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Prologue 1/2

"Let there be Light"

"This is the last fucking time," James muttered angrily. Back at home, before the fall, his friends would never have abandoned him like this. Yet after less than a couple of months with this new group, he now found himself scouring an unfamiliar city, searching for them- again.

Perhaps they didn't consider him a friend at all. Each of them knew at least one of the others before the blackout, but James had been a hundred miles from his home when the shit had hit the fan. Now this group of misfits had become his people, but it really bothered him that they didn't seem to consider him one of theirs.

The lost boy's anger was washed away with sorrow as he began to think of his family and friends back home in Birmingham. Did they make it? Do they think I'm dead?

James' mother had always been quick to stress. Part of him wished she hadn't made it, because to think of how worried she would be, not knowing where her eldest son was - or whether he was even still breathing - brought a sadness to his stomach that he couldn't bear.

"No!" James said aloud before taking a desperately deep breath. This was supposed to be their chance to have some fun. After what happened in Manchester, they were in need of it. James took another, deeper, breath and decided that he would not let anything ruin the rest of his time here. He had not spent the night getting high for the first time in months just to walk around the streets alone, worrying about things that were beyond his control. And besides, deep down James knew - though he didn't understand how - that he would see his family again very soon.

Lifting his head high in an effort to influence his mood, James wiped the worry from his eyes and took a look around. He still could not believe he was in a place called Ganjatown. Twenty year old James - from only a year prior - would have loved the idea of a city devoted to keeping its community high. But looking at it now, it seemed like little more than a really bad movie that cost far too much to make.

Ganjatown was a bullshit name for the place anyway. It was still just Derby- or what was left of it - with a few cannabis vendors and some make-shift cafes. Cafes that had clearly been high street banks and shops before they were abandoned not too long ago.

An unwelcome thought trespassed upon the boy's mind- What if they've already left? They may have agreed to stay the night here, but that same agreement hadn't panned out too well in the previous "city." If they had been forced to leave abruptly again, James feared he wouldn't be able to catch up with them.

With a rising heart rate, he began to panic his way around the town square. His friends were nowhere to be seen, and neither was anyone else. Less than an hour ago there had been many people hanging around this area, but now James could see little more than a neon hemp leaf - that looked oddly closer to blue than green - illuminating an empty town square from above.

Realising that he could simply ask the guards at the entrance whether or not the rest of the group had left yet, James turned around quickly and started to make his way to the perimeter.

"Sir?"

The voice took James by surprise, having emanated from the empty square he'd just left. He turned around to see a woman sitting alone by the fountain. He was surprised that he had missed her, since she was very possibly the most attractive woman he had seen in some weeks.

"Hi there," James responded, attempting to seem calmer and more confident than he was. "You shouldn't be out here by yourself."

"So why are you?" She asked, her voice as soft as it was welcoming.

James thought about answering honestly, but decided against painting himself a person worthy of abandonment.
"It's alright for me. I'm a man." He explained. "These streets are dangerous now though, so you shouldn't be out here without someone to look out for you."

The boy's poor attempt at flattery was met with a smile. He realised now that the woman was far older than he'd first thought, yet still extraordinarily beautiful.

Noticing her black robe James found himself able to relax.

"Sorry, sister.. I hadn't realised."

"You're sorry for what exactly?"

Sorry for almost trying to fuck you, James thought to himself, though he did not dare say it.

"I didn't realise you were a nun," James said as he sat down by the fountain, a body's length away from her. "I didn't even know if there was still nuns," he added, looking down at his feet.

The woman moved closer to James, appropriating the empty space between them. "There will always be nuns, James, just as there will always be priests."

"I suppose you are right," he agreed, his voice breaking towards the end of the sentence. How the fuck does she know my name? Confused, James looked at the woman more attentively, noticing this time that her robes were not like that of your average Roman Catholic nun. "Who are you?"

"You needn't fear me, my child," she whispered softly, placing her hands around his wrist.

James felt something painful pinch his forearm for a second, but the fear of looking afraid prevented him from pulling his hand away.

"I'm not afraid," he lied loudly."Why would you think I was afwaid?" He attempted to correct himself but noticed his lips and throat had quickly become numb. "What did-"

The ability to speak left him rapidly, and as he glanced back at the face of the woman, his eye lids became so heavy that he knew she had poisoned him. He attempted to curse at her, but it seemed the connection between his lips and his mind had been severed, for not a muscle moved on his face.

As he leaned back in exhaustion, his eyes remained focused on her face. The smile had escaped her, and she now seemed to be looking past him, onto something - or someone - further away. James couldn't keep his eyes open any longer, but he remained conscious just long enough to hear her give the command.

"Take him."

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This took longer than I thought it would to write, but I will have the second part of the prologue up tomorrow, so stay tuned. Thanks for reading.

@writeous