Rain fell on the island. The trees welcomed this with open leaves and branches. Animals scurried for shelter all over the island. The rain fell upon the tropical plants of the island. The rain fell upon the fields and forests of the land. The rain fell upon two people, each in a separate steel prison.

Mark’s eyes sprang open. His head was throbbing as if it had just been hit by a metal baseball bat. The rain pelted down on his face. His Holy Spear was gone. Slowly, he pulled himself up and realized he was in a cage. Looking around, he saw that Ryan was in a similar cage. His Asianic was gone too. Vanya however, was no where to be found.

“Hey,” Mark yelled to Ryan in a hoarse voice, “Ryan wake up!” There was no sign of life in Ryan. He remained slumped on the ground with the rain gently showering him. Thinking he needed something to hit Ryan with, Mark searched the ground for a rock or a pebble.

Suddenly, he noticed a thin, black wire, protruding from the ground. He traced it with his fingers and that saw it led to the door. With his eyes, Mark followed the wire to a tree between their cages. Odd, why was there a tree in the middle of the clearing? Suddenly, Mark gasped in horror.

Hidden in the leaves of the tree, Mark saw a machine gun. He realized if someone were to open the door without disarming the gun first, he would be instantly filled with more than a hundred pieces of hypersonic lead.

Sighing in dismay, Mark sauntered to a side of the cage and sat down, propping his back up against the steel bars. It was no use. Waking Ryan up would only add to the problems. He watched quietly as Ryan slept on the drenched, soggy, muddy ground.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“We are going in” Hariyama muttered into the communicator.
“Roger that Night 1, we are go for the execution,” Mark replied through his own communicator. Stealthily, ten figures stole into Eos Tower and up the stairs. Mark hid in the trees by the gates of the tower and stood guard as the base camp, using his GPS and heat seeking imagery to map the advancement of his strike team. Hariyama was already on the 102nd floor. Five of his men were gathered around him, while the other four were posted at the entrance to the room. He was bending over something. He had found the Keys.

All of a sudden, Mark’s GPS screen blacked out. What the hell? He hastily yelled into the communicator for Hariyama as he tried to turn the machine back on. A calm voice asked what was wrong. Apparently, nothing was going on inside the tower. Hariyama informed Mark that he was going to take the Key. Then, the chaos began.

Mark could only listen in terror as the sounds told him what was happening.
“Oh s***! Run men run!” There was a tremendous, deafening roar followed by more screaming. “Leave him, he’s gone. We have to get our asses out NOW! Oh f***!” A crash came through the communicator. Mark looked up just in time to see the body of one of Hariyama’s men fly out the window of the 102nd floor. This was followed by another earsplitting roar. Mark could hear it coming through his communicator and from the direction of the tower. More screaming. “Goddammit, this is a dead end,” Hariyama yelled, “We have to fight!” Another scream followed by a thud. Sounds of a battle now filled the communicator. Roars and war cries rang through the earpiece as Mark continued to listen, wide eyed in horror. Fear rendered him unable to speak. There was another scream, followed by more roars, and more indistinct yelling. Then, there was silence followed by a sudden rush of footsteps that echoed through the earpiece.

Suddenly, Hariyama’s voice clearly blasted through the communicator, “Mark, are you there?”
Finally working up the courage, Mark answered in a weak voice, “yes.”
“My men are all dead,” Hariyama gasped as he ran, “I have delayed it for a while. Get me an exit fast!”
“I can’t sir! The GPS is down. The computer just went haywire!” Mark replied frantically.
Hariyama swore through the communicator. “Ok, then wait till I say so, then you fi- OH SH** LOOK UP! LOOK UP!”
Mark swerved his head up in an instant and saw Hariyama crash through the window of the 101st floor, spreading glass, wood, and other debris cruising through the air. All of a sudden, a terrible, gigantic monster smashed through the wall, making bricks and supports collapse and fall down with him. Mark could see Hariyama throw his Ilbis wildly at the monster as they both plummeted hundreds of feet to the ground, but it seemed to have no effect. The last thing Mark heard was Hariyama demanding in a calm voice through the earpiece, “Mark get out of here.”

Both Hariyama and the monster careened through the air and ultimately into the ground. The world screeched to a slow and painful, grinding halt for Mark. He watched in horror as both bodies smashed into the ground, creating an enormous impact crater. The ground shook as the monster shattered the ground. Dust leapt into the air and engulfed everything in its path. Without turning back, Mark ran for it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ryan began to stir. Mark watched him in silence as he came to the same realization as he did a few hours ago when he himself awoke.
“Mark,” Ryan cried when he spotted him still sitting in the corner of his cage, “Where’s Vanya?” Mark shrugged in misery. “Don’t touch the door,” Ryan continued, “There is a gatling gun trained on our prisons.”
“I know,” Mark sighed, “We cannot do anything now.”

The rain continued to pound down on the two. Large puddles formed on the ground. Mark stared at his own reflection in a pool of water. His reflection startled him. He did not realize how much older he looked than the last time he saw his reflection. I’ve changed, he thought, I was not who I used to be.

Mark glared at his reflection in the murky water, who glared right on back. Tears welled up in his eyes. He swiped at the water in the pool angrily, but it just reformed in front of him, as if undisturbed. Mark’s tears mingled with the rain and seeped into the ground.