The Morning After - William Arthurson [Complete]

[Stargaizer]

William woke gently, as if he was slowly rising out of a sea of blackness. All the stress and pain that he had before blacking out was completely gone and forgotten as he slowly woke from what was probably the most restful sleep of his life. Forgotten, that is, until he opened his eyes and looked around, and his brain finally re-engaged, trying to figure out where he was.

It wasn’t that hard to figure out, really, once his eyes focused; it was some time in the afternoon and he was in his room, but in trying to place it, his mind remembered everything that had led up to his blacking out.

His first thought was that he should be in a hospital, or dead, but a quick check of his extremities showed that they were all there, in working order, and completely undamaged.

His second thought was about Jane, but, she, of course wasn’t anywhere to be seen. This was his room after all...

[Courier]

Will felt great. He must be on some GREAT drugs.

There was sunlight... it was afternoon.

The ceiling looked familiar.

No red eyed people around.

His arms weren't sprouting tubes.

He wasn't lying in a coffin.

No 'summon nurse' button/cord handy.

The walls were...

The room came to focus. The walls were his. The bed was his. The *room* was his.

Will carefully brought up one hand and flexed it, then felt around the sides of his arms. No broken bones. No big hunks of lost skin. He wasn't hurt.

Jane!

Not here... of course. If he was here, she'd be back in her dorm?

Drunk? Nightmare? He didn't feel hung over. What day was today?

Will got to his feet. He still felt Great! He walked over to his desk and checked his watch. 1:15 Sunday.

Odd. His 'dream' still felt pretty solid. Confusion and confusing dreams were normal, being able to pick out details a few minutes after waking was not.

Let's see what the real world was up to... Will opened his door and picked up the Sunday paper and retreated back inside to read it. If he was very lucky he made the Front Page.

To his horror he was. "Two UofM students killed in car crash."

[Courier]

After leaving the Delta Xi House... Alcohol... Car hit a cab... Two UofM students... William... Smith?

For an awful moment Will thought he was reading about his and Jane's deaths in the paper. That would make this heaven or hell or something.

To his immense relief while the pictures of the crash looked familiar, neither of the students were 'Arthurson'. It took Will several moments to figure out that "William Smith and Harold Grub" were Bevis and Butthead.

William thought in passing they'd have been better off being beaten up then looked for what wasn't there.

No mention of William. Or Jane. Or Heather. No unknown bodies or missing people. The Cabbie was shaken up but alive. She didn't remember the accident. No mention of passengers, no mention of being on a run. Will bet that records would show she was "going to" Delta Xi and not "coming from".

Abstractly Will checked the rest of the paper and there was "Wolverines Defeat Buckeyes, 41-39" on the front page of the sports section and a nice picture of him throwing the ball.

With two drunk DOAs and one slightly foggy cabbie/victim, connecting the dots was obvious. It didn't happen. William and Jane weren't involved. Will noted the intersection where the accident occurred and wondered if he'd find his blood there.

Except his 'dream' still wasn't fading. Dreams always faded, and they were never this clear.

So, all the red eyes, Demon(s)? Divine intervention?

Will looked around carefully and checked under the bed, then he locked the door and made sure it was closed. Then he stripped naked and checked himself for anomalies. The back of the door had a mirror and he checked the parts of himself that he normally couldn't see.

No "666" tattoos anywhere. No wings starting to grow out of his back...

...and yet....

[Courier]

...and yet....

Will's image in the mirror looked more muscled and he felt stronger. It might be wishful thinking, and yet...

Will put some pants on and then did a push up. It was easy. Too easy. He tried it one handed and it was still easy. After successfully doing a handstand push up he was convinced.

Stronger.

He took a fighting pose and punched several times in the air, followed by a few shadow kicks. Again it was too easy. He didn't maintain his martial skills during the football season but these flowed.

Quicker? More Skilled? Improved Reflexes? Combat Instincts? Something else? It didn't really matter. Definitely something there. So... tougher?

