Fall Foretold

Little Billy

"St. Sylvester!", Mr. Ryan called, as he walked into the church. "St. Sylvester?"

"Yes?", the priest responded, walking out from the back room. "Mr. Ryan"

"If you'll ask what the problem is, it's my son", Mr. Ryan said. "What did you tell him?"

"How do you mean?", St. Sylvester replied. "I told him no secret"

"No. What did you make him believe?", Mr Ryan walked closer and reduced his volume. "I'm not sure but I think my son is the masked man"

"Is that a big deal?", the priest replied, casually, and stepped down from the altar.

"I think it is. Jumping around in the dark, in a costume, going against top government officials- powerful people!- like he depends on something. And wait! how is he able to do it?"

"Able to do what?"

"When we were attacked by robbers, the Shadowmask appeared. He had the same glowing lines on his body, like my son did. They shot at him, repeatedly, but... he didn't feel it, he didn't fall, like he didn't even get hit, at all... and then, he did something- something I'd only seen in movies. He conjured some sort of ball of fire and threw it at one of the thieves. I don't know how I believe that is my son but I'm scared"

"Well, I told you I wanted to speak to your son. It was for his self discovery. The masked man or Shadowmask is just a name, chosen by the world. Your son is who you speak of. Who you speak of is the manifestation of the prophecy. You can't stop it"

★

As though David had sensed the danger approaching, he left, as quick as he could. Stan didn't remain there, either.

The devil's daughter could find him if she wanted to but she would have no time for that. Stan knew that. She had already ordered members of the clique to go after him and he was only almost safe to be out of Sterling City. He wasn't scared of Cyrus Martinez, if he's ordered to kill him, or of Albert Romero, himself. He's scared of Ken; he's not even a member of the clique.

Like he saw it coming, he had bent down already. Bullets came flying in, as the glasses shattered in the restaurant. He ran out, as Ken ceased fire. He kept running, even though he knew he couldn't hide. Ken had the ability to see through walls. He was a human tracking machine.

"I can see you, Stan Ashwood!", he said, loudly. "Just give me the key and I'll stop chasing". No one was sure of the source of his powers but he had a pretty loud voice... and he could walk to the ends of the Earth, without getting tired.

"I don't have it!", Stan yelled back, laying on the ground.

Ken shot at the air, deafening everyone for a moment. "I'll give you a few seconds to think about it. The devil's daughter asked you to hold it. I have information so if-..."

"I threw it away"

"Aargh!!!!", Ken yelled, endlessly, releasing fire into the air, again. "You! Are! So! Dead!". He walked over to Stan and pulled him up. "You better take me to wherever you threw it or you won't live to see one more day"

He was going to say how unsure he was of where the key might have landed but he could just take a few minutes to live.

★

Cyrus was carted off by the cops, with some of his injured men, while Davis would go scot-free. Cedric, John and the Shadowmask would claim to have planted him there to apprehend Cyrus.

"The Shadowmask finally found his body", Npama had said, standing up, slowly. He held out his hand. "I saw you coming. I'm Npama"

"Nice to meet you", the Shadowmask replied, shaking his hand.

"The prophecy goes deeper than you think", Cyrus said, as they walked out of the building.

"How do you mean?", Cedric asked. "This is the second time we're hearing it"

"Yes, Lucifer told you. There is a prophecy that says an angel will drop from the skies, into Sterling City. The angel is prophesied to cause the fall of the Antichrist, for under the surface of the Earth we stand on in Sterling lies the god they serve."

"I already heard that", the Shadowmask said. "What more do we need to know?"

"The devil's daughter may defeat you if you're not careful enough. A prophecy cannot fail but if the character in it fails, it will only be replaced. If you die in this, another angel will take your place. You are not immortal..."

John had insisted that Laura should be taken to the hospital for a check-up. Davis followed her while John had to go inform the school and her parents about her.

"Hi, Laura", Daya greeted. The girls had gotten there, first. Jackson and Felix had to wait for Joe so they'd go together.

"Hi, Daya. Thanks for coming", Laura smiled, as Chloe hugged her.

"Get well, soon", Nelly said and offered her a bag of chips.

"Aawn! Thanks, Nelly", Laura hugged her.

"It's no problem. I'm watching my weight, now"

Joe and the two guys barged in. "Hey, Laura", they chorused.

"I'm so sorry. It's my fault", Joe said. "I should be apologizing with a kiss now but you've been through a lot, already".

Laura laughed. "Shut up. Really?!"

The others came in, later. Joe fought the urge to stay with her. His father would definitely have a problem with him when he got home. He had left home, through his window. That was a crime; 'Only criminals climb through windows and jump fences', his father would say. He had not returned home, through the night. Neither did he return early in the morning. He also skipped church.

He left Laura with Davis and her parents, walking out like one who had gotten tired of life. A room was opened, as he walked away. There was another patient, in there. The man sat still, on a wheelchair. He stared for a minute. The man didn’t move a muscle. His eyes stayed open, throughout.

★

"Evening, dad", he greeted, looking down and waiting for the questions before he'd say anything else. "Evening, mom"

"Evening, son", his dad replied. His mom only stared at the two of them. They might have agreed on something, earlier. "Come with me. I need to show you something in your room".

Mr. Ryan walked into Joe's room. They shifted Joe's bed aside.

"Joe"

"Sir?"

