The Venerate Salvation

by Troy Dukart

  My head wouldn't stop swirling. Blinking in and out of consciousness, I fought hard to wake up. My hands were racked in heavy restraints, bound tightly together. Shadowy figures with glowing red eyes moved all around me. The God Blade wasn't near my side.

  That startled me.

  Then, one man, his footsteps echoing off the metal floor, approached. He wore a desert-camouflage military Space Suit. He held the sword, “Strafe Rocknus. Had our eyes on you for quite some time.”

  “Space... Force?” I groaned.

  “Surprised I could hold this? Don't be. I've injected some of your blood into my body. The God Blade doesn't know the difference.”

  The Slates surrounded me. They resembled the ones we fought in Egypt. Monsters in Space Force armor. Just fantastic.

  “Mr. Rocknus,” he tapped the sword in his hand, “We don't have much time. Salvation is upon us. Only Angels are left on Earth un-infected. As you can see, the rest...”

  The Slates began growling and snarling.

  “You're no Angel,” I gritted between my teeth.

  “My name is Colonel Blaney of the United States Space Force. You have two choices Mr. Rocknus. The first choice, you comply with my orders and we will not kill your family. The second, we kill your family and physically force you to activate the machine. Your crimes against the state will be judged at a later date.”

  “What crimes!?” I tried to stand up but chains on my legs held me down, “I'm not trying to fight against the state! I'm just trying to save my family! You guys came after us!”

  “You are on a US military installation. I am the Commander. My order is law here,” he said.

  A light flicked on, and I saw someone wrapped in chains on the floor, bloodied and unconscious. “MOM!” I screamed.

  “If you disobey my orders, she will be killed. My superiors are growing tired of waiting. We must activate the machine with this God Blade. It is the only way to salvation.”

  “This isn't salvation, it's slavery! That machine is going to make more powerful versions of these things. How does that save us?”

  “We both want the same thing Mr. Rocknus, to protect who we love. We have been without war for almost forty years worldwide... at least on the surface. War never goes away; written in our blood is to fight for survival. The heart of humankind is a selfish one. Anyone weak and unchosen has been turned into one of these, freaks,” he glanced at the Slates with detest, “Only the strong have survived. The rest will be damned unless you cooperate. We can save them all Mr. Rocknus, we can turn them back. You just need to activate the machine.”

  Colonel Blaney pointed the sword to a large silver dome behind him. I shook my head.

  Someone I hadn't noticed stepped forward, “Son, you can end this by doing what Colonel Blaney wants.”

  “Fabian,” I read on his nametag, “This isn't the way. This is no salvation! This is an apocalypse!”

  “You need an experience,” Colonel Blaney nodded.

  Out of the darkness in handcuffs stumbled Yessa. She was escorted by that sleazebag Parker and two guys in hoods. They stood next to Colonel Blaney. Yessa had cuts and bruises all over her body. She could hardly stand.

  “Yessa,” I said, trying to reach out to her.

  She seemed groggy but looked into my eyes. One of the hooded figures walked forward. A man I thought could be trusted, Ibrahim.

  “Hello, Strafe.”

  “What the hell is this?” I exclaimed.

  Colonel Blaney crossed his arms, “The Salvators. We created them to give you a false-sense you were fighting for something. We did this to re-awaken the God Blade and harness its power. You needed something to believe in.”

  “No,” I said while I shook my head and slumped my back, “All of those people who died. They didn't die for you. They died to stop you.”

  “Thanks to this man, we lured you right where we wanted you,” Blaney told me.

  The man pulled down his hood and smiled; it was Sergei. “Hello, comrade.”

  I curled my lip as I looked him in the eyes, “And I thought you to be a good man.”

  The disappointment of his betrayal stung me because he'd become someone I cared about dearly. All the love I had in him as a friend was lost in an instant.

  “I wanted to be on the winning side my friend, and that is not yours,” he responded.

  “You've done a fantastic job Sergei, but there's only room in the next world for a select few. I think you've outgrown your purpose to us,” Ibrahim said.

  “Wait, what?”

