Chapter 22

It was four in the afternoon when John, Diane and Jazlyn stepped outside the medical center. They saw a large crowd of people walking to city hall. The street was cut off by task force soldiers causing John to realize the press conference was starting. Jazlyn started walking ahead of John and Diane, forcing them to follow her. They walked down the sidewalk looking at protesters be pushed back by task force soldiers. John turned his attention back to city hall where he saw Adrian Star standing at the top of the stairs. He pushed his way through the crowd so he could be closer to the steps. Jazlyn stood beside him as they saw Michael Lang appear. 

"People of Darko city, I'm here to speak on the incident that happened not too long ago. I'm speaking on behalf of the nonhumans and saying that what happened, had nothing to do with us. Everyone was attacked that day by an unknown threat. Now is the time we should come together." Adrian said, loudly for everyone to hear. 

The protesters down the street were getting louder, and people were whispering around John. A bottle was thrown at Adrian causing him to look frustrated. Michael gently pushed him aside as people became agitated.   

"Listen, everyone, we need to start sitting down and talking these matters out. I don't want any more fighting amongst my people. The criminals that attacked the carnival three months ago were already deported away from here. Now's the time where we can restructure the society of Darko city." Michael said as people shouted out in disagreement.

They started throwing things at Adrian. Michael stepped in front of him so they could stop.    

"Listen, everyone, I know a lot of you refuse to face change. For centuries humans have feared it. From the racial divide in the past to now where humans and nonhumans struggle to live amongst each other. When do the war and hatred end? I think it should end today so we as people can finally coexist. Hyper city is doing it, and four other cities have accomplished this unified society.” Adrian said, making the crowd silent.

 It was clear they had to take a moment to think about his words. John stood looking up at Adrian, wondering if he'd be able to help lead the city out of a dark time. His senses heightened as the sound of a gun went off. He looked around to see someone on top of a building. The screaming caused him to turn back around to see Adrian stumbling forward. The sight of red caught John's eye as blood seeped out the hole in Adrian's head. He collapsed to the ground as he stared lifelessly in the distance. People began running in fear as the sounds of monstrous screeching occurred. John looked around to see giant berserkers emerging from the shadows. 

They were everywhere and unlike any he'd ever seen before. Jazlyn grabbed John as she pulled him away from the frantic crowd of people. John looked up on top of the building to see that the shooter had disappeared. As they were running soldiers in bio-suits appeared. The suits were made from Giz-tech, and John could see different types being worn by the soldiers. The soldiers defended the civilians with technologically advanced weaponry. John hated watching the berserkers be slaughtered, but until the cure was made it was the only way to stop them.

"I think someone is controlling the berserkers and making more. These are nothing like what we saw before." Jazlyn said, pushing through a crowd of people to get to an alley. John stumbled through a group of people. They nearly knocked him over as they ran down the street away from city hall.    

"Someone wants a war to happen, and right now it looks like we'll get it soon!" John exclaimed.

He could see the look of frustration in Diane’s eyes. Looking up into the murky sky. Berserkers were terrorizing the entire city. It has been months since he'd seen a mythical creature. Were they afraid of the berserkers? Nothing in the world was making sense to John anymore.       

“No matter what we do, there will always be people who want to see the world end. Some don't even have a reason for why they do it except that they can." Jazlyn said, standing beside John.

The trio watched the task force fought tirelessly against a giant berserker. John took a deep breath as he prepared to attack it himself. He stepped forward but stopped when he felt a hand grab his shoulder. Diane was looking at John with a disapproving expression. John grunted as he turned away from the fight and followed her down the alley. They had no choice but to return back to the bunker. Someone was mass-producing berserkers to keep the city divided. John figured it wouldn't be long before they started appearing in other cities.  

"Who'd do something like this? What would they gain from starting a war?" John asked, running close behind Diane as they turned a corner. 

The two were running through the city and saw more berserkers. It was like an infestation had infiltrated the city. Diane stopped abruptly causing John to bump to bump into her. John looked up on top of Giz-tech which had somewhat collapsed. A figure stood at the top bending light blue flames that resembled dragons. The flames were incinerating the berserkers as it consumed them. His flames roared as if they were actual dragons. John stood confused as he stepped forward but was once again grabbed.                            

"That's a dragon mage, and I doubt he'd be behind all this." Diane said, walking in another direction. 

John saw the figures clothes which reminded him of Shadow Wolf. He needed answers but maybe now wasn't the time. John didn't know what to do at this point and frustrated him.    

"Shadow Wolf could be somewhere around here. We need to do something now." John said, angrily.

He looked around to see that someone was across the street. He was watching them as he dragged someone over to them. It was Shadow Wolf, and he had Michael Stoker. Gizmo appeared with Scarlet down the street. Michael Kang was with them as well as they saw Shadow Wolf. He was getting surrounded by task force soldiers.    

"Let Michael Stoker go right now!" Captain Grey ordered.

Shadow Wolf raised his katana. Everyone stopped moving as Michael Stoker began to panic. John felt the air in the atmosphere change as he watched the chaos around him. He realized that the world would end this way.  

"This man is guilty of helping the Lee family. He's funded the construction of facilities hidden in zone B for them. Michael Stoker has been working against his own kind for the last three years to start a war. It's his time to be punished." Shadow Wolf said, swiftly slicing the throat of Michael.

