The Coming Storm.

Prelude
        Nathan Liels stood, leaning against the tailgate of a black truck. The man cut an imposing figure, standing at 6’3” he was the tallest of all those present. His black t-shirt hung loosely on his body as did his worn blue jeans. Entering into his third year of college he hadn’t had time or money to buy new clothing, but he had lost a bit of weight and so his clothes fit loose. Nathan hadn’t been fit his entire life, but after losing the weight his pure natural strength made it appear so. He looked over at John saying his goodbyes to family and friends. John’s small pickup was involved in a lot of fond memories. It was weird that this could be the last time that he saw it for awhile. He leaned against it a moment longer as his friend finally began moving over to them. James stood up from his spot on the fender.
        “Well, bud?” John started holding his hand out
        James ignored the hand and stepped forward wrapping the other man in a bear hug stepping back he said “Well it looks like this is it.” his hands finding their way back into his pockets.
        “You make it sound like I’m never coming back.” John said in a humorous tone. “Springfield is only a couple of hours from here. You guys won’t get rid of me that easily.”
        Nathan spoke up from behind James. “And here I thought we were finally seeing the last of that ugly mug, how unfortunate.”
        “And you’re the portrait of perfection, then?”
        “Of course can’t you tell?” Nathan said grinning, pretending to admire himself in the reflective surface of the truck.
        The other man waved a dismissive hand at him. “I might actually miss your bullshit when I’m gone.”
        “I’m touched, John, really I am.” He said clutching his chest dramatically.
        “Well, I’ll see you later, right?” John asked
        “Of course” The other man said becoming more serious. “Come visit some time, we’ll find something to do.”
       
        That was three months ago. Three weeks ago… well, let’s just start the story there.

Chapter 1: The coming storm
        “Have you heard about this, Nathan?”
        Nathan turned his head from where he was looking in the fridge. His friend Oliver sat at the table watching his laptop screen avidly. He was dressed like he had just gotten out of bed in slacks and a loose gray shirt, and knowing Oliver he probably had just gotten out of bed.
        “Heard about what?” Nathan said moving to look over his shoulder at the screen.
        “The riots in New York City, they say people are killing each other in the streets. They’re calling it the most violent occurrence to ever occur in the United States.” Oliver said staring wide-eyed at the screen.
        “Who cares, it doesn’t affect us. This kind of thing happens every day, all over the world, you didn’t think the United States was so unique that it could never happen here, did you?” Nathan said quirking an eyebrow at him.
        “Yeah, but…” Oliver started but fell silent staring at the shocking footage he had discovered online. “The police say that it might be a race war or something. I thought our civilization was past that.”

“Maybe… it is New York City though; there are a lot of slums and such. I imagine there is a lot of racial tension there. I mean, look where we live. There are so few people that even if there were racial tensions it’d be hard to notice.” Nathan said matter-of-factly.
        “I guess. Hey, you heading to the party already?” Oliver said looking up.
        “Yeah the brothers asked me to help out setting up. You wanna tag along. They’ve been trying to recruit you for awhile. I won’t lie, they want you to raise our average GPA in the frat.” Nathan said smiling.
        “Isn’t that why they recruited you?” Oliver asked.
        “Nah, I dazzled them with my charming personality.” Nathan replied grinning.
        Oliver looked at him for a moment unable to discern if he was being serious.
        “You coming or not?” Nathan asked turning around.
        “Yeah, let me get my costume on. Where’s yours by the way? It is a Halloween party after all.” Oliver said looking at him again.
        “I’m an R.A. people have to be able to pick me out if they need something, so I’m not going to wear one.” Nathan said off-handedly looking in the fridge again.
       
        “Oh Ok” Oliver said running to put his costume on. He came back in a professionally made Kick-Ass costume.
       
          “I didn’t know you were going as Kick-Ass, I love that comic.” Nathan said admiring the costume.
       
        “Comic? Kick-ass has a comic?” Oliver asked puzzled

        “Boy, I’m going to kick your ass. God dammit, kids these days.” Nathan said with a hand over his face.

        “What, I didn’t know, and you’re only a year older than me.” Oliver retorted defensively.

        “Let’s just go before I change my mind.” Nathan said laughing.

        When they got their not only the ZBT guys were there setting up, but a good quarter of them were already drunk or well on their way to being so. It was fitting since the name of the party was Boo’s Bash, a play on words that Nathan had needed to explain to Oliver.

        Nathan walked up to the bar and poured himself a shot of bourbon and getting Oliver a beer.

        “Are you sure I can have this? Who’s is it?” Oliver asked uncertain.

        “Well it was paid for with ZBT member dues, so its partly mine, and you’re my guest, so its partly yours. And don’t worry, I don’t care that you’re underage either.”

        “You’re an R.A. though, couldn’t you get in trouble?” He asked looking about him in a worried manner.

        “Don’t worry about it; I’ll take the blame for it. I have a clean record, one slip won’t get me fired. Just enjoy yourself. Don’t kill yourself on it though and don’t go driving, because then the entire fraternity will get it.” Nathan said.

