1) This is New York

The story begins and introduces us to the characters, Artemis and Dante. And a mystery begins.

1)This is New York

They sit on a throne, three times their size. Their arms barley scrape the sides, their legs dangle meters from the floor. Their head doesn't even reach the middle of the chairs back. They look out of place. Like a jigsaw piece being rammed onto a piece from a different jigsaw. They occupy about a third of the chair. It looks ridiculous, devastatingly disastrous, like a squirrel in the ocean. But then again, they are out of place. They are so far from home, so, so, far, and yet, in front of them kneel the current residences of this palace. They kneel before them as if they are queen. It would seem respectful. If it weren't for the scene that lay before them. They kneel before them. The first row - the leaders. One with green wings, another with peaceful white wings, and the last with pitch black. They stare at the leaders with disgust. They look at the rest. Pathetic creatures. Row after row of winged humanoids, row after row of horned men and women. Row after row. And behind them, the corpses of thousands of men and women, some with wings, some with horns. They fill the floor, covering it in a soft blanket of flesh. Giant smooth white pillars stand perfectly on the sides; they hold nothing up, cast your gaze upwards and peer into the dark abyss that smiles back. Cast your gaze just above the irregular person sat in a throne too big, a body hangs, impaled to the wall, its foot hangs limply just above the chair, its red wings flap in the wind. Look a little higher. Just a tad, just above its head, ignore the nail.

Five words.

"I

Am

Your God

Now."

“It was this that I woke up to.” I look at the person sat in front of me. They stare… no not a stare… a curious gaze. They, the person, sat opposite me, looks at me with a curious gaze. “Even today, I look back, and I remember everything about it. Not just in a ‘remembering the last time I remembered it’ sense. But, I remember it as if I’m reliving it.” A shiver shudders up my back. I try not to react to it; pretend I don’t feel the fingers clawing their way up. I try. I really do. But, sometimes, the fingers are too hard to ignore.
“Everything okay, Artemis?” The person asks. I stare at the person; their brown hair sits limply on their head, their green eyes sending cold, emotionless daggers at me. A glass table sits in front of the couch, a bowl of sweets on top. An armchair on the other side. A desk behind that, and behind that, a bookshelf full of books that look like they've never been read.
“Yeah. Just a shiver.” I say glancing down at the couch. A face stares back at me. Not exactly a face. Just a shadow of one. A shadow face from a Shadow Person… one of seven Shadow People. The other six stand around the room, looking quite ominous. As far as I’m aware, I’m the only person who can see them. Not that I’m complaining. They tend to come in handy. “Where was I?” I ask looking up from the face.
“A dream about a ‘New God.” The person answers. Not emotionlessly, but, I must say, they sound as dead as me. And hey. I might actually, be, dead.

The dream startles me awake. I don’t wake covered in sweat, or with a racing heart. I wake, oddly calm. Like I’m floating in water. The sense, that everything, is going to be all right. I mean, why wouldn’t it? I’m in New York, on holiday with arguably my closest friend. But still, something about the dream didn’t feel right. It felt - feels, too real. 

“I really don’t know how to tell this. Like, if I say it how it happened, I’ll sound as mad as the hatter. But if I don’t say it how it is, then it’ll be pointless.” I throw up my hands in frustration. “What did the ill cannibal do?”
“I don’t know Artemis, what did the ill cannibal do?”
“He threw up his hands.”  I watch as the person… ima call them Desk-Head, due to the fact, they have a head, and a desk, and as of now, no name. I watch as Desk-Head doesn’t react, they’re as dead as the day they died.
“Just tell it as it was.”

By the time I get to the dining room, Dante and Dad are already tucking into pancakes. “Did I or did I not tell you, they wouldn’t be up before eleven.” Dad laughs. Dante looks at me with a face that screams ‘Help me please.’

“See, that’s completely and utterly useless. It literally does nothing for anything.” I look at The Shadow People, who stare blankly back at me. They don’t really do much. From time to time, they might say something. But they’re never constantly doing something, apart from standing there.
“Tell it however you want.” Desk-Head says, lifelessly.

Think Ryan Reynolds in a dark suit, holding a cane topped with a crystal globe. That’s who this man is. He walks down the street without a care. And of course, it was Dante who pointed him out. How I missed this guy - beyond me. We aren’t the only people to notice this guy. Almost every man, woman, boy, and girl, on the street, stares in awe.

