Chapter 1

The siren sadly wailed as the ambulance tried making its way through the busy street. It was apparent that each second was as important as the heartbeat of the woman that lay on the stretcher inside it. One of the paramedics frantically kept pumping with his hands on her chest to keep the flow of air into her lungs. The lady had a fatal bruise on her head where fragments of glass had still stuck. Another paramedic was trying to clean wound. The lady was unconscious and this was scary as she could shift from unconsciousness to decease at any time. Her life was hinged to her on a tiny string which was as weak as the spiders web that could break at any time if any more weight was added. 

The woman had a black skin wasn't oily but still glowed. Her hair was done into the 80's and 90's 'afro' hair style which were thin but glowy and neatly combed. She had a while blouse that was now stained red and dampened with blood. She was in tight blue jeans that were faded on the front thighs. Her eyelashes were naturally long and her eye brows naturally thick. He had no make up on her face Save for the light shade of pink lipstick. She had a strikingly beautiful face. 

"The Star Hospital, this is Officer B12 A calling, over." one of the paramedics said on his radio, beads of sweat slowly rolling on his face. The heart machine was constantly beeping like a time bomb. The people inside swerved at times as the ambulance tried evading other vehicles in its way, and they at times jerked when it hit the bumps. This was the time the smoothest ride was desperately needed as much as possible but the urgency of the situation couldn't allow no matter how smooth the roads were. 

"The Star Hospital, how may I help you, over." Responded a calm feminine voice. It was exactly the kind of voice that would lull you to sleep no matter how stressed you felt. It was a voice that entered not only into the ear but also deep into the soul- the type that provides an unexplainable soothe and comfort. 

"We are having a patient in critical condition, was involved in an accident, seeking for permission to bring her, over."

"What's the patient's description? Over."

"Uhm... Female, seems to be in her late thirties, almost 120 kilos of medium height."

"Whats her heart rate?" 

"Can't really tell. It's been fluctuating but we're trying to stabilize it."

"What's her name?" 

"Can't tell." The exchange had now taken a serious tone that all the protocols were broken. The paramedic sat down with a thud looking at the woman both both scared and empathetic, the radio still in front of his mouth. 

"If we don't reach the hospital soon, we'll lose her." the woman on the other end seemed to have understood. 

"We currently have few beds if not none, but let me try ask a chance, hold on."

"The ambulance can't support her anymore, we need to make it to an ICU." he said, heaving as he looked at the curve on the heart machine. Suddenly, the woman began violently shaking and the beeping of the heart machine became irregular and fast. 

"Quick! The defibrillator." said the paramedic getting lost himself in the confusion. One of the other paramedics found it and rubbed the two defibrillators against each other before administering a shock. The woman jerked but continued shaking, this time trying to say something amid the heavy breathing and heaving. 

"What is she trying to say?" asked one paramedic looking with a confused expression on his face. The others just looked on, trying to pay attention to the mutterings. Slowly, the words began being more clear but it nothing anybody had ever heard of.

"Arthmata, Arthmata, Arthmata... Aaa... Arth... Arthmata..." the woman continued saying and she seemed to calm the more she said the word.

"What the hell is that?" Said one person, not sure what to do next. But as he watched on, the woman suddenly became more violent, shouting the word more loudly and shaking more vigorously. The curve began fattening. 

"Another shock! Another shock."

"True. I'm also shocked."

"Defibrillate you fool, we're losing her!" and the paramedic immediately jumped into action. He administered the first shock, nothing. The second, still nothing. He made a quick prayer gesture with his hands on his head and across the chest and administered the third shock. It worked. The woman slowly calmed and the curved reverted to normal. The ambulance also came to a halt.

"I think we have arrived, quick, into the hospital" True to his words, when he opened the doors, he was staring directly at the huge entrance with "Emergencies and Accidents" inscribed on top. The woman was quickly wheeled into the hospital as the paramedic let out a sigh of relief.

