Catchers of the Manifest (U/C)

[ZanexStoneheart]

You have been taken from your home...

As you gain consciousness you realize you are no longer in your bed at home; there are many beds lined up beside you. Before given so much as the chance to utter a single syllable you are ushered into a large room crowded with many other children, some around your own age, some older. Many look scared, others defiant, as a young looking man whom gives off a feeling of power and status is standing a large stone podium at the very front of the crowd, upraised high enough that it would be impossible to reach him. Suddenly in a loud voice, one you can hear clearly, resounding off the seemingly endless walls, he begins to speak...

“You are the chosen many that will bring on the new world. You are the future of this Queendom and its people. It is her highness whom will bring us to greatness. However you came to be here is nothing short of fate.” The general falters for only a moment to clear his throat, all uncertainty dissipating. “You may even become a great soldier, as I have, in this establishment, but your main focus is to provide what is required of you. You won’t have to lift so much as a finger if you don’t wish to.” He gestures to crowded room, his hand passing by so many eager and nervous stares. “You,” his intended pause heightens the shared feeling in the children, “will make us great.”
A current of whispers takes the air, speaking amongst themselves so silently it would be narrowly heard by the surrounding guardsmen. Few were silenced, followed by the others in the fear ingrained into them by the workings of the facility, those who have been there long and those frightened and new.
“Why can’t we speak?”
“We’ll be punished. Just keep quiet”
“But why?”
“Shush!” her attempt of keeping him silent has her jerked aside by a guard and hastily taken out of side through the side doors. Most of the children don’t dare look as they might be next.
The general guardsman continues his announcement as they whisper, multiple children removed and the whispers silence. It can be noticed a smile accompanies his words, frightening and gentle. “Now will you be a guard, protecting future generations of kin with the fate the same as your own, or perhaps a Snatcher?” His smile becomes almost unnerving as he explains the roles benefits.
A guard touches my shoulder. “You’re looking a might exhausted, child.” The corners of my vision bend inward and I struggle to keep my eyes open. “Stay awake long enough to make it to your room.” I can’t follow this order, I feel---


The boy wakes to his roommates surrounding the perimeter of his bed. “We all do that the first time,” one utters, feeling the freedom to speak within their rooms like a first breath after nearly drowning. “What do you mean? What happened to me?” His surveyors trade glances before answering. “They steal our souls-“ “Our souls? You’re ruining it!” the few argue amongst themselves momentarily. “Our... life, I’m sorry. They’re killing us here...” her gaze falls to the floor as heavily as her announcement. “We’re all going to die here.”

“You--- you’re lying, aren’t you?” This boy has plenty to learn from these children. “How could they even do that? Tell me what’s going on!” He’s in a near panic now, thrashing with each sentence. His roommates are taken aback, forgetting how it was like to be so unaware, so terrified. “That’s just how it is.”


“Do you see them, too?” Her mouth stretches wide, eager for his response. “The colors.” He shifts his weight, moving back a bit on the bed. “I----I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” he feints, simply not wanting to relive the visions. “You told me you saw their souls being sucked out of them! Don’t start lying to me now!” She successfully calms herself, “Look... I can focus real’ hard and make this bulb light.” She’s standing now and pointing to the lamp above them, nearly flat into the ceiling. “Why don’t you stop lying.” Disdain in his voice, the boy lowers his eyes to her. “No, really. Here.” Since the lights run on an automated switch, she takes a moment to strategize. She then takes stance below the light and manages to pull the energy from it, dimming it, before suddenly releasing it back into its circuit. The light grows to a blinding level, the two cover their eyes. The light pops, leaving the room half as bright. Awe locks the boy’s jaw. He stumbles over his words. “H---how did y-you?” Her grinning face belies her inner fear for being caught. “I’m what we call a “Catcher”.”

So will you be a Guard, a Retriever (“Snatcher”), Manipulator of Manifest (“Catcher”), or just another fated?