Underground

November 20, 2089
Germany
10:30 P.M

They were after him, that monster was after him. He tripped and toppled onto the cobblestone, barely able to catch himself as he tore through the streets lit only by the hollow lights that floated above the sidewalk. He knew that if he fell that would be it; time lost meant life lost.
Something ran from one historic building to another behind him avoiding the spots where the lights hit the pavement. He ran faster, panting harder than he ever had in his life. This was a living nightmare, and it was his fault. He should have known better than to cross them.
It had taken more than ten years for their pleading cries to convict his conscience. The cries of those they had been unable to save haunted him. Most nights he would wake up to their groaning voices. Why didn’t you help us? Why didn’t you believe Rostov? Why did you abandon us?
A man and woman stepped in front of him from an alleyway. He flinched before shoving them out of his way. The pounding of his heart blasted in his ears. In the back of his mind, he knew that there was no escape. He was going to die.
What if he promised that he wouldn’t tell? But could he live with those cries in his head?
It was a lose-lose situation. How could he live with his conscience either way?
Behind him, several of the lights sparked before the orbs shattered, blasting particles of light into the air. He felt like a child waking up from a nightmare who didn’t dare look at that one spot they knew the monster hid.
In trying to cut a corner, his suit jacket was caught and ripped. Again, he tripped, stumbling onto the hood of an oncoming vehicle. He heard and felt his arm snap on impact and screamed into the night. The pain was agonizing but, once he got back to his feet, he kept running. He didn’t want to die. There was no time to stop… there was no time at all.
Somehow, he managed to stumble onto a park. His pace started to slow as any reserves of energy drained quickly. Ahead of him was a park bench and all he could think of was collapsing onto that bench because his body couldn’t take anymore.
He reached out his hand, when the light orb above him burst into thousands of pieces.
Missing the bench, he land on his broken arm and shrieked. He tried to pull himself away by clawing at the ground.
Electricity flickered in a chaotic dance behind him. His mind screamed at him to not look but, in the end, curiosity won out and he looked anyway.
All he could see was a black silhouette standing beneath one of the park’s glowing orbs.
When it blew out, the light particles cast their glow on the man’s image. In those brief seconds, a dead pair of eyes stared back at him.
The being started to walk towards him with slow, drawn out steps.
“Please… don’t! Stay back!”
From the silhouette’s gloved hands, he saw static electricity sparking and twisting between his fingers and about his hands as if it were alive.
“I won’t tell! I swear I won’t tell!” The man didn’t listen. He kept walking as if he was shrouded in death. “Please!”
The man stood over him; his hands moved closer together focusing the amount of energy flowing between them and forming a sparking ball of electricity.
“Request denied.” The man said in a harsh monotone.
This was it. He was going to die… but, at least in death, he wouldn’t have to hear their haunting cries anymore.