"There's a room beneath your room. You didn't know that, did you?", he asked, not expecting a response. "Come with me"

He opened the small door to the vault and walked down the stairs. "Come in", he said, as he walked down.

Joe entered with him. It was obvious that he had been in the room already. His father looked around, turning, repeatedly. "You knew about the room?"

"Yes, dad. There's a lot of things I wanted to tell you. I just felt held back"

"I know that, son... I'm proud of you. The night we were attacked, were you the one in the mask?"

"Yes, sir. It wasn't a robbery. Cyrus Martinez planned it to distract me so he could kidnap my g-... so he could kidnap my friend"

"Did he succeed with that?"

"He did... but we saved her, already. That's why I had to go out, yesterday. I skipped church, sorry."

Mr. Ryan laughed. "As good as the church gathering is, it's good to do right too.... but don't miss church gatherings. It's important".

"Yes, sir", Joe smiled back.

“One more thing”, Mr. Ryan said, like he just remembered another one of his son’s crimes. “Only a thief climbs through windows and jumps fences”

Joe laughed. “I already knew you’d say that… Just the exact way I had imagined it”

"That portrait, over there", his father said, pointing at the portrait Joe had patiently cleaned. "That's my grandfather"

"Your father, you mean?"

"No, my grandfather. That’s your grandfather's father..."

★

He knocked on the door. It was his first time visiting. He looked up and around to be sure he hadn't missed the descriptions. "Hello?", he knocked harder.

The door swung open, suddenly. "Oh, hey! Timothy", the lady greeted, smiling. "What have you come for?"

"I have come to greet your little boy; 'happy birthday in arrears'"

"And have you brought the gift or should we just send you back?", she said, still smiling, as she stroked her hair.

"I have brought greetings, a nice manly smile and good advice for your kid... and a box of chocolates", he played with her as she let him in.

*********

Ken and Stan had returned to Sterling City. Stan took him on a walk around the house, knowing he wouldn't find the key.

"You sure you know where you're going?", Ken threatened. "If I get tired, I'll shoot". He wouldn't. Neither could he get tired. He would need a lot more frustration to give up his search for the key.

"Let's walk across the street", Stan said, like he knew where he was heading to. "The other-"

Ken's eyes glowed for a second. He felt the key's hypnosis around him. He could trace the smell. He pushed Stan aside and ran across the street, almost getting hit by a minivan.

"Watch out! i***t", the driver stepped on the brake pad and yelled. Ken stopped and ran back to the minivan.

He pulled out his gun and shot one of the tires. Then, he continued running, tracing the smell of the key's hypnosis.

Stan had to leave Sterling City again. The clique would still come after him.

..........

"What are you holding? Where did you get that, Billy?", she asked her little son, who only smiled back.

The huge key on his hand, glowed brighter and brighter. The boy only kept smiling. His eyes reflected the light from the golden key, as he stared at it.

"Drop that, Billy", she said, walking over to collect it.

"No, Katie. That's pure gold", Timothy said, dramatically, kneeling before the boy. "You should be proud. He has brought you wealth"

The boy turned and lifted the key. "The Unchaining shall begin, under me, and I shall control the beast of time", he said, boldly and fluently, letting out a throaty eerie laugh.

"Uhn?!", Timothy exclaimed, frightened as the key glowed brighter. The boy turned and threw the key at Timothy.

The key flung around, twisting in the air, as though controlled by something. It slit Timothy's throat and flew back to the boy's hand. He licked the blood from the key and put it on his hair. Every strand of hair on his head rose and slowly covered the key completely.

Katie covered her mouth with her hands, petrified. "Timothy!!!", she screamed, running out as little Billy walked slowly to her. "Mom! Mom! I'm hungry"

The door flung open, as Ken kicked it. He was greeted by Timothy's blood and a young 12 year old boy, crying for food.

He looked round, again and again. He still smelt the presence of the key in a person. It wasn't in the dead Timothy. He could smell it in the boy; a twelve year old boy.

★

“Is Stan dead?”, a female voice asked.

“No... He has escaped the city but the key has been found by a kid. We can just get it whenever we want”, a man replied, dressed in a ridiculous costume, with large glasses. He had seven coloured candles, lit up, in front of him. He was a diviner.

“I want Stan dead. I have his soul, already. I don’t want him surviving after the Unchaining… Tell Albert Romero I ask him to do the job within seven days, or else he’ll replace Ashwood.”

“Yes, mistress”, the diviner said and disappeared, leaving fumes behind.

………….

Albert Romero had companies, in and out of Sterling City. He only remained in Sterling City because of the Clique and his business with the devil’s daughter.

“Sir!”, an employee called, running after him with a file. “Mr. Bethany, from Oreon Foods, made a complaint about the….”

The diviner appeared to Albert Romero, who stood still, shocked. 'Why would you show up at my office? I have workers around', he said that with his eyes.

'I know. They can’t see me', the diviner also replied with his eyes. Then, he spoke, “My mistress wants you to kill Stan Ashwood, yourself, within 7 days. He’s in Gotham”

'That's 90 miles away!', Albert complained with his eyes again. His workers might not be able to see what he saw or hear what he heard but they would hear him talking if he spoke back.

“That’s 90 miles away and he’ll keep running”, the diviner said. “The earlier you decide, the easier it is”

The diviner disappeared. He was left with his employee, who was staring at him. “What were you saying?”

“I said, Mr. Bethany made a com-“

“You know what? I have an ache. Come to my office, in thirty minutes”….