"Officer B12 A?" he heard a voice behind him as he saw the stretcher dissappear around a conner in the hospital's corridor. It was similar to the one he had spoken to on the radio.

"Yes, but you can call me Dr. Hans."

"I'm sorry I didn't call back... I mean... I did but I heard the confusion so I just hung up and decided to wait for you." She said, quickly approaching. "I am officer R-O-S-E."

"I presume that's Rose, err... Or is that a work ID or a name?" he said reaching out to her extended hand and shook it, scanning the stranger before him. She looked of Asian origin but her accent betrayed her. She sounded more of a native British. She had soft hands and a beautiful pretty face, on which strands of the black shiny hair fell over on her eyes. She occasionally titled her head to remove the hair from in front of her eyes or removed them with with her fingers. Her hair was quite long, reaching below her shoulders. Her eyes were purely white like a child's, with a black pupil perfectly set in the middle. 

"I'm actually Dr. Roselyde but I usually find it too official and boring." she said and shyly chuckled.

"Hah hah! You can call me Bob by the way, I'm Hanson Bobberclyde. Hans is way too official and boring too." they both laughed still holding hands, only more firmly this time around.

"I'm afraid I have to go now, I've just completed my shift and it's been a busy and tiresome day."

"It's understandable, but uhm... don't you have a contact? I would like to catch up with you later, if you don't mind."

"I do, I'll leave you my business card."

"Sure, that'll help."

"May I?" She said trying to pull out her hand from his firm grip. He had been so absorbed in her beauty that he forgot he was still holding her. 

"You may, I'm sorry."He said, awkwardly smiling as he let go off her hand. 

She produced her card from her red handbag and handed it to him. He took it, fixing her gaze on her for as long as he still could see her. When she was out of sight, he began examining the card, keenly reading every detail as if he was reading a speech, thinking about the beauty of the woman she had just met. He had began steadily falling in love with her. However, the word he had earlier heard interrupted his flow of thoughts, and the emotions that were creeping into him. 

Arthmata, Arthmata, Arthmata. The words resounded in his head in the very manner and pace the woman had said it. It, however, sounded more of a ghostly echo. Who was that woman? And what the hell is Arthmata? The woman looked worried when he met her. Their car had rammed into a truck. However, one thing caught his eye- Her eyes. When he first saw them, the top right quarter of her iris was red, the top left corner green, a the lower right quarter blue and the remaining quarter orange, and it seemed to glow dimly. The pupil was black, but it was blacker that the pupil anyone had. However, when his attention shifted, they eyes were normal brown eyes when he again looked. He thought he was hallucinating. 

Surprisingly, the road the accident had happened wasn't usually a busy road and it was wide too. He also eavesdropped one eyewitness say that both vehicles were not speeding. They were in fact in a ridiculously slow speed as if they were about to stop, only that the occupants of the car were kissing while driving. 

"Yeah! It was sort of a kiss and roll. I didn't expect such an impact or damage, but when the car approached the truck, it suddenly rammed into it as if it had been pushed by some imaginary hand." An excited witness said. 

It didn't make sense. He also didn't expect such a scene from the witnesses's statement, but here he was staring at a fatal accident. He only rushed to help the woman, not caring if there were other casualties. He didn't even know why he was doing so. 

I wish I knew more about the woman, I wish I knew what had transpired. He loudly thought leaning on the very ambulance he previously was in, vocalizing each word as if he was reading his own thoughts. If only he had known... 

*******

Lisa Smith White looked classy in her boots. It gave a magnificent touch to the white blouse and tight, blue jeans she was wearing. She always had luck with most outfits-- any cloth looked good on her, to add on her smashing beauty and figure. She was black with a skin that glowed, though it wasn't so oily. Her hair reached midway through her back she had no makeup today but when she usually wore it, she looked more of a Disney goddess. With or without makeup, she was still beautiful anyways. 

