“Yep,” Kyo responded as he walked towards the door. “Had it on my list. See you guys on the flipside.”
Wagner and TJ waved as Kyo left the room and TJ watched as Wagner lifted his body from the chair and stood tall, stretching his shoulders. His long dreads sparkled with flecks of gray that seemed to have appeared overnight. The lines in the creases of his mouth and eyes showed a weathered appearance, and you could tell Wagner’s worries were starting to simmer to the surface.
“Whatever you are doing tonight,” Wagner said as he stopped in front of the door and looked over his shoulder at TJ. “Be careful.
“Me?” TJ said with a coy look on his face. “That’s my middle name.”
Wagner snorted and waved his hand as he walked out of the dining room and towards the staircase. TJ sat at the table for a moment longer staring at his reflection in the glass covered wooden dining table. He remembered sitting at that table as a boy, watching his father’s expressions in the reflections. He sighed, pulling himself from his daydream and heading out the back door.
TJ began to jog towards the hill but stopped when he reached the top and looked up at the mansion. One by one lights started to turn off, and he could tell that no one was paying attention. He pulled the hood up on his black sweatshirt and turned right towards the woods. There was a purpose to his step, and he didn’t slow down once he reached the wood line.
He walked for a while before reaching a clearing in the woods. It was a small space, but he recognized it immediately. As a kid, he used to spend a lot of time in this spot, playing with the now dilapidated tree house hanging above him in the trees. There were still toys of his sticking out from under the leaves next to the base of the tree. He smiled as he picked up one of the trucks he used to spend hours crashing into other toys. He sat the toy back down and stood, looking around the dark wooded forest. A chill hit his spine, and the visions of his childhood were quickly replaced with the reminder of the pack that was now hunting him.
TJ knew that if he was going to beat Wrex, he needed more than just his Void Beast powers; he needed weapons.
Chapter 14: Brains
The moon glowed brightly through the almost barren limbs of the trees. TJ stood in the center of the clearing mustering different forms of dark matter, twisting and molding it into workable weapons. To the left was a pile of swords, daggers, and spears that he had created. With the completion of each weapon, TJ would pick it up and swing it with might through the air, before tossing it with irritation into the pile. He was trying to find the perfect fit, but nothing seemed to be working.
TJ pulled the matter from his chest and began moving his hands around it, pushing and folding until a set of swords were created. He swung them towards a tree, but as the creation struck the bark, it reacted, sending waves of energy up TJ’s arms, through his chest, and down his legs. The force lifted him from the ground and threw him backward towards a tree. He grunted as he made contact and fell to the ground in a heap. TJ sat up and shook his head, his vision coming back into clarity. He leaned back against the tree and looked up at the sky.
The moon was beginning its descent, and TJ leaned further back, running his hands over the cold ground until they came to a stop on a small metal figure. He lifted the figure in front of his face and smiled as a memory of his father came back to him. He had sat in that very spot and listened to his dad tell him the story of John Henry.
The story of Mr. Henry had survived even the demise of the world, and his father held the moral close to his heart. John Henry was an old railroad worker who used large hammers to drive the railroad spikes into the ground. As time passed, and technology advanced, the railroad company began bringing in machines to do the job. Mr. Henry was mighty and proud, and the company challenged him to a race against the machines. The whole yard stopped to watch Mr. Henry, and he took his place and raised his two hammers above his head. At the sound of the gunshot, the machine and Mr. Henry began hammering nails. The story says that Mr. Henry put everything he had into those railroad spikes and he actually beat the machines with just his strength and two giant hammers.
TJ smiled at the thought of his father telling that story and lifted his head from the tree as a thought crossed his mind. He jumped back to his feet and went back to work sculpting and moving his dark matter into the shape of a weapon. Sweat poured from his body as he worked, and when done, he stood back, weary of trying another failed attempt. He took a deep breath and reached down, grasping the handles of the weapons. TJ planted his back foot and swung the two shining hammers over his head and towards the ground. As the metal connected with the ground a wave of energy shot from the hammers and TJ laughed joyously at the success, he had at his fingertips. It was as if his father was still teaching him, even after his death.
By the time he was finished the sun had come up, and he could hear the other shifters starting their day. He tossed one hammer over each shoulder and made his way back to the field where he could see Kyo standing in front of the house. He was sipping a cup of coffee, and the steam from the hot liquid wafted into the cold morning air. Kyo looked up at TJ and smiled, the sight of his two weapons a surprise.
“I see you’ve been busy,” Kyo said reaching out to shake TJ’s hand. “Those are sweet.”
“Thanks,” TJ said proudly. “I want to test them out before we start looking for McKenna again. You have some time?”
“Hell yeah, man,” Kyo says smiling.
They jog quickly out to the training field, and TJ tosses Kyo a couple of wooden practice swords. The two begin to spar, but TJ proves to be a force with his new weapons. Energy radiates through the grasses with each blow, and the other shifters begin to gather around and watch in awe. Several times Kyo just skims the wrath of the hammers until finally, he is so tired, he sticks his hand up in defeat. He leans over his knees breathing heavily and laughing.
