The robotic scorpion struck out with its pincer and stabbed the Alien in the leg, piercing the Mutanti's leg and pinning him to the floor in a pool of blood, which spread slowly. The Alien groaned in agony.
The ominous shadow of the President stood at the door. ‘Don't you ever fail me again, and don't you ever raise your fist at me again! Understood, soldier?’
‘Understood.’
The President smirked.
‘Let him go, Scorpion.’
Malcolm sat on his bed in his luxury cell in the Tower. It was cold and dark with faint, glowing fluorescent lights. Weapons and medals hung on the walls. He took out a box hidden in a wall cavity and pulled out the toy helicopter he had found amongst the garbage when he was young. It reminded him of his family. It reminded him of his boyhood before all this madness. It reminded him of his innocence. When he was known by another name.
Malcolm could not sleep for many nights. He couldn't reconcile the laws and arguments he had been taught by the Black Eagle with the intuition that his life was terribly wrong. After an intense internal struggle, eventually, he threw down his gun and tore off his Centurion's helmet and left the Tower. He travelled to the mountain under cover of darkness. He climbed up through the shadowy woods into the Lightning Zone and fell down at the Messenger’s feet and wept. He wept because of his evil life and because Jaydyn had not shot him. Jaydyn baptised him in the silver lake and told him he would be called Zach from now on. When Zach came up out of the water, the cybernetics in his body had dissolved and his psychic bond with the Alien had been broken. He was forgiven by God. He was free. That night, he slept peacefully for the first time since he was a young boy. This was the third miracle.
That morning they ate breakfast together in the light of the dawn. The silver lake was still and serene, and the air chilled and pure.
‘We have to get the prisoners out of the basement. The Black Eagle are torturing them as we speak…’
Jaydyn said, looking at Zach.
‘Here, I have a key to the basement.’
Zach offered. Stellar took the key quickly and gladly.
‘I’ll go; this is a mission that requires stealth above all else. More people attract more attention.’
They watched her run into the tall tangled white trees and shimmering leaves of the forest.
In the gloom of the Tower, in a dome-like marble room filled with crystal chandeliers and golden furniture, two figures stood—the President and Mercedes.
‘Offer him Venice, give him the whole city, give him yourself, anything he wants. I don’t care. Just get him to sign his allegiance and tattoo him with the mark of the glorious Eagle!... Then once the Sprawlrats have seen him for a traitor, we will kill him anyway.’
‘What if he refuses?’ Mercedes asked.
‘Use this blade. It is poisoned. He will be dead in minutes.’
‘Anything you say, my President.’
The dark temptress left the room.
The President of the Black Eagle turned his attention back to a hologram map of the empire and his focus strayed ambitiously towards the unconquered lands over the sea.
Mercedes travelled to Oslo Forest by helicopter. She landed at the forest’s edge but dared go no farther into the raging electrical storms. She climbed to the zenith of the mountain. Jaydyn stood beside the lake and he turned to see her approach. Her body, clad in black leather, her hair tied up and back in elaborate plaits like coiling snakes, her face gaudy with jewellery and mascara. She stared at him.
‘So you’re the Messenger.’
‘And you are Mercedes the sorceress, the seductress.’
‘Aw, you’re not scared of me are you? Besides, being seduced can be quite pleasant…You are becoming quite famous. Breaking into the Tower and stealing our helicopters.’
Jaydyn watched her warily.
She put one hand on her hip and looked at him sideways with her hypnotic painted eyes.
‘That was an impressive shot you took off the roof. I thought you were a Boatbuilder.’
‘I am a Boatbuilder. What do you want, Mercedes?’
‘Just to talk. And to offer you Venice. The President will give you the whole city.’
‘In exchange for what?’
‘You just have to sign your allegiance and receive the Eagle tattoo.’
‘A tattoo?’
‘A small price to pay for peace. You can save the people from this war, they would be very grateful. I would show you gratitude too…’
‘No deal. You can tell the President that his days are numbered. And if I were you, I would get far away from that place!’
