Faceless.

Friends.

                     The three voices made their way down the bridge for what seemed like hours, until they saw the foreboding skyscrapers of the nightmarish city, becoming closer and closer, all of them barely speaking on the walk. They could all feel something very chilling. Suddenly, they heard a dark, sharp voice echo throughout the area,as the bridge just ahead of them's boards all were flung to the side, and into the air, pixelating and dematerializing into nothing, as the water where the bridge was began to ripple.

                        "Welcome!" The water shot upward like a geyser, and as it fell, it revealed they saw the perfectly dry body of a pale man, with long black hair, and piercing cobalt eyes that appeared to rip and tear at their very core,rising upward,arms stretched out to each side, as if he were in a crucifix, his body slowly relaxing. His arms fell to his sides, and his feet pointed downward before they landed on the water's surface,standing perfectly on the liquid as if it were a concrete floor. "Welcome to  Thought, voices."

                         They all had their own questions. 

"Who the hell are you?!" Christopher.

"How are you doing that?!" Natalie.

"W-What do you want?" Gwen.

 

                       Abel ignored all of their queries. He simply laughed, maniaclly, throwing his head back in absolute euphoria. "I am reborn! Don't you see?"

                          Christopher took a step forward,at the edge of what was left of the bridge looking to the stranger, with a now calm and cool expression. "Are you a voice?"

                              The man chuckled a bit to himself, crossing his arms. "I am Abel Ricards! I was a voice. No,I was THE voice. And now, because of you, I've been walking that damp city for two damn years!" He uncrossed his arms, and it sent a shockwave through the air that knocked the trio on their spines, sending them flying down the bridge, Natalie screaming as she flew backward, Chris rolling midair and catching her in his arms, absorbing the blow of the fall, Gwen sliding past next to them.

                            "Gwen!" Chris and Natalie both yelled simultaneously, as he sat her upright, and stood himself. " How...?" Chris looked at the ever-widening smile on the face of Abel, and it made him sick. He sweeped a bit of hair out of his face as his smile widened even further, as he replied smugly. "I have been in here for two years. I picked up a few things about manipulating my astral body here in Thought. There's a lot I can do that would take you YEARS to understand!" He laughed another manical laugh and threw his head back yet again. "Insects! Insects!" Abel dashed forward and lunged toward Chris, arm outstretched fist prepared to collide with his face.

                                Chris rolled out of the way, but it didn't stop Abel from continuing on his course, about to make contact with Gwen's stomach as she had just stood, and in a flash, Chris was in front of Abel, taking the hit, straight in the face,on his right cheek, Abel's knuckles tearing and cutting his skin. Still standing, his arms outstretched, preventing Abel from advancing to Gwen. Abel's mouth opened slowly as his voice expressed considerable shock, "Wha-?!"

                               Before he could finish, Christopher had laid a barrage of crushing fists into his stomach, allowing one final uppercut to send him flying into the air. And fly he did, soaring high into the evening sky, in complete shock that this newbie voice had just made a fool of him, as he dropped onto the bridge, the force from his drop causing him to drop into the water.

                           Christopher looked back at Gwen, panting and then yelled into the water. "I won't let you hurt her!" Natalie's voice rose up, from across the bridge, with the same tone a cheerleader takes at a football game. "And stay down there!" 

                      Chris grabbed Gwen's hand,and they jumped over the gap in the bridge,together, to Natalie, who ran to them at an alarmingly quick speed. Nothing inhuman, however.

                           She looked up at Chris, while Gwen's gaze was fixed out onto the gorgeous jade lake. He gave her a slight smile. "So, you said you wanted to be friends?" She nodded to him. "Uh-huh." He joined Gwen standing at the railing of the bridge, leaning against it, as did Natalie. He looked out to the lake, as she looked up at him, in anticipation.

                                                                "I guess that'd be okay."