Jason woke up on his bed with no idea how he got there. He looked around his room and saw nothing out of place. The apartment was a single bedroom, a closet and a bathroom. There was no kitchen, no living room and no A/C. The only room a non-blessed man can afford in this world.
Jason leaned up and winced in pain. His injuries were gone but he was still sore. He places his hand to his head and tries to recall the last thing that happened.
He remembers flirting with a girl at the bar then her boyfriend came and activated his blessing. He gathered his friends and when they arrived, they started to count with bows in hand. He started running then he ran into the forest hoping to lose them. Jason remembers getting shot and falling. He remembers running and then nothing.
He moves his legs off the bed and something hits his chest. He looks down and sees the artifact. The bird-like gem hung there around his neck. Jason reached out and grabbed it in his hand. 'Why do I even have this thing?' Jason thought. 'I'll never be blessed'
Jason got up and saw his clothes were torn in numerous places. He stood on his feet ignoring the pain in his muscles and moved to his closet to change clothes when he stepped on something. He lifted his foot and saw what looked like large bird feet marks on the wood floor and a pool of blood.
Jason placed his hand on his shoulder upon realization. "She saved me again" he said to himself. "One day I will find a way to repay that debt but she saved me so many times at this point I've lost track. And I'm not a blessed. Why doesn't she look for someone who is worth something unlike me."
Jason drifted off into a sea of memories. He remembers his parents but not their faces. He remembers being held by them and he remembers the day they were killed by a blessed.
He snapped back to reality and changed his clothes to a black t-shirt and gray sweatpants. He brushed his teeth and walked outside. He walked down the hall of the building when a feminine voice spoke to him.
"Your awake." Jessica said to him with a smile on her face. She looked at him and saw that he looked better. "Maybe next time don't speak to a girl who is taken while your drunk. Dying doesn't suit you."
"Dying was never part of the plan" Jason replied back. "Also thanks for saving me again. I know I don't deserve it."
"Whether you deserve it or not, I will save you as many times as it takes. I don't want you to die."
"I'll watch my back as much as I can." He promised her.
"Good" she said.
Jason walked out the door and into the city. This is Tamarik City where blessed and humans can coexist together. The city is devided into two parts. The putskirts and the inner city. The inner city where the nobility lived had an elegant charm to it. The buildings shined as the sun reflected off of the top of the buildings. Jason lives in the outskirts of the city where the poor live and the criminals like to hideout. The buildings are tall enough to reach the sky and apartment homes are always cramped. Dirt and water filled the streets. Shady people stood at the entry of alleyways and watched people walk by. Some decided to pull people into alleyways and beat them up just because they could. Some blessed that lived here like the feeling of trampling on the weak, so they choose to live here rather than live in the inner city.
"Just another day" Jason muttered to himself.
As he continued walking the streets, he was suddenly grabbed from the side and pulled into an alleyway and thrown into a wall by two men. "Did you think that we wouldn't find out about what happened yesterday?" One of them said. "We are growing tired of your interference in our affairs." They two men were just under him in height but no less intimidating with long black cloaks that covered them from the neck down.
Jason looked down and saw the dog emblem on their chest. "The hounds" Jason said. The hounds were a bunch of unblessed zealots who worship the blessed. The blessed make the rules and the hounds enforce them. You can think of them like a civilian police force within the city.
"Yes that's right" the other hound replied. "Just because you don't know your place doesn't mean that we can't remind you. We may be unblessed like you but you can't interfere with them. This is your last warning. You interfere again and we will make sure you die. Are we clear?"
"Crystal" Jason said as they let him go and moved to another alley for another ambush.
Jason moved his hand to the artifact which was hidden inside his shirt and let out a deep sigh. He left the alley to continue his way to work. Jason worked at the local tavern and served the blessed.
Jason made his way in at noon and Jason walked in to the tavern. "Your late" his boss said. His boss was a middle age man that had a bald head and sharp green eyes. He was five feet seven and wore a white shirt with black pants and a white apron. He was in the middle of washing dishes. "Put an apron on and get started"
"Yes boss" Jason said as he walked behind the bar. He put an apron on and started serving drinks and food to the customers. After six hours of working, he walked out of the building exhausted.
He still hadn't recovered from the blood loss a day ago. "Hey Jason!" A voice shouted behind him. He turned back to the entrance of the tavern and saw his boss with a box of food and said "You look like shit so here. Your too hard a worker to die on me now take better care of yourself ok"Jason nodded and made his way home.
On the way back, he overheard something from one of the blessed. "Hey did you know Alex and his friends chased someone into the forbidden zone yesterday?"
"What?" Said another. "The forbidden zone"
"Yeah. It's the deep part of the forest that holds a strange mythical creature that rests there. They say that once someone enters it's territory it hunts them down until they die."
"That's creepy. Well whoever entered will soon be dead then."
Jason didn't bother to listen any more. His stomach growled as he made his way home. He walked into the door of his apartment building where Jessica was about to get off work as well. "Hey Jessica" Jason said.
"Hey Jason" she said. "I was just about to leave too. How was work?"
"The usual" he said. As his stomach growled again. He turned a bit red in embarrassment as Jessica chuckled.
"Come here and let's eat in the break room"Jessica grabbed his hand and pulled him down the hall. They sat at a table and Jason opened his meal. His boss gave him a full healthy meal with steak, mashed potatoes and broccoli. A tear started to fall down his cheek. He couldn't remember the last time he had red meat. He devoured his food with a blissful look on his face.
After he finished his meal, Jason wiped his mouth with a napkin and stood up. "I have to go and get some things from the store. I'll be back in a little while."
Disappointment was evident on Jessica's face. She mumbled under her breathe then looked back at him with a smile. "Ok"
He nodded back at her and went to his room to grab his wallet. He walked out of the apartment building and started making his way to the market. It was night outside so there were not many people around and the streets were empty. He was about halfway there when a loud roar echoed nearby.
RRRROOOOOAAAARRR
Jason paled. He recognized that sound from the forest. A beast was coming for him and it was close. He started to run until a massive dog jumped from the top of a building and landed in front of him. Jason stopped and looked at the creature in front of him.
It was eight feet tall with black fur. Its teeth were sharp and saliva was dripping from its mouth. Its paws were the size of basketballs and making imprints in the street. There were scars on its body and one on its left eye.
'I'm dead' Jason thought to himself as the beast lunged. It swiped its paw at Jason before he could move and Jason flew into a building in the distance. His body fell onto the floor as he tried to raise his head up. His left leg was twisted backwards and his right arm went limp. Jason tried to use his left arm to crawl away but the beast was right there in front of him. It raised a paw and slammed it on top of him splattering blood in all directions.
Jason died.