When Dante first pointed him out, I didn’t even care. I thought, ‘Typical day in New York city’, not that I would know what a typical day in New York was like. But now, every single person on the street stares at this person, as he walks, elegantly down the street. It’s not the fact that he stands out, or he is incredibly hot. It’s more of the fact that, everyone in front of him, just seems to move away - part like the red sea did to Moses. That is what causes everyone to stare at him. Not, the incredibly egocentric flamboyantness that this man expels. But the fact, that people near him, seem to have no ability to stop themselves from moving. If this wasn’t scary enough, to top it off, the man appears to be shimmering. Not a, heatwave shimmer, or a mirage. But in a celestial sort of way. Something about this man radiates celestial energy. I’m not exactly sure how I know what celestial energy is, but If there is such a thing, this man radiates it. And every single person, seems to notice.

Unlike Dante, who has his eyes set on getting food. I’m much more interested in following this guy. Who is he? What does he do? Where the hell is he going?

“I realise now, that if I’d just listened to Dante, and gone to some s****y restaurant, then none of this would’ve happened. I mean, don’t get me wrong, in a way, I’m sort of glad it did happen. But at the same time, I wish it didn’t have to happen this way.”

The man, appears to have a destination, but he meanders through the street. Stopping every now and then to glance at himself in the store windows, to which he produces a radiant smile. He doesn’t seem to know we’re following him. Now, if I were American I’d probably say something like, ‘we’ve been following him for three blocks’ or whatever, but I’m not American, and have absolutely no clue what that means.
“Dude.” Dante says stopping and pointing.
“What?” I follow Dante’s finger with my eyes; he stands in the middle of pavement, pointing out a neon sign that flashes annoyingly in the midmorning light. It flashes a simple message - ‘The best food in New York’. “Dante, seriously. Strange guy” I say flapping my arms in the general direction of the strange man. Unfortunately, to my hatred, the ‘strange guy’, happens to have crossed the street, and is now walking into the restaurant. Dante doesn’t even need to say anything, he just looks at me, clearly telling me - ‘I told you so’.

Inside the restaurant is even more annoying than the outside. At least outside, you could look away from the neon and ignore the pulsating colours. Inside though, is a different story. You know how in films, whenever they go into a strip-club, it always has this weird hue to it, and everything seems to glow. Yeah, take that mental image; increase the brightness by tenfold, and add one hundred pulsating neon signs. That’s the inside. No matter where you look, there’s a neon sign, flashing some stupid slogan.
“Jesus Christ.” Dante says winching.
“Don’t complain.” I say, “You wanted to come here.” Before Dante can reply, a waitress appears at next to us.
“Right this way please.” She says; her voice layered with silk. Dante, who appears to have completely lost his head, beams at me. He follows the waitress eagerly. She leads us to a small table below a neon sign pulsating a vibrant and obnoxious pink. “My names Janet and I’ll be your server for today.” She says revealing an immaculate smile, “What would you like to drink?”
“Coke please.” Dante says quickly. I stare at the fool. If it were possible, he’d probably have hearts throbbing in his eyes. Thank God it isn’t.
“Same.” I reply casually.
“Two cokes coming right up.” She beams. As she walks away, Dante whistles quietly.
“Dude, you seen the a*s on her?”
“Dude. What. The. F**k.”
“Just saying. I’d tap that.”
“You’d tap anything.” I say, quickly I follow it up with, “Where’d that strange guy go?”
“Right there, see?” Dante tilts his head towards the other side of the room. He’s right. There, in a corner table, is the strange man. His cane leaning up against the chair.

“Not a chair chair. The kind of chair you get that covers an entire wall in a restaurant, like a couch, but not as comfy. Y’know, restaurant couches.”

His cane leans up against the chair. And for the first time I get a glimpse at the top. A crystal ball, not just a ball, an intricate replica of Earth carved into what I assume must’ve been a hella expensive diamond. Janet walks up, and the man’s face turns sour. I’m not a scientist or anything, but I don’t need to be one to notice that Janet’s body shifts, she goes from upright, and proper, to a fearful, shivering mess. She and the man share a brief conversation then she moves on. The man looks around the restaurant. I glare down at my hands. “F**k sake.” I mutter.
“What?” Dante asks concerned. I show him my right hands finger nails,
“I literally did these yesterday and the polish is already coming off.” I grumble.
“Priorities dude.” He says as Janet returns holding two cokes. I half expect him to make a move. He smiles a s**t-eating grin at me as Janet walks away. From under his glass, he produces a slip of paper. Written on it, was a number and the words ‘call me’.
“You gotta be f*****g kidding me.” I groan. I look away from Dante, unable to believe what had just happened. I focus back in on the strange guy. He stands as a woman approaches. They embrace and he kisses her cheeks. The woman is wearing a dark green dress, and her long brown hair cascades down her shoulders and back. She sits opposite the man - facing me. I examine her closely. I notice a necklace. A simple gold chain attached to a circular ball. Which, I come to realise is, another replica of Earth.

