"You can't save everybody..."

The one line repeated itself in Brian's head over and over as he dimly gazed at the shiny dark marble headstone with his best friend's name engraved elegantly into it, his entire body from the tips of his hair to the soles of his feet felt too empty to even muster up the emotions for a single tear. There was only one thing eating at him from the inside like a writhing parasite weathering and gnawing away at him away until there was nothing left of him. 'I could've saved him...' It was a thought that had haunted Brian since that one night in the museum that had changed his very life forever, ever since he had laid eyes on..on that...thing. It had always come back to this, this one guilt-laden that he could've saved the one person who meant so much to him in his entire life, he could have saved Tyler his best friend from everything that had happened that night; but he didn't, he had frozen and it had cost him everything he had held dear to him. 

A flash of silver, dark bottomless heartless eyes staring into his own silvery grey ones. For a moment everything had stood still not a breath had been taken. But something during that time had passed between him and the thing that attacked him, a moment just a split second of hesitance. He could tell that much, Brian could see those shadowy eyes falter for just an instance within an instance. And then...movement. That's when the screams of the one closest to him started before being forever silenced by the plunge of that silver blade. That night so much blood was shed, it's crimson drops had covered his hands as he fought to stem the bleeding. But it was useless even Tyler knew that. 

What hurt him the most was his dear friend's last words made him feel like someone had scraped out his insides with a potato peeler, "It wasn't your fault.." The bloody hand dripping with that awful color reached up wiping away a tear leaving a trail of blood as it lifelessly thumped against the hardwood floor. 

"It wasn't your fault.." The other had said. But how could it not be his fault? Everything had pointed to it being the exact opposite and now Brian would never forgive himself for such a thing and even as much time had passed he never seemed to forget what had happened, it left him in a state of almost permanent depression. And now because of his failure to act, that thing..the nephilim had killed his friend and..and had done something completely horrible to him, a new form of torture he'd like to guess. The dreams were bad enough, the dreams of rivers of gushing blood blood much like the earth had been wounded, it was from a time long since past and the era of a man standing above a mountains and mountains of corpses; decapitated, limbs savagely ripped off, hearts torn out, and many other things all which made him want to throw up everything which he had eaten. The man stood atop of the hill of fallen bodies with his six wings of darkness arched out sharpened and gleaming like the most deadliest blade ready to cut any challenger down where he stood. It scared him the look in the man's eyes, the look of utter blood lust the thirst for more and more blood to be shed. Each time he dreamt of this he woke up feeling suffocated with his sheets twisting around his body like a python, but that was just the beginning of what had happened since the death. 

Recently much to his surprise and faint horror he had been able move certain things without touching them and make the shadows under and around him come into being, if he concentrated then he could make them follow his every command,but in all honesty this was a very terrifying ability. 

The first time this had happened was on the way back from visiting Tyler's grave. He had kept his head down as the freezing cold rain soaked through his clothes chilling him to the bone, it all happened so suddenly a boy on a bike not able to see clearly because of the pouring down rain was pedaling towards him at a speed that would most definitely hurt them both if they had collided. And oh yes this was going to hurt he could sense that much, so he raised his arms in a futile attempt to shield himself from the worst of the collision and suddenly the biker wasn't anymore coming towards him anymore, the bicyclist had been thrown away his bike now a twisted pile of smoking metal, out of the corners of his eyes he could see a darkly whispering black mass shifting and curling before sinking slowly into the ground like thick black oil that had spilled onto the ground before forming a normal shadow. He stared at the shadow a vague feeling of horror and absolute welling up inside him squeezing his chest like a python making it difficult for him breath.

Had he..had he done that?

Before Brain realized it he had taken off running towards his home, his parents were at work leaving him the perfect time to find what he needed. He had broken into his father's study and was rifling through every unlocked drawer he could get his hands on his father wouldn't be happy when he found out but he'd understand. He'd come to understand a lot more abort Brian since Tyler's death, but all that went out the window when he pulled out a thick piece of import looking paper and finally he found it...

Brian Withers formally adopted on July 22nd, 1996 at the age of 3. 

The breath that he had been holding came out in one heavy whoosh leaving him feeling very small and very much like a child again, this was the missing puzzle piece that he had been looking for..this is why he had been attacked..this was why. He hadn't realized it then but tears had welled up in his eyes slowly trailing down his cold soaked cheeks as his shoulders shook. "Why..why me?" He whispered aloud to him as his shaky fingers finally letting the paper drop his numb hands unable to grip and hold much of anything anymore as he slowly with visibly shaking legs stood up. He knew now, he knew right then couldn't stay here any longer, what if he endangered more people! What if this time it was his parents that died instead of him?! 

And that after nearly fifteen minute of barreling through the house to grab anything that he might need, was how he found himself standing in front of his long dead friend's grave  weeping silent tears of regret and guilt with a backpack full of everything he'd need over his shoulder. He wasn't ready to give up his life but for the good of others he would have to. "I'm sorry..I'm sorry I failed you..." He hoarsely whispered a he pressed the palm of his hand against the cold granite of the gravestone before turning his back to it and walking away from everything he had ever known.