  Ibrahim drew a pistol and shot Sergei in the head. He dropped to the floor.

  “Oh my god!” Yessa shrieked, her body shuttered as she covered her mouth.

  Ibrahim's skin began to wobble and change shape. His hair turned from white to blonde. His wrinkles turned smooth. His body frail to strong. When he finished his transformation, he became Tiras.

  “What... The... Fuck?” I said in bewilderment.

  Like we were back on Eternia, he shot me his signature smile and a chuckle, “Long time Strafe. Long time.”

  CHAPTER 32

  Yessa

  Just when I thought our situation couldn't become any more dire, in pops a shape-shifting mass-murderer. Colonel Blaney turned around and walked over to a control panel. There was a slot to slide the God Blade into, which he did slowly. Beyond them loomed a massive dome. Alien writing adorned the exterior and glowed dimly, similar to the markings we had on Eternia. They all paid close attention.

  “Well?” Tiras asked.

  “Not yet,” Blaney answered.

  He slammed his foot down, “What do you mean! Fix this!”

  Why the hell was Tiras telling him what to do?

  “The machine isn't charged enough. They need even more, inspiration.”

  They all turned towards Strafe. Tiras ambled over to him and gripped his face, “That damn girlfriend of yours is a real pain in the ass you know.”

  “Why are you here!?” Strafe asked.

  Tiras punched him down to the floor. He then stared back at Colonel Blaney, “Do it,” he commanded.

  Blaney nodded over to Fabian, to which he pulled out a remote control. Before he could push one of the buttons, Tiras stopped him, “No, no, no, NO! Not you fool, we have her for that.”

  Fabian hesitated but did as Tiras told him. He handed the remote to me. There were only three buttons. I made sure not to touch any of them.

  “We've wasted enough time. Yessa, push the green button,” Tiras said.

  I focused down at it and shook my head, “No.”

  Colonel Blaney grunted and drew a pistol. He walked behind Strafe and pointed the gun to his head, “You've got five seconds before I execute him.”

  My hands shuddered. I knew what they wanted me to do, but....

  “Yessa, don't worry, you're not to blame here,” Strafe comforted.

  A tear rolled down my cheek, “I'm sorry.”

  I closed my eyes and pushed the button. Zixin began getting electrocuted and started to yell in agony.

  “NOOOO! ZIXIN!” Strafe screamed as he curled onto the floor.

  The electricity ceased and Zixin dropped his head. I fell to my knees, discarded the remote, and cried. The God Blade's orb glowed bright white near the control panel.

  He hesitated before he waved forth some men. It was my old team of Dill, Iovine, and Ellerbee. I was glad they were alive but ashamed for them to witness me in such a state.

  “The machine is almost ready,” Blaney said to Tiras.

  “Perfect,” he clapped his hands together, “Before I go inside and escape this inanity, I want them to find out who I really am.”

  Kneeling down before Strafe, pulled him above his head, “You think you'd get away with what you did to us?”

  Strafe's eyes widened and his face turned white like he'd seen a ghost, “No way....”

  “Hahahhahaha! HAHAHAHAHHAH!” Tiras laughed hyste
rically, “I'm not Tiras....”

  “Or this old cock-sucker,” he said while he shifted to Ibrahim, “I'm not anyone of these husks. I'm the brother of the one you killed. You remember his name.”

  “Barzakh,” Strafe gritted between his teeth.

  Protruding underneath his skin were non-human bone structures. “My name is Azazel. I rule these fallen Angels. Tiras's desire for reprisal called out to me. He has been a good host, but the time for me to be reborn into my true form has come.”

  “What a load of shit,” I grumbled.

  Azazel looked over while holding Strafe with one arm while reverting to Tiras and smiled, “You know what I'm capable of.”

  I didn't quite grasp the details. Strafe never went into specifics with me about the enemies he faced in Eternia, but this 'Tiras' guy creeped the fuck out of me.

  “You looking for revenge? That makes two of us,” Strafe scorned.

  Azazel opened his mouth and a long tongue licked across his face, “I wanted to tell you how I delighted in torturing that mutt of yours when he went to hell, hehe.”

