starting over 

a new world,

opening my eyes to a grey concrete room

look down, a desk with a old pc,

glasses with ruby lenses on a leather mat

with a gun labelled useless,

get up look around,

find a door with a switch

that glowed in a square when i waved my hand,

its a base

not quite my old home 13

but close enough that being out of the office

i could find weapons, food, drinks, 

a room with a bed with trinkets i would choose,

outside high fences,

towers with turrets,

Mechanical voice - "base commander verified

back to watch"

slip on the glasses

world now a soft red,

climb a guard tower

all around i see forest

one road, then...

Mechanical voice - "mission identified, preparing vehicle

printing briefing, god speed commander"

car looked 1940's

as it pulled up outside the main building door

no one inside

no drivers seat or wheel,

got in my body armour digging into my torso,

reading the file, 

Title - Broken Mask

physical artifact

an eye mask called

the face of an angel

cast in steel

painted like marble,

the wearer is runs into every danger

and treated like a saint,

aquire, contain, a reinforced container is in the car trunk...

detail the journey will be 8 hours,

i push my seat back and ask for music

the car plays my favourites immediately,

sleeping in glasses was far easier than it should be

didnt move, woke up post stiff as the car halted,

getting out saw the town sign

dead *a word crossed out*

angel hill...

aching all over

walked into the mist

hand on my gun,

the weight a comfort in the endless silence,

the world red tinted

i dont know what im looking for,

where to start...

dinner with lights on?

its a start,

gun up

push open the door with free hand,

a wall of scent in the air

sweet, metallic, the floor coated in a brown dry crust,

warm compared to outside

explored, kitchen burners still on 

heating long dry pots,

freezer full of ash

meat hung from hooks animal by looks,

heading out back 

trail of more ashes,

pile to pile,

snow falling now,

into the city park

a single body,

male atop a layer of ashes,

on their face the mask

i picked it up,

it glowed, i felt nothing,

called the car,

lookng around the thick mist and snow

people started to appear,

- new angel,

new angel 

the gathering group

chanted,

hurried away,

mask in the trunk container

- we need to go now,

tire roar speeding fast,

swerving around each mob,

i muttered - this town will be a problem,

Mechanical voice - "the effect will fade

now the mask is contained, we believe its

a idea phenomenon"

- those burned bodies weren't an idea,

Mechanical voice - "we will monitor"