Chapter 6

David knew something was wrong. He was floating in the same inky blackness that he had when Luna first spoke to him. He remembered heading upstairs and going to bed, but he couldn't understand why he would have done that. Shouldn't he be preparing for war or something?

<Calm yourself. If you cannot utilize that which resides within your mind you are doomed before you ever begin.>

"Ahh, great. More voices talking to me inside my head. That is always a great sign," he said. The voice chuckled and David felt a wave of relaxation.

<Fear not, I am not a new voice. I am your voice. I am the power you have buried away inside your head. I hate to tell you this, but there will be no more feats of strength for you anymore. The power that you borrowed from Luna is gone now and she will have to play that role for you. There is however more you can do to aid her and yourself.>

"Ok if you have all the answers, how do I keep my 3^rd eye open? I tried getting angry again and it just didn't work."

<You are focusing on the wrong aspects. The anger merely awakened Luna, not your third eye. You needed the power to control her, hence why it was opened.>

"So what you are saying is, I only have to have a reason for it to open, and it will?"

<Yes, but I must warn you. This time there is no turning back again. If you open it once more it will never seal itself again.>

"Will I be able to read the book though? I will do whatever it takes, even if it means becoming a freak to do so."

<The book is not complete until you are. It can lead you down your path, but not walk it for you. The parts that you can read are within your grasp. I fear our time here has drawn to an end.>

The blackness faded away and he felt his eyes open to the light from outside his window. He started to crawl out of bed and noticed Luna kneeling next to his bed in her normal position. He could see the sleeping bag rolled up in the corner so he knew she had to have slept at some point.

"Good morning Luna. I thought you were going to sleep in the spare bedroom?"

"I am sorry my Prince, but I felt that it was too far away to come to your aid if you needed assistance."

He could see the wind whipping leaves around outside his window. The tall sturdy oak tree outside had been a constant annoyance when he was younger. He remembered the torment of raking many bags of leaves every fall. He found it hard to believe that the quiet peacefulness he was experiencing might come to an end. He knew he had missed two days of school, but graduating high school just dropped a lot lower on his things to do list. He decided that he could always just take and pass his GED if it came down to it.

"Hey Luna, I know you feel the need to be close, but uh, would you mind leaving while I get ready?"

Before he could blink she had disappeared.

"Damn, I wish I knew how she does that," he said.

Detective Martinez had seen a lot of shit in his 12 years as a law enforcement officer for the NYPD but nothing compared to what he was seeing now. He had been assigned to assist in riot control due to loss of military forces here in NYC. The Department of Homeland Security was calling this a terrorist attack but Hector Martinez knew better. Terrorists couldn't make a man rip another man apart with his bare hands.

When he had arrived on the scene he saw a lot of people banging on the doors and windows around the Mercy General hospital. He had just assumed that they were trying to get medication in the event there was a shortage due to the other riots. However, when he saw their faces he knew that he was gravely mistaken. Those things he saw were no longer human. The wind shifted directions towards him and he felt the urge to retch. The stench rolling off of them seemed to match their appearance.

One of those things stumbled towards him with its mouth open so he yelled for it to stay where it was. It responded by coming closer to him, raising its arms to try and grab him. He shot it three times, twice in the chest and once right between the eyes. His gunshots and movement attracted the attention of the rest of the pack. He turned tail and hauled ass back to his vehicle. The things were coming from everywhere now. He got inside and started the car and hauled ass in reverse.

"Dear Lord, please watch over my family and deliver me from this hell," he prayed as he attempted to evacuate from the city. His sirens were blaring as he drove through the streets. He hadn't seen any of the other riot squads in awhile. New York City was burning to the ground around him. Luckily for Hector the way would be clear from him to get to his family, unfortunately the sirens he had completely forgotten had created a gruesome parade of death. The shambling mass surged down the road behind him intent on finding its source.

Hector pulled up in front of his house and ran to his door, leaving the car running. He rushed through the door that had been left partially open to tell his family what had happened. Unfortunately for Hector they were well aware of what was transpiring. They were already dead. He grabbed his wife and spun her around when she didn't answer him and she repaid his kindness by taking a chunk out of his forearm. Hector screamed in pain and ran back outside. The noise from the siren had drawn many of them to his car. His wife was behind him and a teeming horde in front of him. Hector fell to his knees and said a quick prayer to god hoping he would forgive him for what he was about to do. He took out his sidearm and shot himself in the head.

David was enjoying his omelet with Luna when the doorbell rang. He turned to move from his seat but Luna had already answered it. Beth was standing in the doorway looking perplexed. Apparently she hadn't expected another girl to answer the door for David.

"What's wrong Beth, you look like you have seen a ghost."

Luna stood to the side of the doorway and sized Beth up. Luna determined that she was no threat and let her come into the house. David stood up and introduced Luna to Beth and vice versa. Beth had a thoughtful look on her face and turned towards David having remembered what she needed to say.

"Have you been watching the news David? They said there was a terrorist attack on NYC but now there is absolutely no media coverage at all. How is that even possible?"

"Sorry Beth, I hate to say this but I think I know what is happening and it is anything but a terrorist attack. It is worse than that though, it is going to be spreading soon if it hasn't already."

David thought about school and the problems he faced before he met Luna. Shit, that little piss-ant Jack seemed like a dream compared with what Luna had told him he was going to face.

"Well would you mind clueing me in then, and please tell me how on earth you would know if the government is trying to cover it up?"

David went back to the table and grabbed his book. 'No time like the present, ' he thought. David concentrated on a piece of text he couldn't decipher and willed himself to be able to read it. The world around him seemed to slow down once again, that strange feeling of disconnection. The words in the book started to come into focus for him and it was a shock to find out it held the true name of his people. 'The Sylve, huh, ' he thought. Well at least he could pronounce it. He looked up from the book to find Luna kneeling with tears running down her cheek. Beth just stood there stunned.

"Beth I am not like other people. I am not even from this planet, nor is Luna. This is something I found out last night. Please understand that there is so much more that I need to learn for myself before I can involve other people in my troubles. What I can tell you is that you have to start preparing now. Beth there is no turning back for me, I have to see this through."