  I couldn't hold my words any longer, “Sir! This creature is a demon! Why are you following him?”

  Colonel Blaney turned to me, “What's left of the government drafted a deal with him to turn on this machine. In return, Earth would be saved.”

  Strafe rattled his chains, “I can't believe you bastards made a treaty with the likes of this thing! Their life's purpose is to wipe us out!”

  Colonel Blaney ignored the comment. Dill and the other two walked over to Strafe's mom Clair and pulled her up off the floor. She sluggishly woke up as they dragged her next to Zixin.

  Tiras had a huge smile on his face.

  “Don't,” Strafe warned.

  Azazel dropped him to the ground and skipped over to Claire. He sat down and brushed her hair with his hand. The God Blade glowed even brighter, “Tell me boy, you fought so hard to find your mother, after surviving Eternia. I'm a little hungry though, which body part should I bite off first?”

  His mouth widened with rows of sharp pointy teeth. Truly terrifying.

  Strafe's blood boiled so hotly I almost felt the heat from across the room.

  “Sir, the machine is full! We can have that traitorous slut execute him now as planned. Men are ready to kill her parents if she doesn't,” Parker said.

  The military had my family all along? I thought I was going to be sick.

  “Ohh! Good idea. I'll have to eat her after I'm reborn. There's another Venerate Husk inside the dome. Join me after they're all dead. I like you.”

  Azazel walked toward the dome. Blaney pushed a button and it cracked open, allowing him to enter. The doors closed with a loud thud after he did.

  Parker came over and grabbed me by the arm and dragged me in front of Strafe. He shoved a pistol into my gut and stood beside me.

  “Pull the trigger or your parents die, bitch,” he ordered me.

  “You think you're strong when you harass her like that? Putting down others because you yourself feel weak? If you really were strong, you would've stopped this infection and stood up to your bosses. Instead though Parker, you stayed true to your yellow-bellied instincts and hid behind that uniform and fucked the entire world over. I hope you feel proud of yourself,” Strafe asserted.

  Parker’s eyes widened and his body froze. Although beyond changing his mind on the situation, he knew what Strafe said was true, and it hit him right in the heart. It left him speechless, stumbling for words.

  I'd never wanted to punch Parker more in my life but Strafe's words lifted my spirit. He invigorated me and had my back. I wish more men could've been like him.

  The Slates drew closer, ready to shred us apart if I didn't comply. I took a deep breath, trying to relax. Zixin awakened and began shaking his arm, attempting to free himself.

  “Even if we die here, we will meet again in the afterlife Yessa,” Strafe smiled somberly.

  My hand shook raising the gun at him. The nerves in my body went crazy, I couldn't stay still. I took another deep breath before I said, “No, it's not.”

  From my right, a bullet whizzed past me and hit Parker, which sent him to the floor. I turned to identify where the shot came from and saw a woman standing with a sniper rifle in the rafters looking down on us.

  “Karma!” Strafe cheered.

  I turned back and blasted off the chain around Strafe's wrists. The gun only had one bullet in the clip I found out, as I tried to empty the rest into Parker. The Slates became frenzied and rushed at me. I turned and ran toward the God-Blade. Colonel Blaney retreated into the dome.

  Dodging these monsters on my way, as well as the sniper woman shooting some of them down, I grabbed the handle and pulled back as hard as I could. I cut down a few that tried attacking me before tossing the blade to Strafe. When he caught it, he exploded with power that tossed all nearby Slates twenty feet. I had to shield my eyes from the blinding light. The light dimmed and I noticed his hair and eyes glowed white. Various see-through, ephemeral weapons floated behind him. They all sparkled with thousands of colored diamonds.

  CHAPTER 33

  Yessa

  His powers had returned, a welcomed sight. The shackles melted off Strafe as he held the God-Blade. Behind him floated various types of ephemeral weapons; a monstrous hammer, a spear, a scepter, swords, axes, and a shape-shifting weapon. He could summon any tool he wished. Strafe shot them towards his mother to free her. The weapons were transparent but caught the light from different angles. They passed right through Claire but shattered the chains.

