this horror, a frightened Alex recoiled from the menacing stranger and pressed against the wall, afraid to utter a word. However, that wasn’t the end of it. A few seconds later, blood started flowing from the eyes of all the dogs, and one by one, they began to drop lifelessly around Alex. Witnessing this horror, a frightened Alex recoiled from the menacing stranger and pressed against the wall, afraid to utter a word.
As if by magic, all the dogs around Alex suddenly stopped barking. This unnerved Alex, but it didn’t end there. A few seconds later, blood started flowing from the eyes of all the dogs, and one by one, they began to drop lifelessly around Alex. Seeing this horror, a frightened Alex recoiled from the menacing stranger and pressed against the wall, afraid to utter a word.
«What’s happening?» one of the dogs asked.
«I don’t know,» another replied.
«We definitely crashed into something!» Boll said.
Suddenly, on the other side of the van, there were quite loud footsteps of a solitary person approaching from the front to the back of the van. In the pitch-dark cargo space, nothing could be heard. Then, after a few more moments, the van’s door was forcefully opened by a huge and intimidating figure dressed entirely in black. The surroundings were too dark to see the face of this strange stranger. The dogs started barking loudly at the frightening person in black. However, in just a couple of moments, they all fell silent simultaneously. This terrified Alex, but it didn’t end there. A few seconds later, blood started flowing from the eyes of all the dogs, and one by one, they began to drop lifelessly around Alex. Witnessing this horror, a frightened Alex recoiled from the menacing stranger and pressed against the wall, afraid to utter a word.
As if by magic, all the dogs around Alex suddenly stopped barking. This unnerved Alex, but it didn’t end there. A few seconds later, blood started flowing from the eyes of all the dogs, and one by one, they began to drop lifelessly around Alex. Seeing this horror, a frightened Alex recoiled from the menacing stranger and pressed against the wall, afraid to utter a word.
Then, through the van’s opened door, a mysterious and menacing figure dressed in black entered. The dogs, initially barking aggressively, suddenly fell silent in his presence. This figure approached Alex, reached out his hand, and, seemingly by sheer force of will, pulled him towards him. Alex, now unable to resist, was abruptly pulled towards the stranger, who grabbed him by the clothing. The stranger then silently dragged Alex away from the van.
«No! Let go! Please! No!» Crying and struggling in an attempt to break free from the stranger’s grip, Alex pleaded, but his cries and attempts to move in the opposite direction were entirely futile. Inevitably, the stranger continued to pull Alex away.
At that moment, a real panic attack overwhelmed little Alex. The stranger continued to move forward, dragging the terrified boy with him.
In those moments of despair, little Alex, overwhelmed by his own helplessness, didn’t know what to do. However, miraculously, he managed to find a spark of anger within himself, which he used to deliver a powerful blow to the stranger’s hand.
The chance that this would help him in any way after everything that had happened was minuscule, but at that moment, something truly incredible occurred. Upon contact with the stranger, Alex’s hand suddenly glowed brightly, and something remotely resembling a small explosion took place. Alex was thrown away, and the silent stranger was slightly staggered. Falling onto the asphalt, the boy, breathing heavily, tried to regain his composure as quickly as possible and ran away from the stranger as fast as he could.
Alex ran with all his might, wiping away his tears. However, suddenly, streetlights around him began to shatter one after another. No matter how much Alex tried to suppress his fear due to what was happening, it was impossible. It was horrifying.
Then, he realized that he was being magically drawn towards the stranger again. At this moment, little Alex started breathing as fast and deeply as possible. Indeed, the boy was slowly approaching the stranger against his will. He didn’t know what to do.
Suddenly, he noticed an old metal pipe fragment with a sharpened end in a pile of garbage nearby. Without much thought, Alex grabbed the fragment, hoping to defend himself somehow. Realizing that he couldn’t resist, the boy somehow found the courage to grip the piece of pipe, as if it were a sword. He understood that he had no other choice, so, against his will, little Alex took it upon himself to charge towards the stranger, who seemed completely unprepared.
As the boy rushed towards the stranger, something seemed to empower him. He didn’t understand why this was happening, but it didn’t matter. In the end, the boy collided with the one who, for some inexplicable reason, came for his soul and thrust the sharp end of the pipe fragment into him.
Alex closed his eyes when it happened. He could only hear the sound and feel how his imaginary sword plunged into the stranger. When Alex opened his eyes, much to his surprise, he saw a real sword with a golden hilt in his hands, not a piece of pipe. The little Alex, incredibly surprised that he had succeeded, first looked at the sword, then slowly raised his gaze, and finally looked at the face of the stranger he had struck. It seemed like everything was fine, but a moment later, someone with a disfigured face suddenly screamed, frightening Alex again. Then, from the wound of the stranger, a bright glow began to emanate. With each passing second, this someone seemed to be burning, and something radiant appeared in the place of what had burned. It illuminated the dark street around Alex more and more. Soon, instead of the dark silent stranger, someone radiant appeared in front of the boy. At that moment, the boy silently froze with fear and amazement. The radiant someone extended a hand to Alex, touched his forehead, said, «Thank you!» and then, seemingly faster than lightning, rushed towards the night sky, towards the stars, in the blink of an eye. After that, the light went out again, and silence fell. Alex, barely understanding whether he was in reality or in a dream, found himself alone in the middle of a dark street. He looked at the bloodied sword, fearfully threw it aside, and then fell to his knees, unable to believe what had happened to him.
CHAPTER 2 «DARK MANDATE»
Evening. The dark outskirts of the city were only slightly illuminated by the advertising signs of local establishments and a few street lamps. A light and wet snowfall covered the streets with snow. Few passersby silently and gloomily hurried somewhere. A seemingly seventeen-year-old guy in fairly formal attire and a wool coat walked along the sidewalk. His hair could have fluttered in the wind as it was not covered by a headgear, and they clearly reached his shoulders, but they were tightly tied in a small ponytail, preventing them from doing so.
Suddenly, out of the blue, the guy abruptly stopped and reluctantly entered a local bar. It wasn’t exactly bustling with life on this sultry evening, but there were some scantily dressed girls of easy virtue, a man desperately trying to explain something to them, and a bartender serving them. It was evident that the man’s speech didn’t appeal to the girls. As soon as the guy entered, he relieved the girls from the man’s talk, as he abruptly closed his mouth and turned towards the guy. At that moment, it seemed like the man, upon seeing this guy, was simply petrified.
«Aleks,» the man said with a smile. «Long time no see… Or should I call you „Stray Dog,“ as they’ve been calling you lately?»
Aleks looked around, and instead of answering the question, he asked his own:
«Do you know why I’m here, Nix?»
«Why be so direct about business, Aleks?» Nix replied. «Let’s sit down, have a drink, discuss everything like men… Come on,» he added, waving his hand towards himself, and then calmly walked towards the boy.
To which Aleks suddenly reached for something under his coat. In the same moment, as if possessing extremely quick reflexes, Nix did exactly the same. If before, the girls were chatting among themselves about various topics, including discussing the guest, from this second everything abruptly fell silent. The atmosphere in the bar seemed to freeze.
«Ladies,