The Harbinger Wars [ Oddy & Coiled ]

"Computer, access files about the events that happened on December 21, 2012."

The voice was monotone as it spoke to the machine. The screen that was gaze upon lit up and words began showing up on the screen.

December 21,2012 also known as The Awakening.
Scientists all over the world were confused as a bright flash of light blinded those on Earth for mere moments. The light came from an unknown source that was recently identified as an energy burst from a foreign planet. The cause of this burst is still unknown. As the light blinded the humans, all supposedly had visions of one thing or another. Some claimed to see God while others were visited by dead relatives. Whether this is true or not is still being discussed despite this event happening three years ago. Humans seemed to have gained a further sense of spirituality. Wars that had been going on for years suddenly ended. The entire world, for once, was at peace. It is unknown how such a thing could happen.

The words stopped coming. It was a simple report about that day. There were more detailed ones but he didn't feel like looking them up. Instead, he moved onto the next thing on his list. He still had no idea why his boss was making him look all of this up. "Computer, access files containing information on Harbingers." Once more, the screen lit up and words began to type themselves.

Harbingers also known as Messengers of Death
After The Awakening happened, it was noticed by some that certain humans had abilities. These abilities consisted of the ability to take souls that were pre-determined to pass away. The Harbingers are still a mystery. No more information is on file.

He frowned. Why was there so little on the Harbingers? Surely one had been captured by now. He tapped a pen on the wooden desk he sat behind. This was starting to get annoying. Looking down, he saw that there was one more thing on his list. "Computer, access files containing information about Michael and the Psychics." This one had to have something inside of it.

Michael and the Psychics
Michael is of unknown age and appearance. He suddenly came from the mass of humans after The Awakening happened. He claimed to have psychic abilities that he had from birth but were enhanced when the Awakening happened. From this, he gained followers who also had these abilities. The Psychics claim to know how to spot a Harbinger. They hunt the Harbingers for Michael. These Psychics are considered dangerous to most. They have formed something of a cult and do not operate out of the government. Michael is considered to be a criminal wanted for the formation of a deadly cult but the police are unable to touch him. There are no records on who Michael might be despite the technology of today and the fact that he has shown his face. Most believe he is not human...

Now that was interesting. How could today's tech not identify him? They had everything from highly advanced facial recognition to voice identifiers. Maybe fingerprints were the key to solving this mystery? Who knew. He wrote down what he could on the paper he had. Most people preferred a tablet of some sort but he enjoyed pen and paper. It was a reminder of his childhood. Just as he finished writing, his cell phone went off in his pocket. He took it out, read the text message, and quickly left the room he was sitting in. The man headed down a flight of stairs and out of the building. The sun was bright and high in the sky. His hand came up to shade his eyes as he headed down the street. Everything looked as it did before The Awakening. There weren't any flying cars or anything. Computers had only gotten more advanced as the years went on. As he walked, he passed by a dark haired female. She bumped into him and apologized quickly. He simply smiled and told her it was fine. As he stepped into the street to cross, a truck slammed right into him. He died a few moments later....



I didn't want to run into that man but I had no choice. Death had chosen him and it was my duty as a Harbinger to make sure he died. As people started to gather, I pulled the hood of my jacket up over my head and walked away from the scene. A woman started screaming. The screams always haunted me. At least the man had died almost instantly. It was so much worse when I had to go back a second time to finish the job because someone had decided to be a hero. I turned down an alley to take a shortcut back to my apartment. I was still in my work uniform and I wanted to change before I was sent out again. Death always got more demanding at night.

My apartment building came into view. A smile tugged at my lips as I gazed up at it. Fourth floor, third window over. That was where I lived. I had made that place home after I ran away from home all those years ago. There was no way my parents would ever forgive me for doing what I did to Gran but I had to. It wasn't like I had a choice. My hand came up to my chest, rubbing the tattoo that was on my chest, just under my collarbone on the right side. It was my Harbinger mark. The thing just appeared on my chest a few days after my fifteenth birthday. My mother freaked out and thought I had gotten it with a fake ID. Thinking about her made me frown. She never even tried to understand what I was going through. Instead she just tried to have me locked up in a mental ward. I ran away at fifteen and managed to pass for eighteen so I could get a job and an apartment.

