Shadow MergersInsanity lurks around every corner. Like a panther it blends with the night and swiftly seeks its prey. A shadow twitches and I jump. There is no time to rest, no time to sleep. My only thought is to escape. To seek the meager safety of the wilderness. The compound is dark and filled with chaotic sounds. The hallways are filled with the beat of heavy feet. From my hiding place I can see a SGD troop, Search Gather Destroyers, trampling down the hall pulling open door ways and yanking those unfortunate enough to have been caught out into the hall, their fates sealed.
My lightweight cloak blends with the darkness, shielding me from prying eyes. I finger my ring, a small silver band identifying me as one of the pack. A rebel group formally called the Shadow Mergers that came together to help reclaim our world. Reclaim it from the beasts that have the nerve to call themselves the enlightened. Their idea of enlightenment is the enslave all those they find below them. Basically anyone outside their cult. They came in the bitter cold month of December, when all of our families were gathered to have a peaceful holiday. We had no warning. No time to prepare. The attack was sudden and many didn’t make it. Those that were lucky were killed, laid down by the cold spray of metal that had come form all directions. Their blood ran like a carpet throughout the town. I recall how the light had glinted harshly off the their weapons as they were leveled at innocent after innocent. I saw my own mother hit in the back, she lay in misery on the cold cement sidewalk after they had left her to die. I held her hand as she took her last breath. Her last words were to avenge her and I vowed right there and then to do exactly that. It was war. We didn’t start it, we were thrown into it. Of course some people stayed behind to try and join the Enlightened, while others were merely too foolish to have escaped in time. Some were accepted and became unfeeling, inhuman members of that clan, while others were made to be slaves. Their lives used to serve the enlightened. Their freedom demolished. Of the ones that escaped that first night, some were found and either killed or dragged off by the SGDs. Others starved or froze to death in the unforgiving night. Of those that survived, a few decided to fight. To get our friends back and avenged our loved ones. We are the Shadow Mergers, The Pack. A pack of fighters. Each skilled in their own way. Our leader, the hunter, is just as his name implies, a true hunter. No one that has gone against him in a fight has ever survived. He was swift, smart, and merciless when encountering the enemy. He was also the greatest man I have ever met. He was the one that rounded us up, made us stop wallowing in pity and take charge. The huntress has just as much control over the group. She is sleek, silent in attack, and extremely dangerous. She is also our guide, our mother. Much as the goddess Diana guided her followers, the huntress has never let us down. They work together, in love and trust they successfully lead us against the enlightened. The others in the group have all become experts in camouflage and can merge into the night without effort. They use their instincts to get our jobs done and do whatever is necessary. They work and move as one, always together in heart even while seperated. My mission tonight is to reclaim one of our group members who had been ambushed and caught. If I cannot free her then it is my job to terminate her. That is the way she would want it. Besides we can’t have a leak to our enemies. Its one for all in this world, not all for one. Once the SGDs have passed, I come out form my hiding place, and stealthy move down the corridor. She is being held on the second floor. I pause only for a moment to prepare myself for what is to come. After all, if this goes wrong, I’m going to have to kill my best friend. That could mess with anyone’s mind, but I won’t allow myself to fail. She’s coming home with me.TBC…