1 Prologue

The air was stained with the stench of smoke. The wooden floor was dark brown with clear scratches spread out. The bottles on the shelf we're spread evenly, reflecting the bright lights that hung directly over them. 

The tables were spread along the corners and walls, a few of them occupied. One in the corner seemed to be darker than the rest. A man sits alone at this table, staring deeply into space. The absence of noise was vast as the sound of his cigarette burning stretched across the room.

The man has sunken eyes with deep bags under them. His hair was a deep red almost like blood, reaching his shoulders easily even with different ends poking out in odd directions.

If one were to glance at this man they might see that he was wearing a plain white button up with a black tie. They might notice his sleeves being rolled up to his elbows, the many scars that wove around his arms or even the face that was tattooed on the back of his hand. 

If one was to stare at him, however, they would see something curious. They might even consider it impossible and wave it away. One would see that in the darkness his eyes seemed to glow yellow.

The man raised his hand into the air. Not a moment later the bartender was there with a new bottle of whiskey for him.

"Still moving too slow. Perhaps we need a new server?" The man said, his eyes still staring into space.

The bartender's hand began to shake as he poured. A second later he was done and waiting for further instructions. He didn't dare move a muscle until he was told to move.

"Barry, go on back. You've no reason to stand there longer." Said a voice from behind the bartender.

Barry recognized the voice and swiftly dashed back to his counter space.

"Maybe I wasn't done with him yet Z. What would you do then?" The first man said.

The one known as Z shrugged. "I guess I would have dealt with it however necessary. Did you want him back, boss?" 

The 'boss' shrugged. It meant nothing to him really, he was just agitated and had been for a very long time. 

The boss pointed at the opposite chair and without a word Z sat down. The chair let out a loud squeak and moved slightly, leaving new marks on the floor.

"It's been 18 years. Z, it gets closer and closer everyday. The prophecy was very specific about what the meteor showers meant. Yet, here we sit with nothing new and the chance seems to be slipping from our fingers." The boss paused and let his eyes slide over Z. It seemed that the glow intensified.

"So tell me Z. Why shouldn't I kill you right now and get the next guy to lead the search? He may not be as strong but maybe he's smarter."

Z sat there for a moment. In his hands he held a coin of significant value to him. He watched as it danced from one finger to the next and slowly smiled.

"Boss, if you killed me then you'd never hear the good news. I came here with 2 pieces of information that you just might enjoy." Z leaned back in his chair to the point it was tipping. He raised an eyebrow in question.

The boss went rigid at the words "good news". Slowly he took a drag of his cigarette.

"Well? Give it to me." He said.

Z smiled in a devilish way that only he could.

"First piece, we found them. One of them is here and the other is in Missouri, smack in the middle." Z said, holding his coin under the light.

The boss stared in silence waiting for the rest of the news.

After a moment Z shrugged and continued.

"The second piece is we even know they're identities and one of them works for me."

A smile crept onto the boss's face. He downed his whiskey and stood up.

"Which one is which and what are their names?" The boss asked.

Z set his coin on the table. Before he let go, he let a pulse of his energy run down his arm and into the coin. The coin lit up and a split second later an image hung over it.

"This is the guy you want, his name is Dante.  He is in Oak Grove, Missouri. Seems like a shit hole from what I've read on it, nothing but a Walmart and truck stop really." Z said.

The boy in front of him looked to be about 18 or so. He had brown hair and light green eyes. 

"So this is him. He doesn't look like I expected after all this time. And the other one?"

At this point Z picked up his coin and slid it into his inside pocket.

"The one that's here is Donahue." He said.

The boss stiffened for a moment and after a second began to laugh. It echoed across the rest of the bar and to the outside. Anyone walking by seemed to shiver as the sound reached them.

"You did good Z. You handle him and I'll go after...Dante." he said.

Z nodded, the time had come.