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Legion

Prologue – Shards of Glass

As expected of the summer nights where Alex lived, every star could be counted and catalogued, so clear and bright they appeared. He’d actually accomplished this feat many a time when he was just a boy, when his eyes had wandered upward for the first time. Since that moment Alex harboured a fascination for the heavens, one that had dulled only slightly in the following years. Teenagers, after all, found entirely more exciting ways to spend night times than looking at the stars. Such as attending colourful soirées, as most of Alex's friends had opted to do, instead of joining him in what he liked to call philosophical stargazing.

Also typical of the summer night was the constant breeze that brought with it a refreshing memory of all that was good and clean in nature. Alex loved it, the calming stirring of leaves that quelled the lingering ache in his heart. He stood in a faded jeans and grey T-shirt against the banisters of his balcony, reminiscing about a relationship gone sour, the reason behind his preferred solitude. He thought about his friends who would at this very instant, be drinking, dancing, and fucking like there was no tomorrow. During the next few days, Alex would come to think on many occasions, that he should have joined them, for there was no tomorrow for him. Of course, it was as they say; hindsight is twenty-twenty. For now, though, all that mattered was avoiding his ex at all costs, until the pain went away completely. Thankfully, it was already ebbing as the constant tugging at his hair by the wind became irritating, urging him to seek shelter inside.

He gave the room a cursory once-over, fixed the one book out of place, straightened the bed sheets, and then moved on to the kitchen. Like most individuals, idleness equalled food. It seemed his little sister thought along the same lines, for when he got there, he found the six year old stretching towards the cookie jar placed strategically against the wall in order to thwart all illegal attempts to acquire it. Such tactics, however, stood no chance as Alex leaned over Holly, unscrewed the lid, and handed her a couple. She latched unto his leg for a couple seconds, giving Alex what he assumed was a thank you hug, and then bounded off happily. He wondered for a second why she was even awake anyway, but shrugged it off. She had both parents, alive and well. They could yell at her if they so chose; who was he to spoil her fun? Come to think of it, she had a good idea going there.

Munching on the chocolate chips, he padded back to the stars, and was shocked senseless when he heard Holly’s panicked wordless scream. He was vaguely aware of the shattering cookie jar as he took the stairs three at a time, his heart pounding in his throat painfully. He skidded to a halt as he realised he had no idea which room she was in and looked around wildly.

“Holly!” he yelled. Whimpers and thuds met his straining ears and he sprinted of to her room. Alex shoved the door open, to find a darkly clothed man holding her down and grinning as he attempted to-

“Get away from her, you sick fuck!” screamed Alex, enraged, as he aimed a kick at the man’s side. He yelped in pain, dropped Holly who skittered away to a corner, curling up on herself, and turned his rage on the teenager. In any other situation Alex would have stopped to think before attacking the intruder who was older and twice as heavy, but Alex was beyond rationality. Half-formed questions flew through his head as they grappled with each other; what did he want, how did he get in, somebody help!

“Holly,” he panted out between blows, “get out… and… run… anywhere, just… go! GO!”

He had no idea if she heard him and obeyed, because they had barged through a side door and smashed into a mirror. For a moment all Alex was conscious of was glass breaking and light sparkling in all directions and he seemed to fall forever. The man pulled free from Alex’s paralysed grip and assessed the situation in a glance. He grabbed the sharpest, longest shard of silver glass and while the thought was forming in Alex’s brain, plunged the shard deep into the boy’s belly, twisting for good measure. Then he was gone.

Alex watched the pool of blood forming on his lap detachedly; wondering idly how so much red could be in one person. Then he realised he was also staring at his reflection in the piece of mirror protruding from his stomach. His hair was askew, an eye swollen shut, his lip cut and bleeding. The numbness spread through his body randomly, and in his last moments, on his last remaining breaths, he began to hallucinate.

He thought he saw the air shimmer slightly green in front of him and when he blinked to clear his head, another man was standing there. He was much younger than the last stranger though, wearing a black trench coat. He was smiling at Alex.

“Hello,” he remarked casually, as though Alex wasn’t bleeding to death on the floor.

“Are you going to help me?”

“That depends. Do you want my help? It comes with a price.”

“What… price,” it was becoming difficult to concentrate.

“You’ll never die again. Ever. You will never see Holly or your parents or anyone you ever knew again. To them you will be dead.” That last statement made no sense. Wasn’t he dying anyway?

“You’re not real,” Alex protested. He couldn’t be.

“Oh I assure you, I am very real. So what is it? Choose quickly, your time is up.”

“Alright.” Might as well go along with the delusion. He’d be as good as dead either way his blood-deprived brain looked at it. The gentle voice was now whispering to him, compelling him drowsiness, to surrender. It seemed like good advi –

Alex died.