#thomas souther

[prjctc]

Turn Out the Light

"Experiment 3X."

The lights within the warehouse Alexander and two armed men had escorted Thomas to came to life, revealing a rather shocking sight to the young man. Thirty feet by thirty feet, a glass containment cell separated the four from the fifth in the building. An emaciated youth sat in a chair in the center, ankles chained to the floor at either side to constrict his movement. Long white hair concealed his face, but his head tilted as he heard the small group's approach.

"Entirely uncooperative with the Silver Corps' agenda, but capable of killing lycans much the same as you." As Alexander spoke, the pale figure within its cage snapped to attention, a piercing red eye exposing itself from behind their hair, "Jessen. It is good to see you." The old man gave a hearty chuckle as Thomas watched on in horror. As this boy stood from his seat, a torrent of shadows poured from beneath him, painting terrible, grotesque visages across the glass walls.

"The hell is this?" Thomas stammered as he stepped backward, several vicious rows of teeth snapping at the glass in his direction. They eventually sank away into the mass of darkness and the sound of the chains catching punched the black-haired boy's heart into his throat. The one called Jessen grinned from ear to ear, relishing in the fear he had aroused.

"Tell him, Grant!" A growl escaped the figure as he tilted his torso and head upward, gazing down at them as if he still felt to be superior to those who had imprisoned him, "Tell him how you turned your baby boy into a monster!" Jessen headbutted the glass, smile unwavering as he chuckled at them, his shadow lapping and thrashing at the floor around him.

"We gave you the power to set things straight by your own hands, 3X." Alexander Grant's eyes became cold as he raised a hand. The two guards raised their weapons and approached the cell. Before Thomas could ask about any of this, the cell door was opened and the shadowy mass had escaped the prison that still suppressed its host.

Thomas leaped out of the way, rolling along the ground before steadying himself into a crouched position. He looked over to his chaperone, relieved to see a shell-like construct of light protecting the man from the onslaught.

"Mr. Souther, I'd like you to get to know my son. Perhaps you can reason with him."

"Are you serious?"

"I propose as much force be used as is necessary." As if in response, the two guards ran to the young man's sides. One of them presented him with a long, slender knife; one which Thomas was already familiar with as it had been his weapon of choice before being abducted by Grant and his men.

He spun the knife in his hand and gritted his teeth, "I feel like I'm missing some crucial info, 'boss'..."

"The apparitions which appear from 3X's shadow are similar in composition to the lycans you have already faced. Theoretically, you should be able to fight on even ground." Alexander turned and walked away, the beastly form being taken by the black mass deciding to turn and go after a new target.

A massive claw snatched up one of the masked soldiers, tendrils ripping the assault rifle from his grasp and tossing it across the room. As he dangled helplessly in its clutches, the man screamed, but soon found himself back upon the ground. The shadows which composed the appendage dissipated next to him in wisps of smoke. Thomas, standing next to the soldier, flipped the blade in his palm once more before bending and stretching his legs in preparation for the fight to come.

"Seems on the level."

Jessen's grin from behind the glass faded. This was the first person Alexander had brought that had been able to fight back against his shadow. He growled, his pride getting the better of him as he sent the writhing, tar-like monstrosity on another frenzy.

Thomas inhaled slowly and closed his eyes. He could feel the darkness all around him. It threatened to constrict about him and squeeze the life from him. He could smell Jessen's killing intent and it was something all too familiar to him. In a flash of metal, Thomas's eyes snapped open, and he flung himself forward wildly. He looked almost like a human buzzsaw as he spun through the air and tore through his opponent's means of attack. The two soldiers who watched in awe wouldn't see his feet touch the ground again until he was already inside the glass cell with his foe.

"You..." Jessen's eyes widened, astonished at what he had just witnessed, "You're different."

Both boys smiled at one another.

[prjctc]

Rabbit Hole

“It’s good to see you’re able to follow simple instructions at the least,” the man who called himself Alexander Grant’s voice spoke out as Thomas began making his way down the blinding white hallway, “You will find a red door among the many coming up to your right. Please, make your way inside. We have much to discuss.”

