ARNIX

Vernon J. W. Brown

Part 1

In a world where heaven and hell are one and angels live along side with demons, religion is a foreign word a boy witnesses the brutal death of his father as other spectators look on. As a result of this murder another is committed against his mother, then a new guardian steps in and the war between a boy and the two worlds begins.

Ch. 1

A child’s tragedy

“No, no get away!” A young eight-year-old boy yelled as he ran. Behind him ran an older man snarling and growling as he chased the little boy. The older man finally dived at the boy, tackling him and grasping the boy’s body in his arms. They both rolled around in the grass laughing and giggling as the older man continued to growl.

“Oh no mommy help he’s got me!” The little boy said as he tried to slip away. The little boy was around four feet tall with long green hair and big green eyes. He reached out to his mother who was sitting on a bench a few feet away as he slipped away from the older man. She had long blue hair with big blue eyes. Her long hair dangled down past her shoulders barely covering the birthmark on her neck. The man who was chasing Blood was five foot nine with short green hair that fluffed out at his ears, and slim green eyes.

The older man grabbed the little boy and swept him off his feet. He held him above his head and began lifting him up and down.

“I got you now!” They where in a huge playground surrounded by kids and other happy families, there where slides and swings with sand boxes and the sound of young children’s laughter all around. The playground was behind a huge town with rows of wooden houses.

“No!” Another voice yelled as a small seven-year-old boy and six-year-old girl ran to the older man’s legs. The boy was the same size as the other with short blonde hair and blue eyes. The little girl had long jet-black hair with red streaks running through them and big black eyes.

“No Balista save yourself!” The green haired boy said then another older man suddenly tackled Balista.

“No I won’t leave Blood!” Just as she finished her sentence an explosion went off in the town and it instantly became engulfed in flames. A cloud of red smoke rose from the middle of the city and hovered over it with a stem of smoke that twisted down to one spot. The older green haired man stood frozen with Blood still in his hands. Blood’s mother stood to her feet as all the children ran to their parents and the cloud of smoke began moving towards the playground.

A figure with a large cloud of smoke over him stepped onto the playground and the grass that he stood on died. The figure was six feet tall and figure like a skeleton except for his wrist and hands. Its wrist where like barrels and where hard as rock that went onto his huge palm connected to his long bonny fingers. His eyebrows and hair where all shaved off and he wore long baggy pants with a ball and chain strapped to his right side. He raised his right hand and pointed to Blood.

“Is your name Blood Crazy?” Blood still speechless nodded his head. The figure snatched the ball and chain from his waist with his left hand and snapped it around his right wrist. The chain raveled around his wrist and the ball snapped into his right hand.

“Then you must die!” The man with the skeleton figure screamed out.

“No!” Blood’s mother screamed out as the older green haired man began to run away with Blood in his arms. The man with the skeleton figure sprinted towards the green haired man punching him in his spine.

The green haired man fell to the ground in pain tossing Blood a few inches ahead of him as he fell.

“Run!” The green haired man yelled out and Blood began to run to his mother when a metal ball suddenly smashed into the back of his head.

“Leave him alone!” Trista yelled while running to the man with the skeleton figure. The man slapped Trista away and began walking towards Blood. Blood turned onto his back and watched as the man with the skeleton figure approached him. The man with the Skeleton figure stopped and Blood’s vision began fading. The man with the skeleton figure looked down to see the older green haired man latching onto his leg with his arms.

“What are you doing? Get off of me!” The skeleton figure man screamed as he pulled at his leg as pressure began to explode from the green haired man’s body. A pounding noise sounded off and the space around the green haired man got a magnified look to it as the ground beneath him crumbled and man with the skeleton figure’s leg crumbled. The pounding sound went off again and the green haired man’s body began to glow yellow.

The man with the skeleton figure cried out in pain. “Get the fuck off of me now!” The glow began to expand like a balloon from the green haired man’s body and the man with the skeleton figure wrapped the chain around his right hand and began swinging the ball into the green haired man’s body. The skin ripped from the man with the skeleton figure’s body as he continued to scream in pain and pound the metal ball into the green haired man’s body. Blood tried to scream out but his mouth wouldn’t move.

