“They died wailing for their mothers. They died howling like little children. They died with their hearts screaming for one more look at their lover’s face. They died sobbing, and every single one of them died thinking the same thing: ‘I want to live. I want to live.’” - Johnny Got His Gun * * * * The trees flashed past as Tohya drove at full speed, going as fast as the car would go, stepping down onto the accelerator of the red sports convertible, with Yuri in the front passenger seat right next to him, looking through a map of the Kanagawa prefecture of Japan. It was nightfall, and he had been driving for hours to get to the Kanagawa prefecture which is where Ren was supposed to have been. Riou had filled both of them in on what he had known so far about Ren’s sudden disappearance. When he hadn’t returned from his mission after a week, Riou had sen

O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent. Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One, you are the praise of Israel. In you our fathers put their trust, they trusted and you delivered them. They cried to you and were saved, in you they trusted and were not disappointed. - Psalm 22:2   * * * *   The skies were dark and gloomy that early Thursday morning when Yuri Kirisawa made her way into the Aoyama cemetery at the break of dawn, wearing her coat. The gloomy weather that Thursday morning only added to her already sombre mood as she entered the silent cemetery.   The Aoyama cemetery was deserted, and even the caretaker of the cemetery wasn’t around. The dried leaves crackled beneath Yuri’s feet as she walked over them, taking a path that she could probably walk with both her eyes closed.   And at the furthest point of the cemetery, Yuri stopped before a fairly

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. - Psalm 23:4 * * * * A bell tinkled somewhere in Starlight’s Hall as Yuri pushed the door opened, entering the bar. As it was mid-afternoon, the bar wasn’t open yet, but Yuri, Tohya and Ren often popped by Starlight’s Hall then, and Mizuki was used to it by now. Apart from Yuri and her friends, there was hardly anyone before its opening hours. As such, Yuri was surprised when she saw a middle aged man dressed in a semi-casual outfit sitting on one of the swivel chairs at the bar counter, a black jacket draped on the chair beside him, a martini in front of him. The man also wore a pair of frameless glasses on his nose, and he looked like one of the businessmen that Yuri sees everyday on the streets. Mizuki gave

My God, My God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? - Psalm 22:1 * * * * Things couldn’t get any worse for Hati. And as Yuri had predicted, Raven’s Gate wasn’t even halfway done with them yet. It was barely two weeks after that accursed video had found its way into the hands of the media, when Venar Enterprises or Raven’s Gate, started spreading rumours in Japan about Hati killing politicians under the orders of the government. Yuri had feared initially the backlash that would happen should the civilian populace find out about Hati’s existence. It caused an all-out riot in the streets of Japan, and even within the government themselves, it became a free-for-all for everyone. The high ranking government officials were finding it difficult to curb the riots bre

The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of rulers, that struck the people in wrath with unceasing blows, that ruled the nations in anger with unrelenting persecution. - Isaiah 14:5 * * * * Dawn was just breaking over the horizon when Terror Island came into view. The island was very beautiful once upon a time, with silver sparkling white sand on the beaches, with several species of plant life growing on the island, and a gigantic mansion built on the island that could easily pass as a castle because of the size of it. The entire mansion was made out of solid white marble, fashioned after an ancient Victorian style mansion, with ivy growing on the walls, and with red roof tiles. There were also several fruit trees growing on the island, and there were many rabbits running wild. One could literally live on this island without having to go anywhere, as ther