Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction ❯ the valley of the shadow of death ❯ dawn of fate ( Chapter 1 )

" Ye though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, for thou art with me"

King David

The day began as any other day would have, the sun rising from it's slumber in the east and raining down it's manna from heaven. It's rays fell upon Gaia, casting a bloody shade in an otherwise pure morn. The entire world, though fresh and new, seemed stained with blood. It's rays seemed to fall more slowly, cascading in infinity and casting shadows upon the earthen ground. It slowly filled the numerous valleys and hills, casting substance where there were only shadows and giving form to essence, falling through infinity. The desert looked utterly beautiful in this light and it was cool enough to merely admire it, as opposed to worrying about the unbearable heat that Helos' rise signified. No, for now the glowing orb was as it should have been, pure and innocent, a source of life, not death.

It rays eventually found the only human building in a 300 km radius. The structure was one the sun had grown accustomed to gauzing upon, for since the Egyptians structures of this type, in one form or another, sat in geometric perfection on the earth. The light hit the top first, and then rolled off the perfectly flat sides, of which there were four. It hit the one way windows on it's fall and cast rainbow reflections onto the desert floor. Yet half the structure, which was a pyramid, sat in perpetual darkness, for no light of god could touch it, only that of man.

The scene seemed odd, somehow. It was not the building itself, fresh and new glistening in the blood red rays of the sun, but the people who loitered about it. The scene seemed to dead for anything to remain there, it had a cold air that implied lack of use. It felt more like a tomb for the dead then a structure for the living. This was further emphasized by the fact that there was only one road into the tomb and it lacked maintenance. It seemed the shrine of a lost city, devoted to a forgotten god, and yet the living had the audacity to exist there.

The building itself seemed a tribute to the work and ingenuity of man. It was a testament to his ability to exist in places where angels dared not treed. It was the golden idol of Zion, sparkling before the eyes of Moses, defiling the works of the true god. It was man's new religion, the religion of science, that this new temple was devoted to. Ironically it existed, in a sense, to wage war on the old religion, or on the old god. It was the neo tower of babel and it was as offensive to god now as it was then. And yet it stood.

The rest of the landscape appeared as one would expect it in the desert of Nevada. It stood empty and barren, with nothing but the cactus to break the deadly monotony. The yellow sand blew every so often in the wind and it seemed as though waves passed through it. The wasteland stretched on in all directions, making it appear as though this structure was the last haven of man. The world seemed truly empty.

Even here time refused to yield it's grip upon the necks of Lilith's offspring, hunting them here as relentlessly as anywhere else. The digital clocks all sounded out in unison and declared the hour of 8:00 AM. With this sound came the end of one shift and the beginning of another, the birth and death cycle contained. It was at 8:35 that the bell would toll for one Zach Mickay. For this was the hour that fate had determined for him, the alpha to the inevitable omega, the beginning of the end. The facility now seemed a buzz with activity, people exchanging greetings and shifts, and yet time moved on uncaringly.

The interior of the building seemed to lend more support to the idea of it being a tomb then the exterior. In it corridors rushed into all directions, each going into it's own separate oblivion. The harsh artificial `sunlight' beat down on the ground relentlessly. The entire facility seemed to be a maze, cascading into nothingness. The walkways were hung with directional signs, and yet these did not good for the average traveler, for they were marked with things like " Sec. 13, deck 4, Quantum Field AT analysis," This too seemed to be another world, completely separate from the wasteland. It was more akin to a bee hive, with it's vast honey combs speeding into infinity. Every drone had it's place and each functioned with the same apathy and efficient of a robot. Everyone seemed merely to be blood cells in the huge body that NERV had dubbed the American branch. Yet there was a certain caring there, an ineffable quality that people seemed to have, not for their jobs, but themselves.

It was down one particular hall, in the vast network of catacombs, that Zach walked down. He stood about 5"8, well below the halls ceiling, and yet he strut with an air of confidence that made him appear ten feat tall. It was not an arrogance per say, but more just something he seemed to exhume, like a lamp radiates light. His jet black hair was long enough to be perpetually messy and yet it was short enough to be uncared for. He wore the same skin tight suit that every other pilot wore, though his was less flattering. Over his 14 and