“Why isn’t anyone helping him? Someone stop him! Why isn’t anyone doing anything! Help my daddy! Somebody help him please! Don’t just stand there he is being killed! Somebody help!” The sound of screaming and the metal ball cracking through bone and flesh clouded Blood’s mind as darkness overcame him and his eyes began to shut. Blood began to lose his consciousness but the sounds still rang out in his head as he continued to scream. “Help my daddy please!”

Ch. 2

Wedding Bells

It was fifteen years since the incident at the playground and woman was running through the woods, panting with each step she took. She stopped and clutched her chest gasping for air and a body dropped from the trees and landed a few feet ahead of her.

“I swear if you make me late I will kill you,” The figure said in an angry voice.

“I’m coming,” She said and then began sprinting again as the man jumped back into the trees.

“Where almost there I can hear voices and music,” the woman said as she reached a wall and stopped.

“It’s on the other side of this wall,” She said and began looking for a place to climb when the other figure landed behind her and wrapped his arm around her waist and leapt into the air again. They landed on top of the wall under the shadows of a tree.

The woman began to slouch down again when the figure next to her snatched her by her arm. “Don’t move I don’t want to be seen.” Below them was a crowd of nicely groomed people in dresses and suits sitting on benches with a long aisle covered with flowers next to them. Next to the aisle was another large group of people sitting on benches. Everyone in the benches looked emotional in one way or another as a little boy with a ring resting on a pillow and a young girl with a basket of flower pedals walked up to three more men. “Where late,” the figure said looking at the woman.

“Where not that late, the bride hasn’t made it down yet,” she said with a nervous look on his face.

A black haired man in a suit with a large book in his hand stood at the end of the aisle. To his left stood a man with long Blonde hair and blue streaks with a small smile on his face. Next to him stood a man with short orange hair that stood with his hands tucked in front of him. The young boy stopped and stood in front of the orange haired man and the young girl continued to walk on. There was a row of people standing behind them in a row where the little girl assumed her position on the front row. There was a woman in a blue dress that stood next to five women in purple dresses. Above them stood five men all with angel wings protruding from their back and wrapping around their bodies. To the far left were five people playing instruments and as the young girl took her position the music suddenly changed. The five men behind the woman spread their wings and took flight to the air with baskets in their hands. They began dropping various colors of rose pedals that fluttered down and made it appear as if it was raining rose petals. A woman came walking down the aisle accompanied by a man with sleeked back white hair. She wore a long white dress that turned purple at her waste. The dress ended above her breast where it was trimmed with white. She wore purple silk gloves that went up to her wrist and broke into a thin half that rose up her shoulder and into a collar around her neck. Her black hair was tied into a bun above her head with a purple bow in it that hung down to her lower back.

“I still don’t understand why we are here I thought you didn’t know anyone what do these two mean to you.”

“I’ve been watching them for a long time, so I felt I had to attend their wedding.”

“Do they even know you?” The woman asked.

“In a way…” The figure whispered.

“Well why don’t you make your presence known.”

The figure looked over to the woman. “Has anyone ever told you that you ask too many questions?”

“Shhh I think there’re about to kiss,” The woman said as she crouched down. The man in the middle looked over to the woman in the white dress.

“And do you Trista take this man to be your long wedded husband?” The preacher asked.

“I do,” Trista replied.

“Trista,” The woman said to herself. Doesn’t that name sound familiar to you Blood? And don’t you think the blonde hair man looks familiar?” The woman asked but Blood didn’t respond.

“Then I now pronounce you anima and wife, you may kiss the bride.” The two closed in for the kiss as everyone cheered in delight.

“Aw their so cute, common Blood this is supposed to be a joyous event smile,” she said but got no reply from him.