Immediately her tone changed, her body trembled with rage and she hissed and spat at him.
‘Don’t be a fool. The President will nuke Venice, the forest, the mountain. He will fill the tunnels with poison gas. Your God won’t save you!’
Jaydyn leaned forward on his rifle, his face a mix of righteous anger and sadness as he tried to reach out to her.
‘Why do you work for them? Do you really love your life?’
Mercedes closed her eyes, and she was silent for a moment. A storm raged inside her, a myriad of dark images, sensual pleasures and insane choices. She decided she did love her life under the regime. In her heart, she loved the darkness and hated the light. She prepared to knife him.
‘I feel faint. I feel like I’m dying. I need a drink of water.’ She covered her face with her hands and she breathed rapidly.
Jaydyn collected a drinking cup from near his tent and waded into the lake. He filled the cup with water and took it to her, she stood under a tree, looking very pale. Zach appeared from the other side of the lake out of some trees, walking towards them. Jaydyn offered her the cup.
‘Jaydyn, look out!’
Mercedes took out the poison blade and stabbed towards his stomach. She fully extended her arm, felt an impact. Zach cried out and sprinted towards them furiously. But the poison blade was embedded in the tree behind Jaydyn, barely missing his ribs. The Messenger threw the assassin down onto the ground. She wailed pitifully then she turned and ran. Her mad sobs and shrieks echoed through Oslo Forest as she fled.
‘Are you okay Jaydyn?’
‘Yes you gave me a second, and I had a feeling she might try something like that.’
Zach looked down at his human arms and hands and took a deep breath.
‘How is this possible Jaydyn? I was almost a robot.’
Zach asked, wonder trembling through his voice.
‘Zach, all things are possible for God the Holy One—the author, architect and giver of life.’
Joy welled up in Jaydyn’s eyes as he smiled.
‘And what happened to the Mutanti?’
‘Your friends are safe...The Griffinman lives in the Spire. I made him the new caretaker, seeing as there hasn't been a priest or a caretaker in one hundred years. The Wolfman made his home down in the underground.’
The dusk cast an orange light over the mountain and the silver lake. Jaydyn drew symbols in the earth near the lake’s edge, specifically a symbol of a wave, the symbol Stellar had drawn on his arm. Zach cast stones into the water.
‘And what's the deal with Mercedes?’
‘I have been thinking about her ugly story. I think she was the one who summoned a great demon into the world, generations ago.’
‘She doesn't look that old.’
‘No, but when I was younger I read a book. It was the story of Saint Matthias and his battle with a terrifying monster in the age of magic long ago, before the age of technology. She was referred to as the snake woman.’
‘Makes sense. She certainly hissed at you. How did Saint Matthias defeat the demon?’
‘The demon had eight arms, claws and fangs. It ate the flesh of every hero who challenged it. No blade could pierce its scales. Saint Matthias forged a spear and called upon Heaven. An angel blessed the spear with holy tears. Saint Matthias met the demon in a rocky valley and they fought a fierce battle for many
hours. Never had two beings moved with such speed and ferocity. Eventually, Matthias pierced its skull with his spear and the demon clawed into the saint’s heart.’
‘Did Matthias survive the battle?’
‘It is not recorded, the scribe never completed the book…’
That night, lightning flashed and cast its blue glow over Jaydyn and Zach. Thunder rumbled, reverberating across the land, hitting all things like a wave and shaking everyone to the core. Zach put away Jaydyn's rifle, which he had been cleaning and greasing. Zach started building a shelter out of tree branches while Jaydyn sat on a fallen tree log beside the lake and closed his eyes.
Jaydyn stood under the tall, leafy canopy of Oslo Forest in half light and shadow. Before him ran the poisoned Ash River and beside him stood the grey dead trees on its bank. Before him stood a creature, a woman, half submerged in the water. Her form was naked and her body was smooth tree bark, shades of white and green. Her eyes were pools of water and her hair was coloured aqua. Looking in her eyes, Jaydyn could see that she was sick and distressed. The pollution and decay had claimed half her elemental body already.