        It was about two hours later before more people started trickling in. Nathan took the front door turning away the townies and Oliver was hanging around with him keeping him company. After a while though a pretty cute girl, dressed in a homemade Hit-Girl costume no less,  walked up and started talking to him. They were discussing Kick-Ass. Nathan could tell by the way Oliver was fidgeting that this was the girl he had been pining over for the past semester. It seemed like knowing the frat’s ad hoc bouncer might have some perks to it.
When the girl walked off for awhile to another apartment Oliver turned to Nathan. “She was cute, and she’s really your type. I can tell.” Nathan said smiling. He knew that Oliver was attracted to her. Had been for awhile, but he had never had the courage to ask her out.

“Nah, dude, she wouldn’t be into me.” Oliver said looking after her.

“Dude, she was totally digging you!” Nathan said looking over at the girl in question.

“You really think so?” Oliver asked sincerely looking over at her.

“Yeah, I do. Her name is Alex. Actually its Alexia but she goes by Alex. She’s a ZBT Angel as well.” Nathan said prodding him.

“Still trying to recruit me, huh?” Oliver said catching on.

“Caught on did you? Well, what’s wrong with trying to get one of my best buds to join the same frat as me?” Nathan asked innocently. As he was saying this a man in metal armor, a full great helm and a sword on his belt approached him.

“Good sir, guard of the watch, pray tell me of what hour it is.” The man said.

“Its hour nine of the watch and all is well, sir knight.” Nathan said playing along.

“And good it is to hear it. How are you Nathan?” The man asked.

“Pretty good, Lee.” He replied. “You’ve met Oliver before, right?” He asked.

“Yeah, we’ve met. How are you Oliver?” He asked but Alex chose that moment to return and Oliver paid him no more attention than one would expect.

Another man started walking up to them. Nathan could tell he was drunk as he was stumbling about quite a lot. As he approached Nathan remarked, “Hey man, maybe you have had enough to drink, eh? Maybe you should go back home and sleep it off.” He finished standing in the doorway.

Oliver spoke up then, “Cool costume though, you really look like a zombie.”

One of the brothers from inside walked over, “Is there a problem?” he asked.

“No, not really Jacob, I just think this guy is a little too wasted to let in is all.” Nathan replied coolly. Nathan and Jacob had always been at odds.

“Whatever man, it’s called Boo’s Bash after all, let him in.” Saying this he stepped outside and took a hold of the man’s shoulder and tried to lead him inside. The man shrugged away from him and stood with his backed hunched over staring at the ground. “Hey man what is your problem.” Jacob began in on the man. He walked up to him. “Hey I asked you a question.”

“Cool it Jacob, let’s not cause a scene today.” Nathan said calmly.

“Hey calm down! He’s just a little drunk” Oliver said. He’s more than just a little drunk Nathan thought. He looks downright sick, but that might just be the makeup for his costume.

“I don’t give a shit! I was trying to help him get past Deputy Do-Right over here, and he just ignores me!” Jacob said as he began to shove hi s way past Nathan, himself drunk. He walked up to the man and shoved him. The man stumbled back a bit but regained his balance.

“Hey Jacob, back off!” Even Alex spoke up. Jacob wasn’t even well liked  within the Fraternity except by his own small clique

“Mind your own business, bitch!” Jacob shouted at her. Nathan could feel Oliver rushing forward but put his arm out to stop him and gave him a severe look. Nathan stepped forward, but before he could do anything the man dressed as a zombie suddenly lunged at Jacob latching onto his arm. Jacob punched him in the nose, breaking it and sending a spray of blood on himself, but the man refused to let go. Nathan watched in shock as the man reared his head around and sank his teeth into Jacob’s neck. Jacob let out a high warbling screech before falling to the ground. Everyone in the vicinity backed away gasping, but Nathan was right in front of the man.

“Hey look, let’s just calm down. We’ve got to get him to the hospital! Do you realize how much trouble you are going to be in if he dies?” Nathan asked, trying to reason with the man. He could sense someone coming up behind him as well. Whirling around he saw Lee in his half-plate armor. Lee pushed him out of the way as the man rushed after him. The man charged ahead but Lee easily checked him to the ground before leaping on top of him. The man snapped at the air eventually biting into the leather guard around Lee’s neck and tearing it off of him.. The armored man drew his sword and held the flat of it against the other’s throat, pinning him flat against the ground.

While this happened, Oliver ran inside calling for the rest of the ZBT brothers to come out and help them. They filed out with looks of shock at Jacob. Steven, one of the more sober ones, knelt down next to him. “I think he’s dead!” He announced shakily. A great murmur of voices broke out at this revelation. Some of the ZBT brothers kept their composure and started ordering the others back to their rooms so they could handle the situation. All the while Lee was still struggling with the other man.
Nathan walked closer to them. “Hey, are you o.k., Lee?” He asked in a worried tone.