“Wow, dude,” he pants. “Those things are crazy. We should go test them out in the field. You know, make sure all the humans are safe and everything.”
“Tonight,” TJ says smiling. “Right now, I need to rest. Your juice is wearing off, and I am ready for some sleep.”
TJ drags himself upstairs, nodding at the others as he passes the dining hall. Even the smell of sausage and bacon doesn’t stop his feet from heading straight into his room. He props the heavy hammers against the wall, rings of energy swirling around them. Once his head hits the pillow, he is asleep, and even the looming sound of the zombies at sundown doesn’t rouse him from his dreams.
But as the night catches hold he awakens suddenly from a loud pounding on his door. He pulls his tired and aching body from his bed and opens the door to find Kyo and Kyra standing outside, a worried look on their faces. They step inside his room and close the door behind them.
“There’s something going on,” Kyo stated. “We can hear the zombies from the grounds.”
“And that’s not all,” Kyra added. “We heard human screams coming from the same area. Just outside of the city boundaries.”
“What is going on out there?” Kyo asked walking towards the window. “You up for a little hero work?”
“Always,” TJ said with a low deep voice as he stretched his arms high in the air. He walked over and picked up his hammers. “What better night to test out the new weapons then when I have some zombie skulls to crush.”
Kyo and TJ made their way outside, nodding to Wagner as they passed. With the threat of Wrex on the horizon, the mansion was never left without an elder or two to look out for all the other shifters in the compound. Besides, Kyo and TJ had gotten used to working as a team, especially with spending much of their time trying to track down the whereabouts of McKenna.
The two walked along, keeping in their human forms as to not scare the people. The moon was shrouded with clouds, and the smell of rain in the air blocked any scent from Kyo or TJ. They moved quietly and quickly through the streets, keeping their ears and eyes open in case of an ambush. As they rounded the corner that
led to the city they stopped, the sight in front of them resulting in a bit of shock.
“Where did they all come from?” Kyo whispered. “The damn things are everywhere, and they don’t look too happy.”
TJ squinted through the flickering street lamps and stared at the hundreds of zombies in the street. Though he was used to a ton of zombies wandering at night, especially with human blood in their sights, this was different. The zombies moved with a speed he had only seen in one other, Denise. Their eyes were wider, and they almost seemed as if they had a mission. But how could that be? Zombies were just animated corpses, and until now, all they knew was their hunger.
“I don’t know,” TJ responded to Kyo. “But let’s get to work, there are a lot of zombie brains to dispose of.”
Chapter 15: The Ravagers
Kyo charged through the zombies as TJ began swinging his hammers, knocking heads clear off of the undead shoulders. When Kyo reached the humans huddled together in the center, he looked over them quickly, realizing there were several serious injuries. The zombies pulled and tugged at Kyo, and he looked over at TJ who realized these creatures were turning and fighting back. They were never interested in wolf blood before, what made them go after TJ now?
The humans began to panic as several of the injured began to lose their footing. Kyo didn’t see any other way, so he stepped back and shifted from his human form into his wolf. He was used to a bit of shock from people, but this response took him by surprise. Several of the humans began to scream, and the men in the group stepped forward and shielded the group from Kyo. He was trying to help him and couldn’t understand why they were so afraid.
“Get back Ravager,” one of the men screamed out. “Don’t touch us!”
What is a Ravager? Kyo asks TJ.
“I don’t know,” he responds as he backs up towards the humans. “But we have a bigger problem on our hands. The zombies are turning on us. They are coming from everywhere.”
Kyo shifted back into his human form, sensing none of the people would trust him as a wolf. He backed up towards the humans, trying to push back any zombie that reached out for them. TJ threw his hammers over his shoulders and ran over to the group, yelling for Kyo to grab on to them. With the brush of a high wind, TJ transported the entire group to the outside of the mansion. He couldn’t take them inside since Wagner had put a spell on the castle, but he needed to get them someplace so Kyo could heal them.
“Everyone,” TJ bellowed at the panic-stricken humans. “I need you to calm down. This is Kyo, he means you no harm. He can heal you, but you have to let him shift. It’s the only way you will survive.”
The humans look suspiciously at Kyo and then whisper amongst themselves. After a few moments, one of the men step forward and nod their head at TJ, their untrusting glare falling on Kyo. He takes in a deep breath and shifts back into his wolf form. Slowly he moved forward, trying not to frighten anyone. He approached those with injuries and began healing them one at a time. As one human walked away unscathed, the rest started to calm down and trust Kyo.
It took him a bit to get all the wounds healed, and any remaining virus out of the human’s systems. When he was complete, he shifted back into human form and nodded at the man who spoke up initially. Kyo and TJ made sure that all of the humans made it back to their underground hiding area before heading back to the mansion, a lot of questions swimming through their brains. When they got through the gate, they headed straight for the main area where they knew Kyra would be training with the others.
