The path begins

Lesley found himself in a realm of pure darkness and smoky mist. The ground was a liquid black void and his feet stood on its surface, causing slight ripples. His eyes looked around the plane, but all around was nothing but twirling and winding vapors of black smoke.

Then he saw it.

In the distance, a green glow like a faraway torch, light up. His eyes locked onto it and he felt it calling him. Without thinking, his feet moved and he began to run towards the light.

However as soon as he moved, a pair of skeletal arms emerged from the darkness and began to chase him. They were coming from the intangible smoke but Lesley, when he saw them, felt danger alarms ring in his head. He ran faster towards the green light, feeling it in his gut that he would be safe there.

But the skeletal arms would not have it, they receded into the darkness and began to emerge from the black liquid ground instead. Lesley had to jump and swerve to the side to avoid them.

I just have to make it, he thought desperately, but his conviction was nothing. The arms emerged above him like a hawk and held him back. As he struggled, more arms appeared from the ground and he began to be pulled down into the dark depths.

" Help! Help me! " He cried out but no one was around to help him. He bowed his head in fear and resignation," Please...help me."

That was his last sentence before he was submerged into the black void. For a moment everything was still but then a hand appeared, a normal human like limb, and it reached into the darkness. With a strong tug, it pulled Lesley out and he took a deep breath as if he had been drowning.

" What...was that ? " He asked out loud.

Inside the black waters his mind had been filled with images of events. It was himself but not himself, talking to a woman in black. Then there was fire and screaming and death...so much death. He had felt it down to his bones and it was chilling and terrifying. He'd almost drowned in it.

The hand, which was glowing with shimmering green, reached out and touched his cheek. Lesley looked up at the disembodied limb with wide eyes.

" You are not ready but you have no choice. Save this world and everything else before ' he ' ends it. " A voice, it seemed to come from all around him, spoke to Lesley," It's time to begin the path for restoration or... annihilation."

The hand then gave Lesley a big slap on the face and he dissipated like dust in the wind. As soon as he was gone, the owner of the hand fazed himself into existence. One moment it was just a floating hand and the next moment, it was a red head man wearing a green cloak. Wisps of green energy swirled around him and he had an air of calm compassion and hope. His eyes shone like two jade jewels , illuminating the darkness in the heart and the soul.

" I know you're there, Lich. " The person said, " Do I have to drag you out too? "

" Liv. " A deep voice spoke and the black waters shook like an earthquake was happening below the surface. A moment later, another red head figure appeared but this person rose from the black waters like an evil spirit. He too wore a green cloak but his was of one of power and might, like a conqueror's garment, it emphasized his cold demeanor. This was a being who had transcended beyond cruelty and beyond destruction, this was Lich.

" He is young and hopeful of a good future for humanity. He will choose the right path." Liv said.

" He is pained and filled with hatred. He will choose revenge." Lich said.

Both of them didn't look at each other, they instead gazed at the bright green light in the distance. For one of them it represented hope, growth and renewal but for the other it represented finality, an end and destruction.

" He will choose his path." They both said simultaneously.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Lesley woke up gasping, like he'd come out from a state of suffocation. His breath came in deep gasps, his eyes wide open as if still in shock from what they had seen . Salty sweat ran down his back and he could feel an itch under his arms but that was not important.

He looked around and was surprised to see he was back at the apartment and in the bedroom. A frown emerged on his face instantly, the last thing he remembered was the upper rank holding his neck and then-

Like lightning, the memories descended down on his mind. He remembered everything that Liv and Lich did. He remembered Death, Nuis and the power that flowed through his body. He also remembered the deaths of all the people he saw in Liv's eyes and because such information can overwhelm a normal person, his body couldn't take it.

Lesley rushed to the side and vomited on the floor. He felt disoriented and nauseous from the horrors he had seen and all that it meant. Was he a freak? What in hell was going on? These thoughts circled his mind as he wiped his mouth and looked towards the door.

He wasn't alone. Someone had come.

A blonde haired teenager stood by the door looking at him with pale crystal blue eyes. The guy was wearing a grey shirt and jeans. He looked to be eighteen or close to nineteen years old and Lesley would have thought he was kinda handsome.

