CODES

P R O L O G U E

The skies parted above our heads. There were others around me, but I wasn't sure who they were, or why they were with me. I also had no idea where I was or why. All I knew was to look up and focus-a force told me to do it.

With my chin tilted up, I focused on the white clouds consumed by black. What should've been night behind daylight wasn't a midnight sky, but a void filled with sorrow and despair. The sounds of screams and cries blew out with the gusts of winds. I covered my face with one hand, closed one eye, but kept the other open.

I knew I needed to see. Something inside me, around me, reminded me that this was what I'd agreed to all along.

See the lies as they appear, my friend.

"What if we didn't want this?" a man to my left shouted as he stumbled back. I glanced at him as his dark curly hair fell over his face, obscuring his features.

Squinting, I tried to remember him, but not even the sound of his voice was familiar. "We had agreed to something else! Not this!"

Following his line of sight, I looked up at the darkness once again. Ahead of me, other people behaved just like the man; they crawled back on their hands. Fearful. Regretful. They all coward away from the growing storm, covering their heads. The screams in the air grew louder. And some shouted and cried along with the echoes.

They may have panicked, but I took one step back and lowered my hand. I wanted to see what the others feared.

"You're all fucking ridiculous!" a woman cried out, circling those who refused to stand. Her hands were at her side, balled in tight fists. Her black hair moved as the wind pushed against her. "This was your plan! Exactly what we needed!"

Tar fell from the skies like rain. It pooled around us. Those who'd thrown themselves against the ground tried to stand, but the weight of darkness pouring down on them forced them underneath. Gone.

"It wasn't!" another woman argued with the first. She pushed through the sludge that now reached our ankles. Her hands pressed up into her blonde, thick hair. "We wanted to be free, be alive. But this? What we're being told to do is-"

"Is heaven!" The first woman lifted her hands in the air as she laughed, slowly dancing in a circle. Many of the others tried to avoid her as she made her way towards them, but the moment she stood in front of them, she grabbed them and pushed them down.

Under the tar, they went. Silence swallowed their frantic cries.

Shaking my head, I took another step back. And another. I wasn't sure what the others had heard, but I was oblivious to what scared everyone. And what we'd "agreed" to do. Yes, the area was confusing and the dying sky above our head was terrifying. But I couldn't help but feel as though I were the only one sane, still clinging to any common sense. My brain told me this was all a dream. I'd wake any moment.

Everyone wakes up eventually.

"And you!" The dark-haired woman approached me, a smile on her face. Her sinister laugh dipped into a malicious smile. "You... you helped make this all possible."

I froze. I wasn't sure whether to cower like the others or run away. But I knew with the tar continuing to rise, escaping wasn't an option.

Instead, I gulped and looked into her piercing eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about..."

"Oh, you don't?" The woman inched closer, nose to mine. Her slender fingers slid up my cheek as she slid her hand along my face. "You were the mastermind, remember? You were the reason behind the cause-"

"No, no..." I shook my head, trying to move away from her. "I don't... I don't understand..."

"Oh, don't be coy," she laughed. "4963, this is all because of you and we couldn't have done it without you. Oh, well, I helped."

I'm dreaming, fucking dreaming.

Trying to move back, I toppled over. My hands pressed into the sludge across the floor. And the skies above weren't covered with any clouds. Just darkness. Pain. Death.

The woman kneeled before me. "Don't listen to them. This is exactly what they want. To live. To be free. Get the revenge they so long deserved-"

Her lips were inches from mine and I...

I couldn't help but squeeze my eyes shut because I no longer saw her. I saw the streets of a city I knew, but couldn't remember. The silhouette of a woman so familiar, yet such a distant memory. The visions before my eyes were proof that I wasn't within reality-this was a fantasy. A fearful, horrifying fantasy.

"-Just open your eyes, Roger. Take a look with me and agree."

"Agree..." With my eyes still closed, I tried to turn away. "Agree to what?"

"To the obvious." Her breath was on my lips. "We live. They don't. Fair trade, right?"

***

A/N: Hello, hello! <3

I've decided to start working on the sequel to Roger once again! I know the last time I tried, I got stuck, failed :( and gave up. But I've decided to really tackle this again! and complete it once and for all!

Things you may notice -- yes, I'm replacing old chapters, so you'll see comments and such from what was up at one point and time. What I'm sharing now has been reworked, changed, and ... well, loosely edited. So, if I missed anything or if anything sounds off, do let me know! <3 I appreciate it! A more thorough edit won't happen until it's completed. (I have my rule -- write first, edit later, lol <3)