“When I say replica. I don’t mean the kind of Earth you’d see in a toy store. But, like a literal replica of Earth. Something about these Earth’s screamed ‘I’m real’. It was as if they’d shrunk down Earth and attached it to jewellery.”

The strangest thing, wasn’t the fact, that two people, both had crystal replicas of Earth, but rather, that the entire restaurant is empty. Asides from, me and Dante, strange guy and strange girl and of course the endearing waitress, Janet, the restaurant is deserted, not even a fly buzzes. Just as I notice this, Janet appears again,
“Are you two ready to order.” She asks, her voice slithering down my spine.
“Yeah.” Dante replies eagerly, “I’ll have the triple cheeseburger please.”
“And for you?” She asks looking directly at me. At, well, to be honest, I wish I hadn’t looked at her. I look up at her, and at first, I think I’ve gone mad. Her face shifts and shimmers, never settling. As if I am looking at her through a rippling pool.
“I’m good thanks.”
“Alright, one triple cheeseburger coming up.” Then she leaves again. Another man enters the restaurant, accompanied by a woman. The man wears a plain suit, nothing fancy like Strange Guy #1. The woman wears a green skirt and a simple shirt. They walk over to the woman and Strange Guy #1. Both of whom stand, Strange Woman accepts a kiss to the cheek from both. The man simply extends his hand. Strange Guy #2 and Strange Woman #2 take turns accepting this hand. They all sit. Four people, all strange.

“I want to explain that a bit better.” I laugh nervously, I glance out the window, a storm cloud lingers a couple miles out, “Basically, there’s four people now. Two men, two women. All of them have some sort of crystal Earth.” I rub my temple, “Right, Strange Guy #1 is now Bob, #2 is now Fred. Strange Woman #1 is Sam, #2 is Alex. Okay. Cool.” The Shadow People stand looking at me, if I could see their features, they’d probably be contorted in confusion, “Bob, has a cane, that has a crystal Earth. Fred has a ring. Sam has a necklace. Alex has an earring. They also have, like, something else. Bob has necklace with a lightning bolt. Fred has a necklace of a bird. Sam has a bracelet of some weird spirals. Alex has a necklace of a snake. Plain and simple. All fashion gurus.”

“Uhhhh…. Dante…. I think they’re a cult.”
“You what?”
“Look! They all have little Earths.”
“So? This is New York, weird stuff happens.”
“Where’s your burger?”
“Huh?”
“We and them, are the only people in this entire restaurant. How come your burgers taking so long?”
“Cause they’re making it perfect?” Dante shrugs, “Dude just chill. They might be a cult, but what they gonna do.” Just as he says that, Janet returns, holding a plate. “See, dude, there’s my burger. Is all good.”
“I sure hope it is.” Janet says beautifully.
“If it’s as good as you, it’ll be too good.” Dante says winking. I don’t know what Janet does, she might blush, but I ain’t looking. I’m too focused on the four strangers staring at us. All four of them stare us. Their faces pulled into expressions of flabbergasted confusion. Even Bob no longer radiates energy. They watch as Janet walks away, then they notice me staring. Quickly they turn away and burry themselves in conversation.
“Be quick Dante, for the love of God. I want to get the f**k out of here.”
“Fine.”

Dante finishes his burger, a lot quicker than I expected. Just as well, cause the foursome of evilness is about to leave.
“Come on. Hurry the f**k up.” I say quickly. Dante puts a tenner on the table and hurriedly follows me.
“Call me!” I hear Janet yell after us - or more accurately after Dante.

The foursome aren’t hard to follow. Strange Guy #1 is back to radiating celestial energy. And the crowd parts around them. They seem to be knee deep in conversation. If the crowd didn’t part around them, I bet that people would still stare. I mean, I’m not sure, this is New York after all.