  I ran to retrieve a weapon but Dill, Iovine, and Ellerbee jumped in front of me. They activated their full battle-gear. I was no match against the Angels with a blank pistol, but I still pointed it at them, “You know this is wrong. This is so wrong what Colonel Blaney is doing! Help me stop this before it's too late!”

  They remained still.

  “Damnit!” I threw the gun across the floor, “Everyone we love is going to turn into these if we don't do something! Tiras is going to make them his slaves!”

  One of the Slates jumped at me from the side. My hands flew up in anticipation of the collision but I heard a loud bang and the creature shattered into a million pieces. They parted the way for someone I was hoping to see, Lt Col Fabian. He aimed an automatic shotgun attachment from his suit.

  “We're not going to let them see this through Lt Urena. I'm sorry I didn't do anything before. We've got your back,” he assured with confidence.

  With a click of a button on his wrist, a Space Suit flew towards me. All white in color, it wrapped around my body and powered on.

  “Who's that?” Dill asked.

  “I think she's one of Strafe's allies. She saved both our lives right there.”

  The sniper Strafe called Karma climbed up to the rafters and fired down on the Slates beneath. A few of them tried to climb up to her but she kept picking them off.

  “She's not an enemy but not an ally either. Keep watch on her,” Fabian told us.

  Round after round of Slates descended upon us. Strafe had unbelievable power. He was teleporting around and slicing them down with ease. Whenever he defeated one, it glowed white from the strike of the God Blade or ephemeral weapons. They didn't shatter like normal. They just laid there.

  Thrusting myself in the air, I joined Lt Col Fabian's formation. From the high ground, we fired at them. The Slates climbed the walls to reach us. Iovine shot grenade rounds at them, blasting the creatures into pieces.

  Karma jumped down and typed in some commands next to Zixin, which loosened the restraints. Zixin freed himself by ripping his God Hand forward and destroying the contraption. They both ran over to protect his mother. He picked her up and got her inside one of the older cargo airplanes and shut the door.

  We continued fighting but they outnumbered us immensely. They leaped up and caught Ellerbee by the foot. She was dragged down and had her helmet ripped o
ff.

  “Hang on girl! I'm coming!” I said.

  I flew down and began to shoot them away but it was too late. One of the Slates pierced through her armor and impaled her in through the chest.

  “Stop! She's gone!” Fabian ordered.

  They smacked me across the floor and I landed on my back. One of them jumped into the air slammed down on top of me. Its claw missed smashing my head by centimeters. I recognized them, “Amy!?”

  Her face was grey and half covered in crystals. Her eyes glowed red and her voice was distorted.

  “Amy! Stop this! Remember who you are!”

  We tussled for a moment as I grappled her arms. She ripped away one of her hands and held it high ready to strike me, but stopped. Amy looked me in the eyes and muttered, “YEsssA?”

  I heard a bang and a hole shot through her chest. She shook momentarily and looked down and saw the wound. Amy let out a sigh and fell to my right. Her eyes dimmed until they looked normal.

  “AMY!” I cried.

  “Come on! Get up!” Fabian told me, “There's nothing we can do for her.”

  In that instant, I realized that these weren't just some mindless zombie-like creatures. We were fighting real people, people we cared about.

  Strafe teleported towards us, slicing through any Slate in his way. We dropped back down to meet him. They had surrounded us again.

  “Strafe, we've got to retreat!” Fabian said.

  “There is no place to retreat. Tiras and Azazel will win and we will never be free. There are bodies of old Venerate aliens in that dome they're trying to merge with. They will possess terrible power if they succeed. I'm not gonna run away anymore,” Strafe said.

  “How do we end this?” I asked.

  “Tiras is the cause of this. He unleashed the Black Plague. This ends with him.”

  One of the Slates rushed us and was about to attack his brother but Zixin got in its way and shattered it with a punch.

  “Nice one Zix” Karma cheered.

  “I'm not running away either. I've got to make my life count for something. To make up for my past,” Zixin said.