Her presence was always filled with an unexplainable dominance and charisma, as well as admiration. Everyone wanted to be around her, and everyone couldn't help but wonder when she married Don Vien Smith White. Everyone expected her to marry Louis, the French, town hottie. But she did not, and she also didn't understand why. 

"Hey Candy," called out a man who was obviously attracted to her but she saw a man wave at her from the black Volkswagen just a few yards from where she stood. 

"I'm fine thank you but I'm afraid I have a boyfriend." she said, slightly grinning at the man, almost like a flirt, and paced towards the Volkswagen. She was sure it was Don. And it was, only that this time around he wasn't himself--he was smiling. 

Don Vien Smith was commonly known as" The Pepper Snitch" by everyone who had lived in Big York city long enough to know him. He was short, short-tempered just like his height, unshapely and asymmetrical. He was skinny in his upper body but fat from his thighs downwards. Only his hair and beards were attractive--shiny and glossy even if unshaven, an ah yes! His shiny white teeth too. He was always bitter even in the lightest of the moments, rarely smiled except if Lisa made him. He maintained a serious tone in his conversations which were brief and to the point. 

"You look happy today, what's not wrong?" Lisa asked as she opened the door and entered the car. 

"I was thinking about an outdoor date, a dinner for just the two of us." he said, leaning towards the Lisa, interlocking his mouth into hers in a brief but passionate kiss. 

Lisa began being confused. This obviously wasn't Don, but who knows? The only constant thing in the world is change. Never in the 22 years they had lived together had Don been so romantic. He was even difficult to converse with, but Lisa managed in some way, even though it was a one-sided conversation. But here he was, trying what he had never tried - and Lisa loved whatever was happening. She was scared at the same time as she did not know how to adapt to the new developments nor what to do. 

The engine coughed into life and the car slowly hit the road, progressively gaining momentum before finally speeding off. It was cold and Lisa started shivering. She leaned over to Don and rested her head on his shoulder but Don wasn't bothered. Strange. Even though he was unromantic and difficult to deal with, he always cared about her and he could have handed her the jacket he was wearing. 

"Frost White." Don said but went entirely silent after. 

"Who is that?" Lisa asked when she could no longer stand the suspense. 

"Frost White, our son. How is he getting along?" 

"Our son isn't Frost White, he is Scott White." she started feeling something wasn't right but she remained calm. 

"Oh yeah! How is he getting along? There is a pendant he has, a blue pendant I bought him."

Lisa was finally sure that something was wrong. And wait... That name Frost, where have I heard the name? And no one was ever to know about the pendant, no one ever has. Only Scott and herself knew where it was, not even Don knew. 

"You're silent, I asked about the pendant if you heard me right." Don has never used that harsh tone on her. He intently looked at her and as he did so, he missed a bump and the car jerked. The sleeve on Don's jacked was pushed up revealing a skeleton tattoo. Lisa saw it and immediately knew what it meant. This was no Don, this was one of Darkness Devils. 

"Whoever you are, leave my son alone!" 

"Too late for that." he said and his skin started fading as if being burnt, revealing the most scary creature Lisa had seen in real life. She had only seen such in her nightmares: A mouth torn to the neck which drooled slimmy, mucous-like saliva that was mixed with blood and pus, a face that had open wounds oozing pus and blood, some of which had been stitched but still fresh. The throat was split, revealing a neck bone and from where drops of blood and sputum splashed whenever he talked. 

Her inner cores energized and her eyes glowed. She had never wanted this to happen again--the last time it happened, it didn't end well. 

"Tell me, what do you want."

"I made it clear."

"Stop the car."

"You're coming with me." 

"I SAID STOP THE CAR!" this time around, there was a blast and a blast of air hit the car from the side, imm overturning it. The impact was so strong but the damage wasn't too great Lisa began bleeding but it wasn't from the impact. It was something else, and she began feeling drowsy. The Darkness Devil had disappeared and the door was untouched. The siren sounded from far and Lisa was quickly losing her consciousness.