Beginning.

To think he had been so excited was the only thought that had come to his mind as he felt a sharp pain on his side. He tried to rub it but he felt a warm liquid on his hand. He looked at his stomach and blood was coming out of a hole made by a stick. The last thing he remembered was looking at the huge painting. He could barely comprehend what was happening when suddenly what looked like a meteorite came flying at him. The paintings are connected he thought as he passed out.

Earlier that day...

The day is finally here, John thought to himself as he kicked the covers. He had barely slept that night, he had been looking forward to this since it was announced on the news a few months before. The gallery was opening its doors to the public that evening and he could hardly wait. If this was a normal summer day, he would wake up around 11 a.m. to prepare for his afternoon shift at a nearby car wash. He walked into the dining room to a surprised sister and mother. His step-father left for work very early in the morning.

"This is a surprise," his step-sister Ursula said, "are you that excited? The gallery doesn't open till evening."

He gave her a quick look but didn't answer. He walked to the fridge and took out a packet of milk and walked to the table where his mother had a glass waiting. He walked to the living room carrying his milk and sat down and sipped his milk slowly. He didn't notice but his mother was smiling at him. She was glad that he was being active in his interests enough to wake up earlier than normal.

"I still don't think he likes me very much." Ursula said

"He is in a good mood." Carol replied. Ursula turned her head to look at John who had now turned on the TV and was watching albeit absent-minded.

"Its been 7 years since you married my dad and i cant count on one hand the number of times we have had an actual conversation." Ursula said contentedly.

She had finished her breakfast and was picking up her purse ready to leave. Her suitcase was already in her car. She lived in the city which was closer to school than driving everyday from home.

"Bye," she called out as she opened the front door.

"Don't forget about Thursday," she heard Carol say just as she shut the door. John's birthday, she thought to herself as she started the car and drove off.

My birthday, huh. John was thinking how they never listened no matter how many time he had told them that he didn't want to celebrate. He looked at the clock and decided to leave early. Staying home with all the excitement wouldn't do him an good. He took his suit and headed off to the bus stop. His mother was a kindergarten teacher so she was not busy during school break.

The time was crawling that day. He seemed to have washed a hundred cars that day but he was too unaware of his surrounded. His boss had come to ask several times whether everything was alright because he seemed a little out of it. He walked back and forth to the office every thirty minutes to look at the clock

The day passed and he was finally done with work for the day. He walked into the locker room, showered and wore his suit. He checked the inside pocked to make sure that his invite was still there. He would be devastated if he had lost it after his step-father had called a favor to secure the invite for him. He hailed a cab and gave the driver the location. He was truly grateful to his Step-father and he made a mental note to thank him the next day(if he saw him). He didn't know how to talk to his sister. She tried so hard to talk to him that he felt bad for his poor social skills. She must think i hate her, he thought to himself as the cab pulled in front of the gallery. He paid tipped and exited.

John stood on the curb and took in a deep breath, finally, he thought. He looked around at the well dressed people around him walking into the gallery. The word PORTICUS was written on the huge glass doors. He pulled out his invite and walked toward the receptionist. You could see almost all of the gallery from the reception desk. It was decorated in silver and wood finishing. He followed the throng of people towards the viewing area where there were many paintings from local talent. The arrangement of the lights was such that each painting was enhanced. He walked around trying to locate the mystic paintings but there were none. He felt confused and cheated.

A man stood on a small platform and signaled a toast. He had short laid back hair. He wore a white blazer and a bow tie. he had the look of someone who had forgetten to shave his beard that morning. Takeshi Shiro: the gallery owner made a short speech and signaled the waiters to give everyone a glass. John, disdained as people raised their glasses, was wondering where the mystic paintings were. Takeshi pulled a remote and a the wall behind him opened up revealing a huge dimly lit room and asked people to have a good time.

John let a sigh and moved with the ebb of the people into the room. There were more people than he had initially thought. he went to the left and started moving clockwise looking at each painting. They all seemed unimpressive and he could help but feel disappointed. By the time he came to the fifth painting he felt that something was missing and turned around as if looking for some thing and that's when he saw it.

The way the room was structured there was no way of seeing it when he entered. Between the opening wall and the farthest wall were two other walls where other paintings hung. When he turned around at the fifth painting his eyes fell on the farthest wall. It was covered in a gigantic painting the likes pf which he had never seem before. He walked towards it and stopped halfway when he realized what the feeling from before was. He looked back at the fifth painting and smiled. He then walked towards the giant painting where Takeshi-san was standing astounded as if he had not seen the paintings before. He looked at the scene depicted and he felt he couldn't breathe.

A great battle, a man leading giants to fight against normal men, the amount of details on this painting was staggering. The man himself was standing atop a cliff with the moon behind him

making him seem incandescent. Them men fighting the giants had an aura about them that was different from the man standing atop the cliff. Takeshi-san said something as he walked away but John didn't seem to hear him. John walked to the nearest painting on the left, a lightning storm he thought to himself. His feeling from before came back and he felt compelled to walk back to the giant painting. He stood there and then looked at the corner and it looked like one of the humans had not been completely painted. He thought back to the fifth painting and then thought to himself. The paintings are connected. He went to look closer to look at the incomplete human when suddenly he felt a brief sharp pain at his side. He leaned in closer and the sharp pain returned he screamed but his voice was muffled. He looked around and no one seemed to notice him and he fell forward crouching in pain and into the darkness.