The Ascended and the Damned

            It had been two months since Jake discovered his powers and was labeled a damned by the Ascended. Since the Ascended were widely accepted as earths protectors, most humans hated the damned and would report anything they knew to the Ascended chambers. The Ascended Chambers was a large building in every major city that supposedly housed the Ascended that protected the area. The only thing humans ever saw of it was the outside of the building and the first room, which was the reception room, where people would give reports and claims about criminal activities or Damned sightings.

            Jake had to lay low, so he quit his job and left his apartment. He even had to stop using his fancy wrist communicator because the Ascended could track any technology. The only way they could track Jake now would be if he used his powers or someone spotted him and shouted for help. Since the Ascended were global there was no point in leaving the city, Jake had to just lay low. He used the dark corridors to get around the city. These routes were perfect for criminals and refugees that needed to disappear. It was difficult enough being on the run, but on top of that real criminals surrounded Jake, like rapists, murders and thieves. Jake was only a criminal because he was born with powers, he hadn’t actually done anything wrong, except maybe kill an Ascended, but that was self-defense.

            After some time living on the run, Jake heard rumors and whispers of a den were people lived that had powers like Jake. After questioning drug dealers and informants he eventually located the place. Down an alley, move a dumpster and drop down into the sewers, walk a mile until you see a broken wall that connects to a caved in train station. Jake followed the directions exactly until he came to a large open train station. The walls had been repaired and the whole place was cleaned the best it could be. Inside were dozens of men, women and even children going about their lives.

            Someone spotted Jake and the air grew tense. A burly man walked up to Jake and without saying anything, his eyes flashed with a spark of electricity. Jake realized that it was a way to show his power without actually using it. So they wouldn’t be found by the Ascended. Jake tried his best and a little spark of flames shot from his eye. His first try was a bit clumsy, but it did the trick. “I see you are one of us. I will bring you to Don, he leads us” the man said. Jake followed the large man through the main room of the train station. Different people of every age and race could be seen. They were all just people, who happened to have powers or something that made them different, and now they were hunted just like Jake was.

            Jake walked through the crowd, up some stairs and into an office to the left. Through the door and sitting in a large chair was Don. He wore casual clothes like everyone else, but seemed a little more knowing and alert. He was bald, had dark skin, brown eyes and his finger tips sizzled with three different kinds of energy. Tiny little sparks of energy that looked like ice, fire and lighting glowed at his at fingertips. Don didn’t seem to be able to hide his power any better than that. “please, sit down” Don said quietly. Jake sat down and the two began to talk. Jake explained everything that happened to him and even mentioned having to kill an Ascended and the guy he tried to rescue. “And that is pretty much my whole story” Jake explained. Don just sat and listened carefully. “I am impressed that you were able to kill an ascended. You’re the third person I know of that has been able to do that” Don explained. “third?” Jake said. Don nodded. Yes, first there was me, then a little from our group killed one but died in the process, then there was you” Don explained. Jake flinched a little when he pictured a little girl standing up to those things and dying fighting. “Children shouldn’t be involved” Jake muttered. “None of us should be involved. These Ascended creatures forced us to act. That is our life right now” Don snapped back. He cleared his throat and went back to the important business at hand. “So I would like to welcome you into our little circle. You may live and hide here with us, but if you would like to be more active to our cause, I strongly encourage you to join the rebellion. We call ourselves the mages. Because I refuse to believe we are anything more than humans who have magic. We are certainly not damned, or evil.” Don said, getting very worked up as he talked. “I will join your rebellion. I will do anything I can”

            Don then decided to introduce Jake to the team in the rebellion. They walked down a hallway and into a large training room where some of the most powerful mages trained. Gregory, the large man from the door moved earth and rocks around with ease. Sid, darted quickly around the room, using a strange shadow power to warp and strike out at practice dummies, and Samantha, or Sam. She could cover herself in ice armor and created ice weapons, fighting with savagery and precision. The rest of the rebellion was also fierce and loyal, but worked together like soldiers and left the heavy lifting to one of the main rebel members.

            Jake was formally introduced to the group and after talking for a few minutes, Gregory started looking familiar. Then it hit him. Gregory looked like a larger version of the guy that Jake tried to save. When Jake mentioned it Gregory was silent for a while before explaining that it was his brother, who had been missing for a while. Gregory left home and went into hiding, assuming his brother and parents would be safe with him gone, but since his brother also turned out to have hidden powers, the Ascended continued to hunt his family. Jake and the others tried to comfort Gregory, but he needed space and went off into the tunnels to clear his head. Jake never had close family, but by the looks on their faces, the other rebel members did. This just made the mission that much more important. They needed to figure out why the Ascended hunted the Damned, and stop them anyway they could.

Now that the rebellion had strong enough forces to appose the Ascended and even more reasons to fight, this would be the beginning of the war with the Ascended. With Don leading the mages and Jake an even stronger alley then even he realized. The battle for freedom and peace had just begun.

The Ascended

            It was a quiet night in the city. the gentle glow of street lamps and lights from inside the buildings pushed back the darkness. then a shriek could be heard, piercing the silence. The scream was quick and then all was quiet. In a dark alley away from the soft light, a man had cornered a woman against a wall. She had screamed once, but now her mouth was covered. The man rummaged through her pockets and took her purse. He seemed nervous, but determined to get what he needed.