Will found a pin and couldn't use it to scratch him. It bent rather than cut him. He got increasingly more brave with matches and finally decided that a single match just wasn't going to hurt.

Tougher too. Maybe a lot tougher. Not like he was going to jump off a building to find out.

What else?

Will tried to set fire to the wastepaper basket by staring at it but nothing happened. Similarly he couldn't levitate, see through the wall, change paper into gold, and commanding a genii to appear didn't make anything happen.

Either nothing else or it's situational. Being irresistible to women can't be done unless there are women around. Changing lead into gold needs lead. Bet this body could be pushed a lot harder though, less can go wrong.

So... now what?

[Courier]

Will got dressed as he considered; Looked like he had some kind of warrior package. The glowing guy must have been an angel, William didn't think he rated God. Ergo the dark guy was Satan or some other high level minion.

Ergo he was supposed to...

um....

Announce to the world he'd been chosen as one of God's holy warriors?

Why did that sound like a bad idea? Oh. Right. If Mr. Angel hadn't left any evidence for the police then probably Will shouldn't.

Roam the streets at night looking to kick Satan's ass? Sounded like a good way to end up in a nut house... or dead. Will got the feeling it'd be a mismatch, and besides wasn't that the Angel's job?

Win Football games, drink beer, have sex with co-eds? Why did that sound like something heaven wouldn't especially back?

Let's start with what he wasn't supposed to do. Go public. Abandon his life. Therefore...

Presumably he was supposed to practice his gifts and wait for further instruction. Ah, that's it. Waiting was the hardest part of any millitary action. Hmm. The guy with football useful powers happens to be a football player. Funny that. Ergo practicing his powers was the same as winning football games. And when Satan showed up again he'd be ready to kick his ass.

Will picked up a broom and jabbed it at an imaginary "Satan". Then he almost dropped it as it literally caught fire.

[Courier]

Holding the broom FAR away from him, Will stared in amazement and horror at his burning 'weapon'. He had a weapon of ultimate holiness... and it was a broom.

Weren't swords more traditional? Tridents? Maybe a spear?

Will gingerly put his other hand close to the broom, the 'fire' didn't seem 'hot'. Taking a chance he touched it and jerked his hand away, then when nothing happened he grabbed the burning part directly.

Not hot. Broom doesn't look like it's 'consuming' or 'combustioning' or whatever you call it when a fire eats a broom. No pain. Fire doesn't seem to 'do' anything to my hands... bet it'd knock something like Satan's minion for a loop though. Unbalanced as all get out though. How is anyone expected to use something like this... Wait!

Will unscrewed the broom handle and let the brush fall to the floor. The fire stayed with the handle which now made a respectable staff. Will moved it around expertly, even fluidly.

Now we're cooking!!! We've had Training in one of these! Hmm... but not this much training. It's that combat instinct again.

Will dropped the "staff" and the fire went out. He looked up at the ceiling for a message but didn't see anything written there. Unfortunately 'keeping his life' meant some things were going to have to be done sometime today.

He'd eat and check up on Jane first... but he had a paper to work on.

Will gathered up his books, wallet, cell phone, finished getting dressed and headed out.

[Courier]

Will's original plan was to go see Jane, but right out the door he found trying to talk to anyone was one of those "situational" events. The first person he ran into 'smelled' 'blue' and 'falling down'.

Will blinked, gave up the idea of saying 'hello' and moved on, but quickly found *everyone* he came within talking distance to had something similar. Closing his eyes didn't help, he could still smell/feel/see unfamiliar sensations.

He stopped in a McDonald's for some food and to sit and watch people. After a while he started to notice patterns. The people coming in were mostly an unpleasant hungry-yellow/slowness/the-smell-of-sweat. Oddly it didn't spoil the taste of his food, if anything he ate quicker. After a bit he realized it was *one* result that sometimes 'looked', sometimes 'felt', and sometimes 'smelled', and after a bit longer he noticed none of the people leaving had the same 'feel'.

