8/17/2015 Mercy Rose

Prologue

The sun rises over a field. The grass shines with a red tint. The horizon is quiet. In the distance there is a dark forest still untouched by the sun. The field is littered with corpses. Steam still coming off the lifeless bodies. A small group of people are walking through the field. They look dirty and are wearing clothes that are either torn or too big for them. They step around the bodies with caution. The group stops when they reach a large, dirty sign in the field on the side of the paved road that runs through. The sign looks like a government issued state line sign. It reads "Welcome to Mercy"

A tall man in a long dark brown coat steps forward from the group. He has dark brown hair and a bandanna covering his face exposing only his eyes. He places his hand on the sign. "Ironic ain't it?" he asks the group. "Because this is the last place you'll find it." The man removes his hand from the sign and waves on the rest of the group to follow him. As they walk through the field a woman from the group pushes her way up front to stand next to the man with the dark coat. She asks him sheepishly "Should we be here?" The man chuckles under his breath and responds "You could turn back now with your hope in hand." "What do you mean?"she asked. "I'm just sayin'. I've seen people stronger than you and I lose it here. This ain't the promised land in your little story books." the man answered while keeping his eyes in front of him.

"I know that. But the rumors always said that Mercy was a beautiful city." she said. "Well it's right over this hill. Look for yourself" the man says pointing over the hill in front of them. The woman yells back to the group "Come on! He says Mercy is right over this hill!" The group runs up to her and they all run to the top of the hill. The man in the dark coat stands in place. When the group reaches the hill's summit they stop and stare down the slope. The man walks up behind them and says laughing "Beautiful ain't she?" They look in the distance at a dark city. There are few lights to be seen on what little buildings still stand. It looks like a once great city brought down by negligence and war.

The man with the dark coat starts walking down the hill without saying a word to the group. After a few seconds they follow. They get only a few hundred feet from entering the city when they see a big red blast come from inside. A tall building starts falling. The sound of its impact is deafening. The groups screams in shock. The man in the dark coat stands there with no reaction. A bright light zooms out from where the building fell. The light flies over the city and slams on the ground right in front of the group. Inside the light is a woman. There is a red glow around her and her eyes are burning red. Her light blonde hair floats weightlessly around her face. "Not too late to leave." the man in the dark coat says to the group. The group starts to run away. The woman from before stops and yells back to the man "Are you coming with us?!" "No. I'm looking for someone." he answers "For her." The woman from the group runs to join the others. The man in the dark coat and the woman in the light stare at each other in a western standoff way. The woman starts making a glowing energy ball in her hands while staring at the man with malice. He lowers his head and removes his bandanna. He looks back up at the woman in the light. He smiles and says "Hello Kayla."

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