Two hundred years ago, a man was tasked with closing the Gates of Hell. He failed. The resulting Cataclysm left its mark on the world quite literally, for the energies poured into the world by the Cataclysm created the Soul Marks. Images present on the skin since birth, these Marks divided society into those bound for Heaven and those bound for Hell. Society learned to deal with this and settled back into its routine. But now something new is stirring. People are disappearing, tainted lands are encroaching on cities, and a new drug called infernus is creeping into the city of Akrin. SJ, Rowan, Ali, Rosalyn, Lucas, and Carter, six friends from six different walks of life, are just trying to survive, but these new threats will change their lives, and the path of the world, forever.
Digging her nails in so that she drew blood, SJ ripped the leader's arm from around her throat, her free arm driving backwards at the same time so she pulled him forwards into the elbow she drove into his ribs. They gave with a crack that was so beautiful SJ felt it deserved its own ballad and the leader made a small, pained noise as he suddenly found himself unable to breathe.
Oh, my eyes are seein’ red
Double vision from the blood we’ve shed
The only way I’m leavin’ is dead
That’s the state of my, state of my, state of my head
They don’t know, where we’ve been
We got that concrete street skin
The only way I’m leavin’ is dead
That’s the state of my, state of my, state of my head
“They try to tell me over and over that I will never succeed, that I will always be exactly where I am right now. But I don’t listen. Instead, I throw some glitter in the air and tell them to suck my dick as I saunter away to achieve my dreams.”
To the outside world, we all grow old. But not to brothers and sisters. We know each other as we always were. We know each other’s hearts. We live outside the touch of time, and so time shall not touch us.
It's uh... Well, it's like a best friend, but more. It's the one person in the world that knows you better than anyone else. It's someone who makes you a better person. Actually, they don't make you a better person, you do that yourself because they inspire you. A soul mate is someone who you carry with you forever. It's the one person who knew you and accepted you and believed in you before anyone else did or when no one else would. And no matter what happens, you'll always love them.
SJ sighed, very put upon, but she was grinning, her arms wrapped tightly around Ali's shoulders. She could still feel people glaring at her, but she ignored them, concentrating instead on the feel of Ali's laughter against her skin and the way her hair smelled like strawberries and how light and happy her voice was as she listed off more and more ridiculous names that she wanted to inflict on unsuspecting canines. The glares didn't mean anything compared to the feel of Ali tucked up beside her, happy and warm. It was worth letting the world spin on for just this moment.