His throat was torn open as blood spurted out as screams of terror flooded John's ears. Michael reached for his neck as he tried to stop the bleeding. John watched in horror as he collapsed to the ground. Shadow Wolf threw a smoke bomb as the task force began firing their weapons. Smoke was everywhere which blind everyone from him. John took off running in the direction Shadow Wolf had stood. He refused to let him get away with another murder. As he ran, he could feel the power awakening inside of him slowly giving him the capability to run faster than before. He breathed heavily as he darted around a corner to see Shadow Wolf waiting for him.

"Why are you doing this?" John shouted. 

 The man still seemed like a ghost to John by the way he moved. It made it feel as if John was hallucinating him all the time, but he knew that he was real.                        

"My purpose is to cleanse the city of all evidence leading to the other world. Once we have finished, I’ll gather the pieces to a magic stone. Unfortunately, it's become difficult to cleanse this city because someone is still creating these abominations." Shadow Wolf said, angrily as he backed away into an alley.

 John looked around before following him. He watched as Shadow Wolf entered a broken-down building. John followed him as he turned back around to see Diane appear. He raised his hand ordering her to wait before stepping inside.

"All this for a rock and another world, really? Are you this delusional?" John questioned, he looked around to see that there were people in the shadows. 

He realized that Shadow Wolf wasn't alone at all. Shadow Wolf stopped walking as he looked over his shoulder. "You weren't raised to be this close-minded, what changed you?" 

He turned away from John prompting him to follow him up a set of stairs. John hated the fact the man before him acted as if he knew him when he didn't.                           

"You don't know me, stop acting like it!" 

He stopped at the top of the stairs when he saw a group of people standing around a figure wearing a dark cloak. The figure had his face covered with his hood, but John felt this chilling breeze in the air. It gave him chills as he stared at the man standing a few feet away from him.  

"John, I know you better than you know yourself. I've studied you, and I know what you are becoming. You have questions, and I have the answer for them all." Shadow Wolf said.

 He turned to face the figure as he pulled off his hood. John realized it was Bezad causing this rage to fill inside him as he stepped forward. Shadow Wolf placed his hand on John's chest for him to stop before he attacked.                            

"I like that about you, kid. When you see someone as the enemy, you attack because you know in your mind, they're guilty. Although don't you think sometimes it's smart to learn why something is done?" Bezad asked.

He stepped forward as he approached John. John clenched his fist as he prepared himself to fight. He knew he was outnumbered, but he wasn't ready to back down from any of them.     

"You're a mass murderer, what else should matter to me?" John asked angrily, he looked around the room at all the masked figures. They all had masks that resembled animals or mythical creatures. He didn't like the feeling he was starting to get from all of them as they stood behind Bezad.      

"Shadow Wolf murdered that young man, Shane, was it? As for me, I only murdered those scientists who had been forcing those pathetic humans to become those monstrosities. Humankind is its own worst enemy while I'm simply seeking to be its salvation." Bezad said, in a manner that made John shiver with anxiety. 

For some reason, John wanted to bash Bezad's head into the wall, but he didn't understand why he was thinking like that.    

"What are you, because I know you're not superhuman?" John asked, stepping forward as Bezad looked around the room. He began to clap, causing everyone else to clap their hands. Shadow Wolf placed his hand on John's shoulder as if he was trying to keep him from doing something before Bezad spoke.

"Now you're asking questions that matter. I'm what you call a Dark-dweller, and I'm from the Dark World. A world filled with beings and creatures much more powerful than you've ever seen before. You on the other hand are far greater. A rare abomination that I've been tasked with watching over and bringing home when the time comes. Until then, make the best of your time with your friends." Bezad said, sounding as if he was annoyed.

John stood confused as he was unsure what was going on at this point. What was a dark-dweller, and why would he be taken to the Dark World?    

"This world won't be able to understand what you're destined to become but the people of the Dark World will. I advise you at least entertain the thought of learning where one of your parents come from." Shadow Wolf said, turning away from John and walking to another doorway.

He took a deep breath as he backed away, realizing he'd need more answers. 

The sound of sirens could be heard in the distance causing John to hurry back the way he'd come. He couldn't fight them and the task force so he had no choice but to leave. All that he could think about now was the question he’d been asking for so long. What was he? 

He sprinted out of the door to see Diane waiting for him impatiently. She was fidgeting as she peered around the corner as John got to her side. He grabbed her arm as they took off running down the street in an attempt to escape the task force.

"Did you at least get some answers for all this?" Diane questioned.

She ran behind John as he just kept running. He looked over his shoulder to see soldiers in bio-suits fighting Shadow Wolf's men. John knew the task force would be no match, but he couldn't risk any altercations with them. He had to stay out of the public eye as best as he could.        

"The answers they gave me only raised more questions. Although, I do know that we're up against a large group of people. I saw at least thirty people in there, but I'm sure only a few are actually a challenge." John said as they finally got out of the streets. 

After running for some time, they were hidden out of sight by the forest.  People were being killed everywhere, and he could hear gunfire. Darko city was becoming a war zone, and John felt that one day the city would fall. He turned away as he closed his eyes before he started walking toward the bunker. John didn't see a bright future for the city or its inhabitants.