But those thoughts were miles away, the person had bloody fingers and a bleeding cut on his cheek. That in itself was not too much of an issue, he could have been a survivor who'd fought and killed someone, which in the post apocalyptic world was not that big a crime anymore if you were outside a safezone. What made Lesley get up from the bed and take a fighting stance was the blood color on his hands and coming from the blonde guy's cheek.

It was black. Only corpses had black blood.

The guy infront of him was a zombie and Lesley got ready for a fight. Unfortunately he did not get the chance, the zombie looked at him and then went out from the room. Not trusting it, Lesley waited for it to come back and it did.

It came back with a basket of fruit.

" Wait a minute...you're him!?" Lesley said when the zombie presented an apple to him. He knew only one zombie that would present a piece of food for him to eat or reject it. Only one corpse was that considerate and he had not seen it in a while.

" I am Mel. I took care of you. Are you hungry?" The zombie, Mel, spoke and Lesley took a step back until he had his back on the wall.

" You can talk. " It wasn't a question but Mel answered it anyway.

" Yes. I could before but now I can do better. Are you hungry? " Mel offered the apple again with a smile. This time Lesley knew it was a smile and not the stretching of face muscles from before.

" You were an upper rank zombie the whole time." Lesley completely ignored the apple," You were tricking me. "

"No,no,no,no." Mel shook his head," I never trick you. I die for you."

" What? " Lesley didn't understand what the corpse just said.

Mel entered the room and placed the basket on the bed, and moved towards Lesley who was tense like a sprung wire. He eyed the zombie with a warning look in his eyes, he didn't trust it. But Mel just explained himself and didn't take note of the glare he was getting.

" I am to die for you. To protect you. To be here for you. I will never leave you. Ever and never. " Mel said softly looking at the human infront of him, he gazed at the bright green eyes and smiled.

Lesley struck.

With a practiced fling of his right arm, he knocked the zombie aside and ran out the door as fast as possible. Mel looked at his retreating back and ran in pursuit.

" Please do not go. It is not safe for you." Mel said but Lesley wasn't listening to him. He had to escape this conniving and deceptive monster.

He made it to the ground floor with no zombies in sight and quickly moved to leave the building. A hand reached out and grabbed his wrist but not too hard. Lesley turned to see the zombie holding him and he grew angry.

" Please. Outside not safe. Kin not safe. Come back. I die for you." Mel said with a desperate look on his face but Lesley would not be fooled.

" I don't care about what you want. Let me go! " He shouted and pulled his arm free," Don't follow me. I don't want you near me."

" But i- " Mel tried to talk but Lesley ran away from him and out the building.

Outside the sky was grey with cumulonimbus clouds covering the heavens like a blanket. A cool wind blew across the empty streets and Lesley suppressed a shiver. He had no time to be cold, he needed to find a way to reach the safezone or better yet Liam. His cousin would help him.

A loud growl drew his attention and he turned to it's origin. An old woman zombie was growling hungrily across the street. She wore a tarted and raggedy plad dress and her grey hair was short and torn from her scalp. Black blood dripped from the wound on her head and a sworm of flies hung about her. This dead body was fresh and Lesley wondered of the horrors she must have gone through.

But he wasn't afraid. Zombies didn't hurt him anymore, only upper ranks, from what he'd experienced, could. Like the one he'd just walked out on. So it was with a nonchalant face that he looked at the old lady zombie.

What he didn't except is that the zombie would charge straight for him, hunger burning in her eyes and black saliva dripping from her open mouth. It was a shock to his senses and for a moment Lesley was frozen but only for a moment. He immediately got ready to attack with his hands, he did not a have a weapon on him.

The old lady pounced but he dodged and pushed her body with her own momentum by shoving her head forward. Then he moved back and stood on the street facing the old hag, she was definitely not a lady.

With a vicious growl the zombie attacked again and instead of dodging, Lesley jumped and landed a kick on the side of her head. The neck twisted to the side and one could hear bones move out of place. That didn't stop this corpse however and she charged on, unaware that Lesley had moved out of the way after landing his hit.