I made my way up the stairs to the fourth floor. I never took the elevator. That was for lazy people and I was far from lazy. I was soon at the door to my apartment. Unlocking it, I slowly opened the door before I made my way inside. Other Harbingers liked to show up uninvited. Lucky for me, the place was empty and I was alone. Once I was sure the place was secure, I changed into jeans and a t-shirt before I turned the TV on in the living room via a voice command. Most things worked by voice command these days. The news was on. The man I had condemned to death was the top story. That wasn't good. That would draw attention where it didn't need to be.

"Shit."

Cussing was something I rarely did but it did happen from time to time. I shook my head as I walked to the kitchen and gathered things to make a sandwich. I ate it as I leaned against the counter in the very small kitchen. My eyes were still on the television set across the room.

"I saw a girl bump into him and she just kept walking as he was hit but she didn't push him or anything. She just bumped into him." An older woman had witnessed the accident was telling the reporter what she saw. This was not good at all. I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath to calm myself down. Getting angry was not a good idea. I did not want to go into Reaper mode at this point of the day. There were still a few hours before nightfall. I finished my sandwich and made my way to my bedroom. I needed to sleep before night fell. I had a feeling it was going to be a long night. Before bed, I did take the time to brush out my long, black hair. As I stood in the bathroom I took the time to really look at myself.

I was attractive, at least in my opinion. I had deep green eyes, long dark hair, and tanned skin that held flew blemishes. A slightly upturned nose was the only thing I didn't like about myself. I frowned as I stood back. My arms had scars on them from my last run in with a Psychic. I had barely gotten away from that one. Once more I touched my tattoo before turning and leaving the bathroom, turning the light off as I went. As I lay down, I still couldn't shake the feeling that I was being watched. Someone was out there. I just hoped it wasn't a Psychic...

Such foolishness. She made my job easier than I thought it would be.

I had been following her for many days now, at range, of course. She was a beautiful girl with a captivating tranquility playing over her face. Most people these days hurried, always late for their work, always late for picking up their kids on the way home and always hurrying their kids to bed so that they could waste their time watching television. Just so that they could repeat their cycle the next day and the next day after that, is that what life really is? We live each day, complaining about how everything is the same. Yet, when we look back, everything is different. One would think that the “Awakening” would wake people up. But perhaps it was not needed; perhaps we did not need to see the meaning of life. Instead it showed us the reason for death, Harbringers.

It also gave certain people ways to find and feel the Harbringers, a tingling sensation. We are called “Psychics”. I find it strange, perhaps it is because I just recently got pulled into these sort of things. Apparently this man named Michael seeks people like me to track down the Harbringers and kill them. Without the Harbringers there is no death, that is what he tells us. It makes sense, I mean, if the Harbringer touches someone that they are being told needs to die, they die. Why do they need to die? I have no idea. All I know is that it needs to stop and I am going to help Michael stop it.

I followed her movements through the crowded street; it was as if she danced past them all with elegant steps, as if every other person was as delicate as a flower. It was truly an awesome sight; I had done this several times before. She had no suspicions about anything it seemed, even though she knew that Harbringers were hunted and killed by Michael. Maybe she was simply keeping it to herself, not making it that obvious. But today something new happened. Right in the middle of her elegant walk she slipped and tripped right into a man. I nearly dropped my jaw; this was not what I had expected. She quickly apologized before continuing on, walking more carelessly now, probably ashamed.

The man did not make it very far though, as soon as he intersected at the next cross-over he got hit by a truck. The whole street went silent for just a slight moment, only the sound of rubber grinding against asphalt, shrieking. The man flew several meters away before slamming into the asphalt again, killed instantly. The silence was interrupted by a high pitched shriek and then chaos broke out, some simple stood still and watched, much like me. Others ran over to the man, with their phones raised to their ears.

I turned my gaze for my target again; I saw her offering the man a quick look over her shoulder before hastily continuing forward, this was very unlike her. I suddenly understood. He was deemed to die, so she had to touch him! That was why she so carelessly walked straight into him and why she nearly ran away from the scene. This was very interesting; I quickly made my way through the crowd and started my march, keeping my eyes on the girl. Her black hair flowed beautifully after as she hurried home. She always went home at this hour to sleep, only to wake up later and head out again to carry out her tasks.

