Shadows Chapter 3

He opened his eyes and looked around where he was. What he saw absolutely terrified him and brought immediate fear into his soul.
"No...", he whisphered.
Two figures, their faces shadowed came towards him. He knew, just knew that they were evil. He had to get away from them. Get away as far as he could. But he couldn't. Could not move a limb. He couldn't even move.
"It's time", the cruel voice stated as they approached him with those hideous instruments that they carried. This time would be his last he could sense it. For all the wrong reasons.

Alker woke up screaming.
Where was he??. Thank god! He was with...what's their names...Ferefire and Alec flying 400 feet up. In comparision to his latest dream, this was nothing now.
"Hah! Well, well. The whuss has awoken. Its unusual isn't it to scream every time you wake up. Then again I suppose you are a special case", came the voice of Ferefire.
"Ahuh...", Alker groaned. He really wanted to prove Ferefire wrong about what he had said. Yet every single time he tried to converse with him he received what was at best a highly sarcastic response. Ferefire seemed just to have an intense dislike of him. This feeling was being to develop into a mutual dislike, Alker reflected.
"How much longer, Alec?"
"We're almost there", he yelled over his shoulder.

Almost there. Almost where? Alker wondered where and when this hell would end. Probably with his death the way things were going. For some reason, that he didn't have a clue, he was now a fugitive. His father, he forced back a tear...he didn't want Ferefire to have a go at him again for being a weak rich kid, was murdered for no reason trying to protect his son. Trying to protect him, but against what? For the first time in his life, Alker began to question the state that he lived in. It worked, sure, but was everyone happy? Hell no. Almost everyone was miserable, condemned to being almost slaves from birth. Truth, he had once been happy, but it seemed that no-one was immune from the EWO. Alker had no doubt whatsoever that if he hadn't been rescued when he had been, that he would have spent the remaining few years of his life slaving away just like the rest of them. Of course it was crazy. With automated machinery, why bother with slavery? And then suddenly he realised the truth. They, the EWO, actually considered human suffering as a bonus to their policies, not a hinderance. It was as if they thought that slavery was the natural state of humanity. Why hadn't he realised this before?
"I'm so sorry. I never realised", Alker whisphered to no-one inparticular. Yet it was everyone that he was speaking to. He thought about each and every one of those millions upon millions of slaves that made up what was left of human civilisation down there. Embraced in the shadows which they never had a chance to escape. The shadows that seemed to be choking the very essence out of mother Earth...

It was dawn and they were there. Though he was unsure of where 'there' actually was.
"Where are we?", Alker surveyed the featureless landscape. It was very similar to the landscape where they had initially met, Alker noted. In fact it was almost precisely the same landscape...flat and well...featureless. Surfice to say, the landscape was unimportant, what was to happen next was to be.
"We are here", Alec stated, "here being of course where you are and where we've been going to over the past few hours"
"Well... couldn't you be a bit more precise sir?", Alker queried, somewhat puzzled.
"This way Alker", Alec replied, not seeming to hear Alker's statement.
With that Alec and Ferefire started to walk briskly in a particular direction, with Alker being oblidged to follow(well he wasn't exactly going to stay there was he ).

It wasn't long before they approached what seemed to be a small hut of some kind, just a normal insignificant hut of relatively small dimensions. What was perculiar about it was the very fact that it was alone, by itself, set against a featureless landscape.
"Let me guess", Alker began, "From the outside its just a normal, small hut, but inside it contains a hidden staircase which leads down into a massive secret base of some kind. Am I correct?"
Ferefire turned his head away from Alker and gave Alec a short silent look. Alec looked the other way.
"Why don't you open the door Master Alker?", Ferefire sarcastically remarked.
Alker stepped forward apprehensively. This would probably be the first day of his new life. He hoped whatever was in here would at least be comfortable to live in. Slowly the door creaked open to reveal...
The usual interior of a shed. Just a plain dumb shed, with a stool running across one of it's walls. The shed seemed to be mostly wooden by what Alker could tell and indeed appeared to have several holes in its ceiling. It could probably just about fit a few people in uncomfortably. No more. If this was a secret base, it was one of the worst ones that he had ever come across.
"Oh", Alker remarked somewhat embarrassed.
"You've watched too many movies kid", Alec explained, "And if we were to have a secret base it certainly wouldn't be here hm?"
"Yeah know-it-all! Do you think we're in a cartoon or something?", Ferefire enthusised, clearly pleased that Alker had been caught out yet again.
They all walked in. Alker noticed that there really wasn't very much room whatsoever, though after what he had been through during the previous day or two, at least that did not concern him anymore.

"Why are we here then?", Alker asked after a while.
"To meet someone"
"Who?"
"You'll find out soon enough. We would have gone somewhere a little more civilised, but that would have been too dangerous..."
"Ha ha. Yeah boy, they must really hate your rich sorry ***. I mean to kill your dumb father and then send all of those elite troopers after you...", though Ferefire never did get to complete that sentence.
This was due to the simple fact that Alker had had enough.
"Shut up!", he yelled, "You don't have any idea of what I've been through!? My father is..is"
Alker thought back the tears yet again.
"Aw..Is the poor boy crying? Here let me get you a tissue. How pathetic!", Ferefire mocked.
"YOU!!!", Alker snapped and lunged at Ferefire.
Completely unprepared, Ferefire received two succesive blows to his head. One did relatively little damage,wheras the other managed to split his lip and draw blood.
"OW! You vermin", Ferefire yelled and retailiated by landing a punch directly into Alker's stomach, completly winding him.
"You, you you...", Alker gasped and collasped onto the floor.
"Ferefire you fool. He's almost here. You're in so much trouble now!"
"He will live. Though not for long if he tries that again.", Ferefire replied, wiping the blood off his face, "How the heck did he manage to hit me though? His kis not nearly strong enough.."
"..I'll tell you how Ferefire. Because you're weak. I'm just ashamed to even be witnessing what I have just witnessed", came a gruff voice
Alker raised his head a little to see quite a terrifing sight. It was an alien, surely? Looming over Alker, he(?) wore a white cape and hat. Of indeterminate age, the being was of humanoid propertions, percessing two arms and legs. However what the major disturbing feature about him was, was the fact that he had green skin...
"My regards Piccolo-San", Alec stood to attention, "We've got him as arranged"
"Let's go then"
They went.

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