- Everyone was either tuned into the radio or the news. It didn't matter if you were in the academy, Leviathan, or a safe house, the news was on and a cryptic message kept playing.
'A state of emergency has been officially declared. Nightmares and Daydreams alike are required to head to their designated safehouses. Do not stay in your homes. Do not gather your belongings. Head straight for your designated safehouse.
I repeat, a state of emergency has been officially declared. Nightmares and Daydreams are required to head to their designated safehouses. Do not stay in your homes. Do not gather your belongings.
This broadcast will repeat once every ten minutes.
We will update the people of Below as new information becomes available.'
The message kept playing, repeating as it had promised. Nothing else covered the situation. Channels automatically had a message stating to tune into your nearest news channel. The internet was void of any information other then panicked theories people had placed as they gathered their things. As people funneled into where they needed to go they frantically exchanged rumors; aliens had come, there was a virus killing everyone, the military had turned. It was all both ridiculous and frightening. Any other day these rumors would have been scoffed at, but right now? The panic had settled, and perhaps with each bizarre theory there could be a speck of truth.
As everyone slowly begins to settle within their safe locations entertainment was brought to calm down the groups. Of course, there were plenty of people angered by the lack of answers, but each safe house/auditorium prevented people from leaving. Demands were made, accusations flied, but it became apparent after an hour nothing was nothing to change. The world of Below had issued a state of emergency, and Above waited in tension as they tried to discover what was happening.
Then, the TVs and radios began to scream.
Abruptly, anything playing was forced into a shrill and metallic scream before something else played.
Static filled the screens until after a solid minute had passed. Finally, an image flickered onto the screen of someone wearing a plain mask with cut out eyes. The person stepped back, waving slightly at the screen.
"Yo."
Everyone watching the televisions had grown quiet as the world waited. What was going on? What had happened? It wasn't long before the figure spoke again.
"You can call me X. Nice to meet you. Here's the scoop, and I probably don't have long, so listen closely." The figure pulled a plain wooden chair closer, settling into it before waving their hand towards the side. Something was tossed towards the figure, who bent over to pull up a small imp. The imp was struggling, tied securely by rope and mouth covered by tape. Their eyes locked on the screen, a muffled yell following.
"A long time ago, your scientists took innocent stones from the cache, straight out of the arms of parents, and even resorted to stealing them from within homes. This was a project funded privately by most of your beloved people of authority. Shocker, right? These stones were kept hidden away inside a secret laboratory. The goal was simple; try and make a race resistant to all diseases, the mutation curse, and injury." The figure dropped the imp, resting their feet on their back.
"They decided to tamper with dark magic, but it kept failing. Bummer. What they didn't account for was the small group of stones they had set aside in the corner of their experimentation room. They had attempted to change a stone, shattered it, and left for the day. Most of the stones near this experiment were altered by the remaining magic and automatically began to prepare to be awakened. The scientists, overjoyed, saw this and awoke them.
That was a mistake.
The kids that emerged were wrong. The scientists feared for their lives at the sight of them. As the children began to age they showed an... "interest" in a different diet. They couldn't eat anything but a living person, or else they'd starve to death. The scientists, disgusted by what they had created, decided they were going to have a little fun. They abused them, beating them down and using them for experiments as the children slowly grew, and the last of the stones awoke. The children obeyed one child within the group, and when they became adults she devised a plan to escape their tormenters."
Silence followed as X shifted in their seat, a faint glowing red light fluctuating behind the mask. Their head slowly tilted to the side, arms folding against their chest as the imp under their foot whimpered.
"We've escaped, and we're coming." They finally croaked, voice lifting into a childish joy one would reserve for receiving a new toy, or getting a pet. "We will take back what we were denied, and you all will pay." A low, soft laugh leaked from behind the mask as X approached the screen, arm reaching towards the camera.
"She's coming."
The screen returned to static.
And the panic began.