I knew the way to where she lived, I already had my car parked just outside her apartment. I usually sat in there, looking in through her windows in hopes of seeing anything unusual. Quickly I made my way to the street where she lives, just in time to see her enter the apartment building. I sighed and casually walked past, on my way to prepare for the long wait. There was a small shop on the same street where I usually bought coffee, just to keep me awake during the waiting time. I walked in and offered the cashier a friendly nod, she recognized me by now and instantly flashed a smile.
“Ah, almost thought you weren’t going to show up tonight.”
She paused and turned for the coffee machine.
“Did you hear about the car crash? Just a few blocks away from here..”
I pulled out my wallet and placed two dollars at the desk just before answering.
“Yea.. I saw it, happened just as I walked past.”
She turned around with the coffee in her hands, gasping.
“Shit! I heard it from the news just now.”

I took the coffee and looked past her shoulder to the television. The reported strangely mentioned that the man bumped into someone just before the accident. Perhaps others also started to grow weary about these Harbringers. I looked back at the cashier and thanked her for the coffee with a forced smile. I offered the television a final glance just before heading out again, it was strange. Usually I do not hear people talk about the Harbringers, well the reporter did not directly. But she did mention him bumping in to someone just before the accident; perhaps they had suspicions as well.

I took a sip from the boiling hot coffee and burnt the tip of my tongue, always too eager I thought to myself as I opened the door to my car. I placed the paper-mug in the cup holder before dropping down in my seat. I slammed shut the door and turned on the radio, switching to the news channel with hopes of hearing more about the accident. I set my eyes on the fourth floor, third window over and let out a sigh, I had a feeling this was going to be a long night.

I didn't sleep well. I could feel my body tossing and turning on my fairly new mattress. Finally, I forced myself awake. I sat up slowly, just staring at the empty wall across the room for what seemed like an hour. Slowly I made my way out of bed and went to the bathroom. One shower later, I was dressed in a black hoodie and dark jeans. I sat on the edge of my bed to put on the knee high boots I wore when I went out as The Reaper. With a few quick movements of my hands, I had my long hair up in a bun. "You can do this Mora. Just go and get it over with." I shook my head as I stood up and left my apartment with nothing more than my phone in my pocket. There were times I hated what I was. Well, I always hated what I was if I was being honest with myself.

Once outside, I crossed the street and passed by a car parked there. Someone was inside but I didn't pay any attention to the person. I was too lost in my own thoughts. I was no more than twenty feet away from the vehicle when the spot on my chest began to burn. I winced and looked around to make sure no one else was out. This late at night it was rare to see people on the streets in this part of town. Downtown, however, was bustling with late night activity and that was where I was headed. Apparently Death wanted to make sure that a certain bar patron finally got what was coming to him. According to what my "master" was whispering to me, this guy had been causing trouble for a long time. I sighed heavily as I suddenly took off running down the dimly lit road.

It would take almost twenty minutes for me to run to the bar. I barely got there in time. My target was outside of the bar, drunk and belligerent, fighting with another man. Apparently they were yelling at one another about the target hitting on the other man's girlfriend. The target got a good hit in on the man but he was too drunk to defend himself. The still slightly sober man pulled a knife and that was where I stepped in. I stepped over to the men, neither of them noticing me, and stood behind the man with the knife. I took in a deep breath as I touched the man and used my ability to make him stab the drunk. I didn't exactly take over his body. It was more like I became a puppet master and the man was my puppet.

The drunk fell to the ground in a heap. I released the man, his eyes unglazed, and he looked at what he had done. I watched as his face contorted into a look of shock. He nearly passed out but he managed to run back into the bar. He was going to call for an ambulance. Too bad it was too late. I knelt over the dying drunk and whispered in his ear. I watched him take his last breath. It never dulled, the ache I felt in my chest when I killed someone. Slowly, I stood up and began to walk away. Once more I was visible to those in the real world. Turning, I looked back as people exited the bar. I felt the hairs on my arms stand up again. Something was following me...