‘Help us Jaydyn. We are dying.’
She reached out towards the Messenger, pleading. Her eyes watery, full of sadness and sickness and that spark of life that is hope.
‘Don't be afraid. I make all things new!’
That night, Stellar infiltrated the Tower and opened the door to the basement with Zach's key. Dawn succumbed to exhaustion, her face stained with blood and tears. David hung from the chains that held his right arm, talking to himself in a drugged delirium.
‘I don't know the Messenger. Don't hurt her. Don't take our shack. I never gave him any rifles. She never gave him any medical help. I don't know. I don't know...’
Cruel blades and blood covered the dirty basement floor. Stellar moved quickly and quietly, cutting them loose with a small laser gun. Saving the prisoners from their torture. David looked up at Stellar Dove.
‘Am I dead? Are you an angel?’
‘Come with me. Quickly!’
Stellar, David and Dawn ran into the night as the dogs barked and bullets flew at them. Stellar put her arm around David, supporting him, and pushed Dawn ahead. Bullets ripped into the dirt all around them. As they made it to the edge of the slums and took cover behind a wall, there came the great earthquake as the Messenger said it would. This was the fourth miracle. The foundations of the earth quaked and the Tower collapsed into the earth. The President, the Director, the Alien and Mercedes went crashing down, screaming with the falling Tower. Collapsing into the land of the dead. This was their eternal judgement—complete and absolute destruction.
That morning the people emerged from the underground tunnels with hope shining in their eyes and music in their hearts. They looked in shock and wonder upon the colossal ruin of what had seemed unbreakable, yet had been destroyed in a single day. A huge chasm had been opened and the epic wreckage of the Tower filled the massive chasm.
‘The Messenger, he was right...’
They realized they were now free to build a new world. With their newfound freedom, they could now begin healing the Earth and rebuilding a new world with the hope of peace.
Jaydyn had hidden a boat in Oslo Forest, now uncovered. He and Zach dragged the red rowboat down to the Ash River. The setting sun and the tall trees cast long shadows as they waded into the rushing water. Already, the river was beginning to run clear again. Clear and pure and fresh as liquid crystal. This was the fifth miracle. Zach handed Jaydyn the oars. The Messenger smiled and embraced him.
‘Look after the Mutanti for me Zach. You must protect them, help the people to understand the way of peace. And rescue the slaves from the factory. I know you can do it.’
‘I will Jaydyn. I promise.’
Then he turned and rowed down the river. The graceful form of the red rowboat sliced through the crystal waters and the motion of the oars splashed beads of pure water into the air. Jaydyn’s boat sped down the river and then out into the wide sea. Zach stood at the edge of the riverbed and watched until he was gone from sight.
As Stellar said goodbye to the people, the dove returned to her. The bird nestled happily into her shoulder. The crowd looked to Stellar.
‘What do we do now Stellar?’
‘Listen to Zach, because he abandoned the Black Eagle to become Jaydyn’s disciple. And do not persecute the Mutanti. Live in peace.’
Stellar left them and went on her way and the people cheered. They gathered at the ruins of the Spire; David and Dawn, they were still recovering from their wounds, but hand in hand and happy. Johnny and Adelaide were there dressed in their monster costumes. Zach stood there thoughtfully in a grey hooded cloak. The Griffinman watched from the rooftops and the Wolfman looked up from a sewer grate. The people were amazed and many cried tears of joy. They made a memorial upon the white stone steps. They lay red roses, roses red as blood to remember the resistance and the dead. They lay white feathers to remember Stellar and a small wooden boat to remember Jaydyn.
Dear Reader,
Thank you for reading my first published novelette. I hope you enjoyed the story. Please consider reviewing Mystic Angels and Cyber Demons at amazon.com. Reviews really do help to sell more copies and to make the book more visible on Amazon. Reviews also help the author with encouragement and improvement as well.
Thank you for reading!!
Sincerely,
Michael Blythe
Mystic Angels and Cyber Demons Page 4