“You know if you never smile no one will ever believe that you’re turning over a new leaf.” Blood turned towards the woman. “Common you can do it.” A smile slowly creaked across Blood’s face. “There you g--,” her voice was suddenly interrupted by a short scream that caught everyone’s attention. They all look towards the shadows that Blood and the woman hid in and watched as the body of a woman with long red hair dropped from the wall and onto the ground. A large hole sat in the middle of her stomach as blood leaked from her body, staining the pure white floor. Blood jumped away from the wall and into the trees as a man ran from the benches to the dead body. Trista clutched onto the blonde haired man in fear and he wrapped his right arm around her for comfort. The men flying above them began to fly towards the direction that Blood ran out to when they where suddenly stopped.

The blonde haired man recognized the dead body and called out to his angels. “Wait! This is suppose to be our moment, clean this up and continue on we will investigate it later.”

Ch. 3

The man with the hole in his hand

It was a year since the wedding and sky was pitch black with streaks of dark red and white with a large yellow moon that hovered over the land. A beaming blue light flashed the sky and a body plummeted to the ground. The figure stood up and hurried away through this odd world called ARNIX. It was a place full beautiful and ugly plantation, slums, run downed buildings, and castles of mass size a world clashed between heaven and hell. The figure was tall and skinny, almost nothing but bones with silk skin and smooth yellow hair. He wore a tattered black vest with brown shorts that flared out at the knees and his right wrist was bandaged in a bloody white cloth. He often stayed crotched to the floor but when he stood up straight with his back arched in and his hands almost touching the ground with a glaring sinister stare.

He rushed through pushing the drunks and bums out of his way when he stopped at a place called “Green Mill”. It was a bar; the place looked a little run down with Green Mill in bright green neon lights with the first e hanging off its hinges.

After standing there for a few second his right wrist still dripping with blood he hurried in. Snatching the first drink he saw while walking in as the owner of the drink yelled out to him. “Hey!” He took a swig, then tossed the glass aside breaking it into pieces, and jumped on the table in the middle of the room.

“Friends, I have more news does everyone know of the legends of the prodigy? Well that would be me it’s finally conformed,” the thin man said as he lifted his blood-covered hand and pointed to himself with his thumb.

“Your full of it Feleven get off the table,” a voice from the shadows yelled.

“But it’s true I have countless proof, it started with my first trip to earth, I--.”

Another voice cut him off. “Feleven if you start telling us your life story again I fucking swear.” At this point Feleven caught the attention of a green haired man who looked up from his mug as angry drunks chased off the table and out the bar Feleven.

“Got damn drunks,” Feleven exclaimed as he unwillingly left the bar.

The green haired man left the bar and followed Feleven into a dark alley. Feleven checked over his shoulder a couple of times and when it was clear he began to fiddle with a lose stone in the wall when he was swiftly kicked into the corner of the alley. The green haired man stood about 5.9 ft. tall with big green eyes. He wore a black leather body suit covered in chains at the upper half of his body and pockets that ran down his body to his calf muscles.

He picked Feleven up the collar of his vest. “Tell me everything you know about what you where talking about in the pub.”

“Look man I don’t know who the hell you think you are but.” Feleven was cut of as the figure pulled him into the light. “Holy shit Blood Crazy it's you I’m terribly sorry about the inconvenience, but if you allow me to get my journal from the wall I will tell you everything I know. Just don’t do to me what you did to Syphon.” Blood threw him to the ground allowing Feleven to retrieve his journal from a lose stone in the wall. “So, what do you want to know?”

“Everything, I never had the will to enter the other world until now. When I heard your voice something in my head clicked. But it has something to do with me going to the other world and retaining my memories.”

“Whatever you say but where are we going?” Feleven asked.

“To the abandoned warehouse explain to me everything on the way there.” “Ok, there is so much to tell, so let’s start with the basics.”

Blood and Feleven started their walk down the sidewalk of the dark street passing bellow dim lighted streetlights. “We all know that there are two worlds, ARNIX and earth. Earth is the world inhabited by weak minded humans who are completely oblivious to anything outside there world though they act as if they know everything they don't even notice the on coming destruction there bringing to there selves.” Feleven starts to circle Blood and jump around as they walk. “And then there is ARNIX. Inhabited by Animas, a world that’s a clash of what the humans call Heaven and Hell.”