The teen ran one hand through his hair, straightening his tie with the other before taking hold of the doorknob of the detailed door. He inhaled sharply. It was mildly offputting, the sudden color in this place. None of the other doors were painted like this one. The significance of it, however, was made clear as he entered, spotting a blonde, mustachioed man in similarly red, regal attire sitting behind a desk. This must have been Grant’s office.

“I apologize for the sudden abduction. Come take a seat, we have much to talk about, Mr. Souther.”

Thomas obeyed after closing the door behind him, “Where exactly have you brought me?” He winced again, a sudden pulsation flooding his vision before settling into a ringing sensation in his ears, “Why did you have to drug me?”

“Simply precautionary, I assure you. We didn’t want to risk you fighting back too hard,” the man chuckled and crossed his hands in front of him, seemingly pleased with himself, “Regardless, we are still within Atlus City if that is what you’re wondering.”

Made sense. The walls made it fairly hard for anyone to get out or in. And now that Eternal Night had forced a total lockdown...

The man waved his hands in front of him quickly, obviously wishing to move on, “Regardless, as to why we brought you here, that should be fairly obvious. Your particular set of skills are rather valuable.”

“You needed a Runner then?” Thomas smirked, “Why me in particular? Plenty of better candidates if you ask me.”

“Ah, but you’re no simple hunter-gatherer are you, Mr. Souther?” The blonde wagged a finger, “No, I believe you know exactly what it is we selected you for.”

The boy’s eyes were stern, “So you know then.”

“I’d assume everyone knows by now of the miracle boy capable of slaying lycans,” he pushed his hands out and gave those words his best headline news impression before chuckling at his own, rather dry, humor.

“So you want me to kill more of them?”

“No, Mr. Souther,” he slid forward in his seat and beamed down at his forced ally.

“We want to help you eradicate them.”

[prjctc]

Hollow Bodies

They called it Eternal Night. They told us, “If you can’t learn to run, you die.”

And plenty of us did. 

Out there, it’s kill or be killed right now. After a man named Everett Hart opened an artifact known as Pandora’s Box, something thrust itself upon all of humanity. As the claws of this unseen force tightened their grip around us, many of the Earth’s population were changed into... something more beast than man. Brothers now fed on brothers. Leaders killed their own men just to hear them scream. Though they slay thousands, their bloodlust goes unsated. But we were sure we could make it out of Atlus City.

We were so sure, and now... Now I don’t even know where I am. Or what’s become of my group. I doubt they would fall easily without my aide, they’re strong, but... I still worry. It’s only natural.

I have to find them. I have to find out just who this Alexander Grant is, and where he’s taken me. Otherwise, a lot more could be on the line than my own neck...

Continue down the hallway...

[prjctc]

A Broken Mirror

“Hello there,” the recorded voice trickled smoothly from the speakers that lined the long, white hallway, as a youth with short, black hair dressed in school attire slowly walked its length, “my name is Alexander Grant. You may be wondering why you are here, but I assure you that, in time, all will be made apparent. For now, simply relax and give yourself a better understanding of your surroundings. We wouldn’t want an early trip to the medical clinic to interrupt the exciting day ahead of you.”

The speakers noticeably turned off with echoing clicks, and the teenage boy moped, crossing his arms and sliding against the white wall behind him until his bottom hit the equally white floor beneath him. He had no recollection of who he was, let alone why he was here. His thoughts were clouded, and no matter how hard he tried to focus he couldn’t manage to fight off whatever drugs were still in his system...

Drugs... That was a start. He realized he had been drugged, but from there he was still drawing blanks. The speakers clicked back on.

“Please proceed, Mr. Souther.”

Click.

The boy blinked before running a hand along the back of his neck. He felt something there, but it was odd. It felt like whatever it was lay beneath the skin.

“Souther...” he stood and looked around once more.

“That’s right, my name is Thomas Souther.”