Will wolfed down his food and then sipped a drink and watched people while he tried to make sense of things. Given where he was it took an embarrassing amount of time, but eventually he realized what the people walking in had in common was they were hungry. From that realization he figured out he wasn't 'seeing' anything, his mind was struggling with perceiving other people's emotions.

Depression wasn't blue and Lust wasn't violet, but it was still like living in a world of black and white and then waking up to color... the big help was now he could try relating this sensory input to his own emotions and put labels on them.

Sensing directly how everyone felt was going to make dealing with people easier... but not doing his paper. Maybe he'd gotten much smarter and the paper would write itself? Time would tell.

Will called Jane and her roommate told him she was out. He decided she was probably doing what he was and he'd catch up with her later.

Will went to a library and this time 'concentration' showed up as 'concentration' and not a smell or color. He found a room by himself and with an effort of will bore down. Many hours later with a break for food he was done. The bad news was he was pretty sure he hadn't gotten any smarter. The good news was he still felt GREAT! He wasn't mentally exhausted.

Definitely something there, increased stamina maybe or something else that would be football useful. But it was late and Will figured he'd sleep on it. He dropped his paper into the teacher's in box, had dinner by himself, then went back home. Jane hadn't left a message on his machine but he'd chase her down tomorrow.

[Stargaizer]

William woke from his nightmares with a start, cold sweat drenching his body. His sleep had been fitful at best; fraught with many different nightmares, all centering around the wreck. In some of them he had been driving, but unable to stop Jane from getting killed in the wreck, while in others he fought alongside of the glowing man one time and the shadowy figure the next. But in all of them, one thing was constant, Jane either getting killed or taken away by the shadowy figure and the red-eyed creatures.

William didn’t know what it was that finally woke him from his nightmares. It was still dark outside, though it appeared to be getting a little brighter, probably close to morning. Then he saw the flash of light and heard the thunder. Apparently sometime during the night it had started to storm.

The echoes of Jane’s screams from his nightmares still rang in William’s ears as more lighting flashed across the sky. And with the added light, he could tell something was wrong; someone was there. From the appearance, it didn’t seem to be human. The simple mass of the figure, much less the height dwarfed even the largest linebacker in the NFL. The texture of the skin was different, more like scales, and the face was elongated into a sort of snout. And then, as the next bolt of lightning showed, there were the wings, folded up behind him, as well as the glint off of his talons.

The creature noticed that William was awake, and the faint pre-dawn light reflected off his teeth as he ‘smiled’. His voice was deep and gravelly, being felt as much as heard. “Well, well. Quite some disturbing nightmare for someone who’s been chosen...”

Click to reveal..

looks similar to the second one, but beefier than the fourth one and brown with some goldish overtones.

[Courier]

Will wished he slept in bodyarmor and not his underwear and a tee-shirt but then reflected it could be worse, he could sleep in the nude.

He grabbed his pillow and rolled to his feet. Will briefly wondered where he'd left his broomstick, then spied it on the other side of the room and more importantly, on the other side of "Mr. Big". No help there.

Will asked, "The nightmares, Your doing? Or can I hope this is a friendly introduction meeting?"

Will tried to get a feel for what this... creature... was feeling.

[Stargaizer]

The half-man-half-dragon looking creature seemed to be feeling slightly as if he’d rather be somewhere else, but otherwise calm and somewhat amused. The ‘creature’ nodded at William’s reply. His tone was ever so slightly softer. “Yes, this is a friendly introduction meeting, and despite appearances, I’m not going to hurt you. I can even promise you that if you come with us, no one will. No tests, no experiments, no black van abductions.” He pauses for a moment, switching gears. “William, my name is Draygo and I’m a representative from an organization called Nemesis. We are a group of people, all of whom have been chosen and all of us have special abilities. We were founded to help people like us learn to use and control our abilities and to give us something constructive to use them for.”

Draygo finished what was apparently the ‘standard schpeel’, and just waited for the information to sink in and any questions to bubble up. All ‘n all he seemed very patient and slightly less threatening as time passed, despite the toothy grin and gleaming talons on hands and feet.