He looked around on the ground and found a plant pot, probably for the entrance. He picked it up and smashed it on the ground. It shattered to pieces and Lesley grabbed the largest one.

When the zombie came back for another attack, he lunged and aimed at her neck. The weapon pierced the dead flesh and he used the moment to avoid her arms, kick behind her legs and when she was on the ground, he shoved the shard through her throat.

Black blood rained on him like a fountain but he kept cutting her jugular until her head came off. That was when the body went limp and he rose from the corpse, his vest covered in black blood.

Now just have to get of here, he thought but his wish was not to be.

The old lady had cut him with her wrinkly hands and old nails. His blood flowed along with hers and attracted some very hungry zombies. It wasn't long until Lesley heard and saw a horde of zombies coming his way.

A curse fell from his lips, he was in trouble. Weaponless, injured and facing a horde are the worst conditions to be in as a squad fighter. He would not make it out of this alive.

He turned around to go back into the apartment but zombies were coming from it's doors, their blood lust evident in each groan they emitted. Lesley realized he was seriously screwed, zombies all around him meant instant death.

" Fuck! " He swore as the zombies surrounded him and attacked.

A being jumped from the top of the apartment building and landed next to Lesley with a ground crushing force. It shook the red head to his bones but when he saw who it was, his eyes couldn't believe it.

" Are you okay? " Mel asked him as he got to his feet. He acted like jumping off a building and smashing cracks into a street was normal.

" You...why are you here? " Lesley asked the zombie.

" I will always be here for you. I die for you. " Mel said simply.

" I...I...I didn't ask you to get involved!" Lesley shouted and Mel tilted his head in confusion.

" You would get hurt." Mel said but Lesley wasn't paying him any attention. He had his head down and his eyes covered by his hair.

" I didn't ask for this...I didn't ask for any of this...I didn't...I didn't." He muttered under his breath and Mel heard him sniffle.

He reached out and parted the hair to see tears streaming down Lesley's cheeks. It was a strange sight for the zombie who had always seen the human mad or satisfied when he brought him food. The tears made a strange feeling well up in Mel's chest and as if on instinct or left over memory, he put his arms around the human.

" I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He said as Lesley cried quietly. For a moment the zombie horde was ignored and seemed to not exist.

What was stranger was that the zombies were not attacking. They stood groaning, growling but not moving. Instead they circled the strange duo and watched with dead vacant eyes and expressions.

" I will protect you. I will die for you." Mel said softly.

" I never asked for... any of this. " Lesley said softly," What am I going to do? "

Mel didn't have the answer to the humans question so he stayed quiet and only looked around at the zombies. His eyes looked at them like a lion would look at street cats.

" Take me back." Lesley said quietly and Mel complied. But he did it in a very strange way.

He picked up Lesley bridal style and looked at him with a smile. The red head was momentarily shocked beyond belief.

" What are you doing!?" He asked in indignation.

" This is how I brought you back. " Mel said as he walked back to the apartment building.

" I'm glad I was unconscious. Don't think that I just because you're helping me I won't kill you like I did her." Lesley said with narrowed eyes and he indicated the decapitated old lady.

" If you want to kill me, you can kill me. I will just stay by your side. " Mel replied.

" If I cut off your head, you won't be here at all." Lesley told him.

" I won't leave you. Even if I die again and again. I'll die for you. I'll protect you. I will never leave you. Ever never." Mel said softly as he looked into Lesley's eyes.

This time Lesley said nothing and just looked back at those dead eyes. So they entered the building with their eyes locked at each other and if Lesley had been told about that six months ago, he would have beaten the person up for a bad joke.

Unfortunately this moment was not the end for either of them. The wheel had already started turning and the mechanisms of fate were on course. The power that been awoken yesterday would not be ignored and could not be ignored.

The path was set before them, a bloody path filled with pain, love, betray and power beyond reckoning. Entities had awoken, power had fused and flowed across the world. This was the beginning of something incredible, something that would determine the fate of all.