The Guardians

Prologue

Thunder rattles the black sky as lightning strikes miles away. A wind storm surges throughout the high trees as branches fall deep in the woods. Bright headlights pierce through the darkness as wheels roll smoothly against the damp road beneath. Music softly vibrates the car windows as the roar of the engine is smothered by the sound of the thunder. A middle aged couple sit in the front of the car, the woman's hand placed gently on the man's knee.

"Thank you for coming tonight," the man grins, "I know how much you hate those parties." The woman purses her red lips together before giving him a warm smile in return. "The things that wives do for their husbands," she coos as she slides her hand innocently up and down his knee. He laughs in return as he turns his attention back to the empty road in front of him. They hadn't passed another car in at least ten miles. It was one of the many reasons as to why they had moved to the woods.

"Do you think that the kids had a good night?" The wife asks as she turns her attention back to her tired husband. The husband nods slowly as he places his right hand on her bare knee. "Yes sweetheart," he says with a quiet yawn, "I'm sure that the kids had a fine night. I left them pizza money." The wife nods her head again in agreement as she lets out a soft sigh.

"What is it?" The husband asks, a tone of concern hiding in his voice. The wife shifts slightly in the passenger seat as she turns her attention to the storm outside. "It's Luke," she murmurs, "I'm concerned about him." Her husband nods his head but keeps his dark eyes on the wet road. "Because of the fight?" He asks.

"Because of the fight, because of his grades," she begins before releasing another sigh. She places her palm against her forehead as frustration and concern fill her. "Karen," her husband says reassuringly as he gently squeezes her knee, "Luke will be fine. He always finds his way." Karen shakes her head as she releases her palm from her forehead. "I don't know Shawn," she whispers through near tears, "one day he may not be able to find his way back."

Shawn removes his right hand from her knee and places it back firmly onto the steering wheel. He peeks up at the rear view mirror where two headlights stare back at him, shortly on their tail. It was the first car that he had seen in awhile. "You know that Kennedy will never let him fall too far," Shawn whispers as he turns down the radio and keeps his eyes on the headlights behind them.

Karen leans her head further into the seat behind her as she breathes in softly. "Kennedy can't always save him," she whispers. Shawn's grip tightens around the steering wheel as the car behind him revs its sports engine, its front wheels lunging forward as it prepares to swing around the couple's car. "What is this guy thinking driving like this in a storm?" Shawn mutters as he keeps his eyes tight on the bright headlights.

"He's probably just eager to get out of the storm," Karen shrugs as she closes her sleepy eyes. As the car zips around their car, Shawn notices that it pulls to the left, prepared to make a hard right. Making a hard right would mean piling straight into the drivers side door. "Karen, get down!" Shawn shouts as he keeps his hands tight on the steering wheel. Karen's eyes dart open as she turns her eyes to the left where the car beside them plows into the driver's side door.

The force knocks the couple's car into the metal barrier of a high bridge hanging over a rushing river. The sound of metal against metal is spine tingling as Karen clutches her eyes shut. "Shawn!" She shouts in fear as all that she can imagine are the faces of their children. Shawn keeps his left hand on the steering wheel and places his right arm across the chest of his wife in an effort to keep her more secured.

The car pulls away quickly before making another hard right, knocking the couple's car halfway through the barrier. The force causes Karen's head to crack against the passenger window, knocking her out cold. Shawn's face meets the steering wheel as pain soars through his jaw. The front wheels of the couple's car dangle over the edge of the bridge as screeching tires fade in the distance.

Shawn shifts his weight carefully as the car deviates to tend to his unconscious wife. "Karen," he whispers through a sore jaw. He hears subtle footsteps through the rain as he turns to face the person approaching the car. He wants to believe that they're there to help. He wants to believe that they've already called an ambulance. Yet somehow, he knows better than to believe that the person that purposefully forced him off the road could have good intentions.

His vision is blurry but through his eyes he can see a dark figure staring back at him. "Please," he whispers through silent sobs, "don't hurt her. She has nothing to do with this." The figure falls away from him as he can hear the footsteps move towards the back of the car. Nails drag along the body of the car as firm palms are placed on the trunk. "Please," Shawn cries as he reaches for his wife's cold hand, "please save her!"

Tears flood his cheeks, running along the edge of the steering wheel as heat rises to his face. He holds onto his wife's hand tightly, hoping and praying that she doesn't regain consciousness and squeezes back. "Please save her," he whispers through one last cry before listening to the bottom of the car grind along the edge of the bridge. The man in black pushes the car to the very edge, watching intently as the car falls and crashes to the shallow, rushing river below.

His face is shadowed by a dark hat and his physique covered by a long black trench coat. He breathes in silently as not a smile nor a frown frames his stale face. He keeps his head high as his dry lips stay in a straight line. He doesn't mutter even a word before spinning on his heel, his boots crunching the shattered glass beneath.

From the haze of a foggy, dreary mist there is....The Guardians.