As they approached she sensed their apprehension and she put down her weapons and followed them into the house. Wagner was inside, sitting at the dining table reading the information that had been collected about Wrex’s whereabouts. He looked up as the three shifters entered the room and closed the door behind themselves.
“What’s a Ravager?” TJ asked without waiting for a greeting from Wagner. “And why were the zombies attacking us?”
“Ravager?” Wagner repeated, standing from his chair in concern. “Did you see one?”
“No,” Kyo stated. “The humans, they were afraid when I shifted into my wolf. They called me a Ravager.”
“We’ve heard of them,” Kyra said stepping forward. “But like anything else, we thought they were just a myth.”
“Not me,” Wagner spoke up. “I have seen them. They are wild wolf shifters. They pray on the weak and can change a human with one small swipe of his claws. I have seen them, but it was a very long time ago.”
“I don’t understand,” TJ said leaning his hammers against the wall carefully. “Why would the humans think we were these Ravager things if they had never seen one?”
“It’s hard to say,” Kyra responded. “They know about the Ravagers. It could be just that they have never seen a shifter before. Either way, you need to figure it out. If there are Ravagers here, Wrex could be close by as well.”
Thunder clapped overhead, and TJ walked towards the window. Showers of rain were pouring down, and the droplets collected on the window magnified the glowing embers from the city skyscape. Something was happening out there, and he needed to get to the bottom of it. He turned quickly and grabbed his hammers, signaling to Kyo that they were going back out.
“I’ll find one,” TJ told Kyra and Wagner. “We will get to the bottom of this.”
Though he really didn’t want to go out in the storm chasing down some beast that may not even be real, he felt that it was important if he had plans to get his city under control. The wind whipped wildly as TJ threw open the front doors and stared out into the storm. Lightning and thunder crashed overhead as the two shifters walked back towards the front gate. Wagner had stayed quiet, a strange look covering his face. TJ didn’t know if the look was confusion or fear but he wasn’t just going to sit around and wait until another human died, or these beasts made their way to the mansion. He had an entire pack to look after now, he couldn’t sit back and let it show itself.
Kyo walked quickly next to TJ, brushing the water from his face as the rains pounded them with force. Water dripped off of TJ’s chin, but he didn’t seem to notice whatsoever. As the two made their way back to the city, Kyo opened up his senses and searched the area for anything that appeared to be a wolf, but didn’t find anything. The two continued to search the area, lurking in the shadows of alleys to keep away from the zombies. As TJ and Kyo turned another corner, Kyo put his hand out stopping TJ in his tracks and nodded his head towards the end of the street where they could see two beasts standing.
“I’ll try to talk to them telepathically,” TJ whispered to Kyo. “You stand behind me in case they attack.”
“Got it,” Kyo replied.
The two shifters, still in human form emerged from the shadows and placed their hands out to the sides to show they meant no harm. They walked slowly down the street, glass, and rocks crunching under their boots. The two Ravagers turned towards them and began to growl.
We mean you no harm. We want to know where you came from.
However, no matter what Kyo and TJ’s intentions, the Ravagers were not having it. Their growls grew louder, and the fur on their backs stood high. They turned towards the shifters, their bodies in a crouching stance and with no show of understanding of the message they just received.
We’re not here to fight. TJ yelled out to the Ravagers once again. Their momentary pause let TJ know that they were hearing him, but still, there was no response. The larger Ravager, his fur the color of night and his claws retracting from his paws, grinned slightly as he moved forward. The air became still, and the wind died down to a small breeze as the storm dissipated.
Kyo shifted uncomfortably and moved next to TJ. As TJ grabbed the handles of his hammers the Ravager’s, their eyes glowing red, attacked.
Chapter 16: Old Friends
TJ’s Hammer met with the concrete street, waves of energy pushing outward and hitting the Ravagers mid charge. Their paws lifted from the ground and they were thrown backward into the
light poles. TJ shielded his face as the poles toppled to the ground spitting sparks of electricity into the air and showering the ground with broken glass. Kyo growled slowly as he shifted from his human form to his wolf, feeling more powerful with the cloak of his beast. TJ stayed in his human form.
The Ravagers got back to their feet and shook the glass shards from their fur before charging head on towards TJ and Kyo. The Shifters met them in the middle, and while Kyo pounced on one of the Ravagers, TJ swung his hammer into the side of the other. The massive dark furred beast fell to the side, a wail of pain escaping his snout. TJ looked over as Kyo swiped left and right with his paws, scratching the other Ravager across the chest. Before TJ could look back, he felt the impact of the Ravager lift him from his human feet and slam him to the ground. He groaned at the feeling of broken concrete against his skin but jumped up and swung his weapons higher, meeting the shifter in the shoulders.
The four wolves continued to fight, giving and taking blows, one after another. Finally, Kyo and TJ had the upper hand and began backing the Ravagers into a corner. As they stepped forward, the three wolves growling, and TJ holding his hammers tightly, small whimpers began to move from the chests of the Ravagers. TJ turned, following the wolves fearful gaze to find a large group of zombies moving quickly towards them.
Void Beast Box Set Page 7