            A light pierced the dark alley, soft at first but then bright and blinding all at once. When the robber could see again he saw a human figure with bird wings. It was one of the Ascended and this is what the robber was so nervous about running into. The Ascended usually have beautiful skin and hair, with a wide variation of shades and colors, with eyes that are always either bright green or blue. Anyone who sees an Ascended says how beautiful they are, no matter the race or gender of the person seeing it, they all agree. This Ascended looked down at the robber with pity, as a parent looks at a child who has done wrong. The robber began to plead. Then with blinding speed the robber had been impaled on a golden spear. Still alive the robber screamed as his torso was skewered. The Ascended lifted the spear above its head and lighting struck the spear, incinerating the criminal instantly. Without a word, the woman’s rescuer turned and flew off into the night, bringing the glow of morning and the gentle light with it.

            Jake left his apartment, wearing a black hoodie, blue jeans, black running shoes and a white t-shirt. He has dark brown hair, reddish brown eyes and pale skin. The night had grown later, but Jake didn’t seem to mind. He was one of the few people he knew that preferred the night over the day, night was also so quiet and as long as you knew where you were going, you would be perfectly safe. Jake wasn’t really afraid of murders or thieves. It was the Ascended that bothered him. While everyone else was overjoyed to have angels defend them in their darkest hour, Jake saw it as a threat. Anyone who can pass immediate judgment and kill someone without thinking can’t be as good as everyone says. Just being the Ascended shine and have wings, people assume they are holy. Jake also never understood why everyone says how beautiful they are. The few times hes seen one, they were just light shaped like humans with wings. He never saw the hair and eyes and wonderful skin people would go on about.

            Jake was on his way to work, he worked late hours into early morning, hours most people didn’t want. Jake was twenty and living alone. Jake didn’t have a car and the bus didn’t make regular stops by his street, so he had to walk everywhere. On the bright side he did have one of the newest wristband phones that besides calling people, it could bring up a calendar, calculator, messaging system, clock, internet, bank account, pedometer and voice recognition. It could also check your blood alcohol levels and pulse. Jake wondered if maybe he should have bought one of the basic phones or communicators and instead saved for a car, or put all that time and money into finding a girlfriend.

            After about twenty minutes of walking, Jake arrived at his work, a twenty four hour bar called “drink till your dead”. Jake wasn’t sure about the name, but gave the owner credit for honesty. Before Jake could get into the bar he saw someone run past him in a panic. It was a man in his mid twenties, dark skin, black hair with brown eyes. Chasing the poor guy was one of the Ascended, which was quickly catching up to the frightened man. The Ascended had been around so long ‘keeping the peace’, that most people wouldn’t have given this situation another thought. Almost everyone believed that if an Ascended was chasing you, you deserved it. Jake didn’t agree with this and decided to see if he could find out what was going on. If this man was guilty he needed to know for his own sake and if the man was innocent, Jake wanted to help.

            Jake saw the back of the Ascended, just pure light and rippling energy, that seemed to be holding a large jagged, golden sword about its head. “Stop!” Jake shouted. He didn’t know what he could do, but hoped that the protectors of humanity and the planet could be reasoned with. The Ascended turned around in a flash and flew straight at Jake. “Stop! Why are you attacking him? Did you even ask this man his side of the story? Do you things have any compassion?” Jake shouted, letting his emotions get the better of him. “It is not a human’s place to judge. It is the place of the Ascended to Judge those living on this planet. Order will be held, justice served. The only side of the story needed is ours” The Ascended replied. Its voice echoed through the air and sounded more like someone speaking through a microphone than what others have claimed they sound like. Jake remembered people say the voice of an Ascended was like honey for your ears. This felt like sandpaper on the ears.

            The Ascended didn’t seem eager to attack Jake, probably because Jake hadn’t done anything wrong. Jake still had the chance to save himself if he wanted, but if he did, this man would be murdered. The death penalty was used for anyone who sinned, it didn’t matter if they stole a piece of bread or murdered a whole family. “You can’t help me” said the scared man. Jake gritted his teeth. “No! Listen. What did he even do? He doesn’t seem like a criminal” Jake told the Ascended, to which it replied very flatly. “This man is one of the damned. A subspecies of human that threaten the order and balance of the world”

            Jake was confused, he didn’t know what these “Damned” were, but he didn’t believe being born a certain way was a crime. “I’m not a damned, I don’t even have any powers!” Shouted the Man. The Ascended turned around and decided to resolve the situation. He shot a bolt of lighting down striking the man dead and incinerating his corpse. “No! what are you things? He wasn’t a threat to anyone!” Jake shouted. Anger boiled in his soul at the injustice of the world and how everyone chooses to ignore it. “Another damned has been located” The Ascended announced. Jake snapped out of his fit of rage to realize he was on fire. His whole body was engulfed in fire, yet he wasn’t burning. He stretched his hand out as a reflex he didn’t know he had and fire shot forward in a stream. Fire poured out of his hands like water from a high-powered water hose. The flames surrounded the Ascended, setting it on fire and eventually burning it to ash.

            All the fires quickly went out after that. It was just Jake and two piles of ash at the end of a quiet street. Jake was finding more questions than answers right now, but decided to leave quickly. No one knew the Ascended could be killed, but it would make sense that killing one was the worst crime imaginable in this world.  Jake wasn’t sure what to do with his new powers, but he did know that if an Ascended came looking for him, they would have a bigger fight on their hands then they could imagine.