Silver Dragonflies

By Dark Pegasus

Prologue

“Get back!” Quinn warned, a sphere of crackling energy forming in his palms. He felt his body levitate into the air and could feel gravity’s changing pressure on his body. The young black boy was used to it. He had the power to control gravity ever since he believed that he wasn’t helpless and that he could do something.

In the year 2155, 60 years after World War III came to a halt, it had been scientifically proven that humans no longer had dreams. Was it because they were traumatized by all that happened in the war? The reason is unknown. Well, there are a few humans who still have dreams. Quinn is one of them.

“Leave me alone.” Quinn said, addressing the swarm of rat-like creatures surrounding him.

Quinn threw a ball of gravity towards them. The vacuum of force swept most of them off their feet, but Quinn’s aim was off. He was frightened, getting closer and closer to backing up in a corner.

“Get away!” he nearly yelled, throwing the other sphere of gravity closer to the ground. The explosion of force knocked many of them away from him, and he relaxed.

The rat-like creatures quickly got back up and started screaming, their high-pitched screams seemed to distort sound waves, making it louder than it really was.

Quinn clutched his ears, falling to his knees. “Stop it!” he said.

A gunshot broke the loud dissonance of sounds. Quinn looked up. The noise didn’t stop, but two rat creatures were sprawled on the ground... dead.

“Jacques!” Quinn said. “Make it stop.”

“Make what stop?” Jacques asked. Jacques was slightly taller than Quinn, being a year and a half older than him. He was Asian, his light brown skin a few shades lighter than Quinn’s. His hair was dyed his favorite color: purple. The purple was so dark that it looked like black. His eyes also had contacts which turned his eyes purple. The color suited him.

“The noise.”

“I don’t hear anything.” Jacques said, then gasped. “Oh... I forgot that you have sensitive ears.” Jacques held up both of his guns and shot into the group of singing rats.

Quinn pulled his hands from his ears as power gathered on his fingertips. He gathered more than usual into his palms, the crackling energy had enough force to begin to lift everything around into the air. The rats were pulled into the air, along with Jacques.

“What do you want from me?” Quinn asked the rats before throwing the ball of gravity into the midst of floating creatures. The sphere collided with a small group of them and the force of corrupted gravity flung the rats to the ground, crushing them with an invisible force.

Jacques fell to the ground, the impact knocking the wind out of him. Quinn landed on the ground and ran to the purple-haired Asian. “Are you okay?” Quinn asked, wrapping his arms around Jacques’ shoulders. Jacques just coughed.

Quinn was quiet for a moment, his ears picking up a faint sound. A soft pitter-patter of clawed feet. “There’s more of them.” he said.

*****************************

“Can you just drop dead?” Oliver asked, pointing his sword at what looked like a flying squirrel. It’s fur was discolored, a dark green that looked black. It’s wings were that of a bird, but something was off about them.

Somehow, Oliver had found himself on the third floor of an office building and was doing his best to fight this thing while trying to avoid the rows of computers and office chairs plus the small cubicles that made it hard to navigate the large room.

Before Oliver got a chance to move, a shadow dashed from behind him and shot into the air, moving past the animal with surprising grace before landing back on the ground. The squirrel made a strange gurgling sound before dropping to the ground, motionless.

“Thanks, Jade. I was actually beginning to get scared.” Oliver said. Oliver was about as tall as Jacques, athletically slim. His red, spiky hair wasn’t standing as proud as it usually was. The bright red locks were now weighed down by sweat. His pale face was dotted with freckles. His left eye was a dazzling emerald green. His right eye was a breathtaking icy, sapphire blue.

The shadow he was addressing stood up and moved into the strange light cast by a wall fixture. As she moved into the light, her features became more definable.

Jade was the older sister of Jacques. Her hair was tied back in a loose ponytail so most of it would stay out of her face. It reached down almost to her waist, only a few inches shorter than Jacques’ hair. It was a dark brown and looked slightly un-kept, due to the fact that she didn’t spend hours in front of a mirror.

Her angular face and the thin-framed glasses gave her the look of a librarian, but she was actually an athletic girl, skilled in Hovercross.

Jade smiled as she approached her boyfriend. “All in a day’s work.” she said.

Oliver gave her a quick hug, running his pale fingers through her slightly tangled hair. “I love you, Jade.”

“I love you, too.” Jade replied in a whisper. “But let’s deal with these guys, first.” She pointed over Oliver’s shoulder.

A swarm of Flying Squirrels were quickly approaching, the buzz of their beating wings filled the air and seemed almost deafening.

Jade pushed Oliver away from her so she could safely pull out her twin daggers from their sheaths on either side of her hips. The small blades caught the light of the wall fixture they were standing under and they glistened momentarily.

Oliver held up his sword, tightening his grip on the handle. “Ready?” He asked.

Jade nodded. “Let’s kick ass.”

*****************

Jason was thrown back, flying into a glass window and landing on the floor inside the shoe store. It took him a moment to catch his breath. “What the hell is going on?” he coughed. “One moment, we’re getting sucked into a glowing tornado... The next we’re being attacked by animal hybrids in the back alleys of an abandoned city.”

Jason stood up, wiping the blood from his lip. He jumped back through the window and glared at the four-talon birds that were about the size of a small car. “Griffins.” Jason said.

He held up his fist, the spiked gloves weren’t too much of a weapon against these beasts. Luckily, there were only two. Jason broke his fighting stance long enough to push a tuft of curly hair out of his eye.

He was training to be a Conjurer, one able to summon other things by use of enchantments. He couldn’t even call himself a novice, only able to use one or two very basic spells.

Jason jumped into the air and swung his foot out. He felt his leg come in contact with one of the Griffin and didn’t bother to look until he was back on the ground. The creature squawked, holding its neck at an odd angle. Jason was about to run at it again when he felt his body leave the ground.

The Griffins were also pulled into the air, but it didn’t last long as they were returned to the ground. Jason smiled. “Quinn must be nearby.” he said.

He looked around for only a few seconds before he heard a gunshot off to his right. Ignoring the roaring Griffins, Jason ran to his right, hoping that he was right and that Quinn was somewhere nearby.

****************

“The Crab Spider was successful in luring all six targets to the Otherworld.” came a soft voice.

Roscoe looked up, having become absorbed into a good book. “Good.” she said, using her finger as a bookmark so she wouldn’t lose her page. “They seemed so eager to find out what awaits them... I knew that they wouldn’t just quit when they don’t know what it is I’m up to.”

The soft voice belonged to a purple butterfly. One of hundreds that fluttered about the large room. “They are currently being greeted by our welcome committee.”

“Good... They don’t know that by coming to the Otherworld, where everything is the opposite of the real world, they are going to involve themselves in something so complicated, there is no way they can keep me from doing what I’ve been waiting fifty years to accomplish.” Roscoe said.

Roscoe was a thin girl, her face was rather plain. There was nothing too special about it. Her bright blue eyes standing out on her pale face, her long, wavy silver hair made her seem somewhat older than she really was. Her white dress clung to her simple body and draped onto the floor as she continued to sit in what she called her throne.

“Now that I have this...” she said, holding out her hand. After a moment, a strange pendant formed on her palm. “There is no chance of them surviving in the Otherworld.” she chuckled. “Quinn... Oliver... Jacques... Jason... Jade... Isis... Prepare for your worst nightmares to come true.”

.