[Courier]

*I was just playing for time but shoot that sounds like he's serious... and if he were going to try to off me he really should have done it while I was still sleeping...*

Will makes an effort of will to Size up 'Draygo' then asks, "Define 'chosen'. Who were those other two?"

[Stargaizer]

William tried to size up Draygo, but be it the light, lack thereof, or the stony stillness of Draygo, he couldn't get a read on how skilled a fighter Draygo was. He could, however, tell simply from his size, that if a hit were to land, it would most definitely hurt; probably at least some pain even if there were no actual damage.

Draygo listened to William’s questions and was caught off guard by the last one and very confused. It only lasted for a couple of moments before he figured out what William was talking about and gave a very slight nod before continuing. His amusement level seemed to remain fairly constant, but his ‘I’d rather be elsewhere’ increased slightly as he spoke. ”What do I mean by chosen? I would’ve thought that you would’ve figured it out by now, but I can spell it out for you. Not too long ago, you were a normal guy who got into a bad accident. In the aftermath of the accident a glowing figure appeared and said ‘Fear not, you have been chosen’. Later you woke up and found out that you could do things that you couldn’t do before. We had hoped that you could put two and two together, but in case you still can’t, you have been chosen as the steward of your particular set of abilities.

As for the other two, I’m going to assume that you mean the glowing and the shadowy figures that appeared when you were chosen. They were simply messengers. You see, there are two forces that have been at war since the creation of this world. That struggle is beyond the perception of most beings on this planet, the struggle between good and evil, between the minions of heaven and those of hell. Some creatures have a wider range of perception than others, while others prove their worth to one side or the other. Whatever the reason for their choosing, some are chosen; and you are one of those.”

After he finished his speech, he gently reached behind himself and pulled his hand back around. William was able to catch a golden glint off of a round object that Draygo had in his hands. Then, as one flipping a coin, Draygo flicked the object towards William, his voice being almost completely drowned out by the pure, sweet ring of the coin. ”Here, catch. It’s our calling card.”

[Courier]

Will reflexively reached out and caught the coin, then briefly glanced at it.

Chosen by good or by evil. That part was obvious. Nemesis means there's another side. A team evil to match team good. And despite Draygo's appearance he doesn't hit the radar as evil. Well you wanted a sign on the ceiling. This looks like it's it.

Will says,

"OK, I'm in."

[Stargaizer]

Draygo cocked his head slightly to one side at William’s response, then straightened it back out as he shrugged his shoulders. He was slightly confused, again taken off guard by William, but content and glad to get going. ”Ok. You know, you don’t have to decide right now. Standard policy is to give you a day to think it over, but if you’ve already made up your mind, then come along. You might want to get dressed though; you’re in for a bit of a trip.” The last bit was apparently funny, or at least amusing to the half-man-half-dragon.

Draygo then opened his door and stepped half-way out, apparently meaning to give William some privacy while he got ready. ”I’ll be out here when you’re ready, don’t take all day.” He then stepped completely out and shut the door behind him, leaving William’s bedroom looking exactly as it had before he went to sleep. Except for the golden coin, that is.

[Courier]

To Draygo's back Will said,

"Hey, how long will I be gone? And are we going to pick up Jane?"

(No matter what Draygo says Will does the following)

Will got dressed quickly, picked up his wallet & cell phone, eyed his 'staff' but decided to leave it, put on his jacket, and said,

"Let's go."

[Stargaizer]

Draygo waited until William was finished and had come out into the living room before answering. ”You’ll be gone indefinitely, this is a new life that you’re starting. And as for Jane, I’m not the one in charge of who to pick up and when; you’ll have to ask someone else. Now, through that door is your new life. After you...” Draygo finished, motioning towards the front door.

When William opened his front door, instead of being greeted with the familiar hallway that was supposed to be there, there was a medium sized, brightly lit, round, metal room.

Well, it’s now or never...

William stepped through the door into a brave new world...