“This guy is strong. I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to hold him down. We are going to have to figure something out fast.” Behind them a rising chatter of voices could be heard. Lee looked around over his shoulder “Now what!” he exclaimed.
Jacob had sat up and began looking around at the others. Steven dropped to one knee beside him. “You shouldn’t sit up, you’re hurt pretty bad, man.” He said meekly. Just as he was through saying this Jacob’s eyes flashed toward him. He reached up and gripped Steven’s right shoulder in an iron vise like grip. He looked into his eyes for a moment.  Nathan thought he saw a pitiful look of pleading in them, but just as soon as it was there it was gone and it was replaced with nothing but a black vacancy. Nathan saw it as though in a bad dream. He reached a hand out uselessly as though this gesture might stop what was coming next.  Jacob lunged forward biting into Steven’s shoulder

“Jesus!” Nathan exclaimed  coming completely awake again and rushing forward. He kicked out at Jacob feeling his shoe connect with the side of Jacob’s head and knocking him to the ground.”
Behind him Nathan could hear Lee still struggling with the other man. “Oh, you have got to be kidding me. This is not fucking happening.” Lee said in a strained voice

Nathan had only a split-second to think. Jacob should have been dead but he wasn’t. He was attacking other people in a similar fashion to the man who had attacked him. Nathan’s mind was too busy to make any connections, but he knew this much, he hated Jacob and Jacob was trying to kill one of his brothers, it was his duty to ensure that didn’t happen.

This all went through his head in mere moments. Summoning every bad encounter he had experienced with Jacob over his three-year college career, Nathan stepped forward and delivered a swift kick to the back of his head. When Jacob kept moving and attempting to get at people, Nathan decided he had no choice. He reached inside the doorway and felt along the brick wall reaching for what he knew was there.

He had left the bat there in case something serious broke out. This wasn’t what he had been thinking of. He gripped the bat in both hands and stepped toward Jacob. “Hey bud. What’s up?” He said in an icy tone, “You have a nice snack”. Jacob turned his head towards him and lunged at him. Nathan stepped aside and swinging downward with all of his strength connected with the base of the other man’s skull. Jacob immediately ceased moving. Nothing that Nathan had ever experienced could have prepared him for this and nothing could have predicted what would come next, but a coldness settled over his mind as he lifted the bat again and swung it into Jacob’s skull again and again. Just in case. He thought.

The crowd backed away from him gasping and even Steven whose life he had just saved, prolonged, was looking at him in horror, but what could he expect, he had just killed a man. He walked over to where Lee was still struggling with the original assailant. “Get back, Lee!” He barked. Lee jumped of the man and without breaking his stride, Nathan slammed the bat into the the man’s head. His skull crumpled with a sickening crunch of bone. Lee felt a warm mist cover his face as blood and gray matter exploded forth. The dead man stared at the sky and Nathan stared down into his vacant eyes.

He had already killed once; why not make it a double homicide, he had thought, but now looking into the dead man’s eyes he was overcome with revulsion. His grip on the bat loosened as his knees buckled beneath him and he dropped to all fours. He retched his dinner and what seemed like a gallon of alcohol as he sat there on his hands and knees. He finally opened his eyes and looking at the steaming mess he had thrown up. He had eaten corn at some point apparently, even though it hadn’t been in the cafeteria earlier.

        Oliver ran up to him and put a hand on Nathan’s shoulder. “Are you okay?” he said. Nathan could hear the obvious fear and worry in his friend’s voice but he couldn’t find the strength to answer him. He simply nodded his head and leaned against the brick wall separating the walkway from the air conditioning units. He looked around him and noticed that people were still crowded around. Most of them were still staring at Nathan as though they had never seen him before. He thought of a million different things to say, but none of them would have meant anything.  So instead he simply stared at the ground between his knees.
        He felt Oliver trying to get him to get up. Nathan ignored him as best as possible, until the screaming started. It started slow at first and he first noticed that the almost painfully loud music that had been playing before was gone when the first shriek rent the night air. A shiver went down his spine as he began listening to the night around him. The screams were everywhere and he could hear sirens all over the town. Then the gunfire began. It started off with the dull sound of a shotgun in the distance. Then a short staccato of small arms fire, and as if to make a finale for this orchestra of sounds, the heavy rending rattle of a heavy caliber machine gun firing on full auto. And then the sounds were indiscernible, they were everywhere and they all blended together, the screams, the warbling sirens, and the sounds of warfare all mashing together. It was enough to make Nathan want to scream himself, or maybe to just curl up in a corner and wait for it to stop. He could sense more than see all the others listening to the same thing he was. He looked around from face to face. Each was different. Oliver had a wide-eyed deer in the headlights look. Lee’s face was grim, grimmer than he had ever seen anyone outside of a movie. The girl, Alex, was tightening her arms across her chest looking almost wildly all around her. And then the inevitable happened. One of those near them screamed. A shrill ear-piercing shriek that broke Nathan’s reverie, and that was, Nathan remembered, the first time he truly knew what hell on earth meant.