man said and kept walking. He stared at the man. The man looked familiar.

He kept thinking about where he must have met the man, as he bent to pick the picture. The brown eyes man stared back at him, from the photograph.

"Oh my!", Joe exclaimed and looked up. The man he sought had just bumped into him. He picked the picture and ran after the man. "Hey! Sir!".

"Excuse me, sir", he ran to the man's front.

"Yes, kid?", the man waited, giving him full attention.

"Please, sir, are you Mr. David? David McMidday?"

The man glanced at the picture on his hand. "Uhm. Were you coming to see me? Any problem?"

"No, sir. I read your blog; Mysteries on Sterling, and I found your articles on the masked man"

"Ok, son. I don't know how you got that picture. Neither do I know why you're here but if it has to do with my articles. Read it like they're fantasies", David told him and kept walking.

"They are fake stories?", Joe doubted.

"No", he stopped. "What do you want?"

"I want to see him. I need him for answers. I think he has a connection with me and my nightmares"

"Look, kid", David bent, putting his hands on his hips. "There is an underworld I know less about. It's something you should avoid. Even my blog is a risk. The Shadowmask knows what he is up against. and he might be strong enough for it., I don't know. Go home"

Joe stood silent for a while. "Shadowmask?" Is that his name?"

"Shadowmask. It's what I call him", David replied and grabbed the picture. "You can go, now".

★

Somewhere on the edges of Sterling City. An old man sat on a wheelchair, surveying the city with his eyes, from an hill. The cold breeze blew on his hair and wrinkling face.

"How have you been, Cedric?", the old man said, without looking back. He had sensed his old friend approaching. "You are the worst at sneaking up on people"

"I wasn't sneaking", Cedric replied, taking only a few steps closer.

"Are you here to stay or what?"

"I need your help. Romeo has no good intent with the key"

"I gave the key to you. If you want it? Get it, yourself"

"You know this is not about me, right? We are standing on a magnetic force of evil and the key is the only thing stopping the beast from rising"

"Nice of you to lecture me on my own discovery", the old man kept replying in a calm matured voice.

"What can't you do? All you need to do to stop this is to speak to your daughter"

"I can't stop her"

"She's your daughter! You're the old devil! the epic beast! What can't you do?"

"She's creating a force of her own. She is my legacy. The modern devil"

"So you are going to watch your city burn?"

"The man in mask. Give him a chance. If he fails, then the city might just burn"

"What do you know about him?"

"An old prophecy. No one saw him coming"

"You won't join the fight?"

"My days are over. I've handed over the sword"

"We will win this war and you'll only watch, with your miserable eyes, the fallen beast and defeated soldier you've become", Cedric turned, walking away.

"I am Lucifer!", the old man howled and turned, furiously. "I am the epic beast!"

Cedric smiled, as he walked away. He got what he came for. Lucifer never roars in vain.

★

David McMidday had chosen to give a name to the masked man; referring to him in his new articles as Shadowmask. The only full picture he had taken of the Shadowmask was their first encounter. Hidden cameras we're able to capture him, as he broke in. Mysteriously, the three cameras captured every other thing clearly while the masked man was particularly blur. The other pictures were either hidden or taken when the masked man was already leaving.

David McMidday was was raging for justice. Now, the blog's growth rate was definitely bringing money and would bring more, soon. Virtually everyone in the state was actively visiting the blog for updates on the phenomenon. Every other published story in the papers were considered trash. Lucifer had become history and was 'boring' if it had no connection with the Shadowmask. No one wanted to listen to less.

The Planet News also adopted the 'Shadowmask' name, a little too soon.

MASSES THINK SHADOWMASK, THE MYSTERIOUS VIGILANTE, WORKS FOR CYRUS MARTINEZ.

'SHADOWMASK WANTS TO CONTINUE FROM WHERE LUCIFER HAS STOPPED'

ANONYMOUS CITIZEN WARNS.

ALBERT ROMERO, RENOWNED BUSINESS TYCOON, SAYS, 'I WANT TO SPEAK TO THE WORLD ON AIR. THE SHADOWMASK IS NOT A MINOR ISSUE'

'What's happening?' , Joe thought. Whatever Unchaining, underworld, key or weird thing Mr. McMidday had talked about, he felt drawn to it. Dreaming about the Shadowmask was no coincidence. Seeing him in multiple trances was no coincidence. It was feeling too real. There was a Lucifer with whom he shared surnames. If they were related, his father would have told him, right? 'How did my leg get stuck before the explosion? How did I survive the explosion if the bomb was beneath me? Why do I have to keep it a secret? How does it affect anyone? How did my palms and feet get stuck to the ceilings? Why is it so hard to tell my friends or even ask my dad?'. It felt like a game and the characters were only getting introduced, gradually. Shadowmask, one Cyrus Martinez guy and his gang, Cedric Vladimir, David McMidday, the Devil's daughter and the devil himself. Lucifer definitely wasn't over... And that book he called a diary wasn't his. They were filled with letters to him. Letters from him but he never wrote them and they never stopped coming.

★

It's always a beautiful view from the top of a building of that night, especially when it's night. Davis was back there, where the Shadowmask had found him. A drunk man had followed him to the top.

"The city is so large and beautiful but the man in mask is known everywhere... What do you think, Davis?"

"Hmm, nothing", Davis replied, careful not to say anything about how they met.

"Well, I know him. If he was the devil's legacy like everyone says, then the devil's daughter will be with him but he has come to stop the Unchaining. Miss Lucifer wants the Unchaining"

"What do you know about the Unchaining?", Davis asked, paying full attention. He was interested in that only.

"Everything! They want the key so they can lead the Unchaining. Even Lucifer selflessly gave it up"

"Why do they want to lead the Unchaining?"

"Whoever leads the Unchaining sells his soul to the beast and buys the soul of the beast, then they become one"

"If only one person gets to the advantage of the Unchaining, why aren't they fighting for it, instead?" Are they just being selfless?"

"No. They sell their soul to the Devil's daughter. The Devil's daughter then, shares the advantages with her loyal servants", the drunk man said and laughed loudly. "I'm on top of the world!!!"

The thugs we're out again, getting high on the streets. Every night had become dangerous since the thugs never took days off. The darkness was their only chance to do their things.

John Cage had his laptop before him. His location was kept secret. It was time to break a law to fix another broken law. He had gotten hints on some secret organization. He had to hack a system to get the truth. No one could be trusted.

#blackout# after an eerie silence, the sound of a beeping phone came from the total black.

"Hello", a voice said. No one could be seen.

"I want the reporter dead"

"McMidday?"

"The one running that blog. I want him dead, soon." A light flashed, showing a man's face for a second. Whoever he was, he was rich and reputable.