“I would love to describe them to you. But, I just can’t. Something about them was so, so immensely beautiful that it’s impossible to describe.”

They lead us down the streets of Manhattan. Swerving this way and that. They clearly have a destination in mind.

The destination becomes glaringly obvious as we approach a mall. Max would have a perfect explanation for why it’s called a mall, I can hear her now, ‘It’s called a Mall, cause it’s sort for, them all.’

“Who’s Max, Artemis?”
“Oh right, yeah. She’s a friend from Parlor.” I see it in Desk-Head’s face that, that wasn’t a good enough explanation. “Parlor Falls, where I’m from. Me, Max and her twin James, Dante, Chloe, Ellie, Siobhan, Callum, and his twin Connor. Were - are? Best friends. Well, Chloe was. But she’s dead now.”
“I’m sorry to hear. How did it happen?”
“Suicide. Three years ago.”
“How does that make you feel?” Desk-Head asks, and for I second, I swear there’s sympathy in their voice.
“Sad I guess. It hurt a lot when she died.” I feel tears brimming, “A lot.” I repeat blinking back tears. “Her and I were best friends. Cliché best friends; did everything together, always together. Then one day she was dead.” I rub my eyes.
“It’s okay Arty.”

The Mall the Evil Foursome leads us to, is a glistening reminder of the world we live in. It’s huge. If it weren’t in New York, surrounded by skyscrapers, it would be spectacular. It still is spectacular, not for its size, but for its looks. It looks like modern architecture mashed with renaissance, plus a bit of futuristic here and there. It didn’t look bad, but not good. It stands out, which I suppose is good.

As we enter The Mall, I half expect the doors to make a Star Trek ‘Whoosh’ noise, but they don’t.

We stay close to the Evil Foursome, but not close enough that they’d notice. This kind of stalking, I realise, isn’t that hard. You don’t even need to duck and weave, just stay casual. And hey, we’re a thirteen year old, and a fourteen year old.

“Fourteen and Thirteen?” Desk-Head asks curious,
“Yeah, this was 2016. I was thirteen, Dante was fourteen.”
“How old are you now?”
“What’s the date?”
“April 10^th.”
“Yeah, I’m going to need the year as well.”
“2018.”
“Oh wow, only been seven days.” I look at The Shadow People; they stand dumbly. “I’m sixteen.”
“Seven days since?”
“Since the last thing I remember.”

Me and Dante follow the Evil Foursome through The Mall. It really isn’t that hard. People still part as the group walks, which makes our job easier.

One thing I notice as we walk - The Shadow People. All seven of them, walk besides us - besides me. Three to my left, four to my right. Dante just in front of me to my left. The Shadow People have never once done anything like this. I mean, they did once. What’s more, it wasn’t only the seven Shadow People besides me, there are hundreds. All around us. They fill The Mall. Each Shadow Person following a normal person. Case in point, a mother pushes a baby in a stroller. A couple meters behind her, follows a Shadow Person, also pushing a baby. All around me, the scene is the same. One person, one Shadow Person. Now this, this spooks me. I’ve grown up with The Shadow People, they’ve always been with me, from my earliest memory. Always following me, never speaking, well, they did, but only once. But it’s always been seven. And as much as I can tell, the same seven. There has never been a time, ever, when there’s been more than seven.

I’m so lost in thought, that it takes me a while to realise that one of the seven Shadow People has deviated. And by that I mean, has gone. Now there’s only six. A shiver runs up my spine. Something bad’s coming. Something very bad.

“I don’t know how I knew. I just did. And boy was I right.”

The Evil Foursome disappear around a corner.

And of course me and Dante follow.

We turn the corner. And are faced to face. With nothing. Just a corridor. It doesn’t lead anywhere. No sign of any Evil Foursome. No shops. No doors. Nothing. Just a corridor leading to a blank wall. If this wasn’t weird enough. A voice tears through my skull.
“WHY ARE YOU FOLLOWING US?” It yells. If my brain could rattle, I bet it is. Unfortunately, I never get to reply.

As soon as the voice is done yelling. Another noise rips through my head. A noise, I would never forget. This noise is followed by, a giant heatwave, and a thousand screams.

The next thing I know, I’m lay on the floor with a girl looking over me. The girl looks weird. Not young, but not old. At an age, I cannot place. She has a blue beanie over her black hair that has blue tips. Black hair with blue tips. Strange. But then again. This is New York.

Author's Note

point out any mistakes in grammar / spelling