by Greg Ballan
The detective shook his head looking over at Martin. "Well now, isn't this just a bad cliché."
Both agents watched as the guards apprehended and secured their suspects. One of the priests resisted and was cuffed across his head forcefully. "The Archbishop has many questions for you two." The guards forced their captives through the ruined doorway. Erik watched as the two young nuns ran from the small apartment. "You cannot hide from your disgrace! Pack your belongings, whores of Babylon, you will be expelled from this holy place!"
"Gentlemen," Martin did his best to conceal his anger, "we, along with the Archbishop, have several questions that need answers." He forcefully grabbed one of the priests by his shoulder in a grip that made the man wince in agony. Denton shoved the prisoner forward. "Move, now!"
Several other holy men watched in shock as the shackled priests were escorted from the rectory apartments to the courtyard. Erik saw several mixed looks, some of shock, some amused and a few others had looks of guilt followed by emotions that his senses detected without his asserted efforts.
"I suggest we go back through our files again, Counselor. We may have cast too narrow a net. Some of the raw thought waves I'm detecting indicate there are more dirty fish in this papal pond."
Denton increased his vice-like grip on the prisoner. "I'm sure our friends here will gladly share the names of their co-conspirators."
The turncoat priest groaned in pain as Denton shoved him forward again.
They had walked about ten paces through the courtyard when Erik sensed the threat. Danger was all around them! His Esper instinct took over, senses became hundreds of times more acute. "Martin! Ambush!"
The sound of gunfire echoed off several buildings. Erik tackled their prisoners, shielding them with his body. Slugs burned into his ribs and thigh. The hybrid's enhanced metabolism pushed the slugs out of his body and began repairing blood vessels and soft tissue. His powerful bone structure remained unscathed.
"Stay down!" he commanded, studying the rooftops of several buildings. He spotted another sniper raising his rifle. "Martin get down and roll!" The sniper fired and Erik could hear the angry hiss and the sonic boom as the bullet surpassed supersonic speed. The soft thump of searing lead tore into his flesh made him wince. He glanced around. One of the guards had fallen.
The hybrid pointed his hand toward the rooftop and focused. Angry blue plasma danced around his forearm building up to a critical mass. With a brief tensing of muscle, the searing beam shot toward the rooftop, burning a hole clean through a sniper. The charred corpse fell forward, dropping ten stories. The enraged human warrior fired several more burning pulses blasting several holes in ancient brick and mortar. Erik's body began to tingle as the spirit of his alter ego established dominance, a feeling he'd kept buried for years. He needed the warrior now, maybe not the full power, but he needed the skills and the aggression his Esper genetics contained.
A sharp hiss escaped his mouth as a bullet tore into his shoulder. He ignored the bloody impact as laser-sharp eyes bore in on the target. He brought both hands together, generating a blue orb burning with an awful energy searing the very ground he stood upon. He shot both hands forward unleashing the expanding ball of plasma toward its target. The energy engulfed the shooter and fifteen feet of structure, dissolving each bit of matter, flesh and mortar within seconds.
Silence dominated the courtyard. Erik risked looking down toward his allies. One guard lay dead, completely bled out and the other had a minor bullet wound. Martin was shaken up but not hurt. Erik looked at their prisoners. One of the priests had been hit, his skull shattered bathing his companion in brain matter and blood. "Martin, are you okay?"
"I'm just banged up a bit. What about you? I see blood all over you!"
"I heal fast, Counselor."
The smell of sulfur and rotten eggs assailed Erik's senses. The men gagged briefly. A whistling hot wind bent the thin trees in the courtyard. The surviving priest shrieked in fear. "Nosferatu! They've summoned the Wraiths of Hell! We're all dead men, our souls damned to eternity if that thing gets us!"
The hybrid's senses shrieked danger. A warning tore through his skull and a pulsing sense of dread tingled at the base of his spine. In the distance, a moaning wail like the growl of an enraged wolf dominated the stench-filled air. A burning silver orb raced through the sky. The hybrid extended his hand and the Sentient Staff settled in his grip. It too buzzed a warning of alarm and danger.
A tall skeletal man covered in black appeared in the courtyard. He walked slowly toward them. A bony hand pointed toward the fallen priest. Erik heard a voice in his mind that chilled his soul.
You have no sway here, son of the stars. I have come for the priest. Give him to me and you will continue to live, for now. Deny me my prize and I will take your soul and feed on it for all eternity and take the priest anyway. Plus I shall kill your friend in a way that will cause him an eternity of torment.
"Don't listen to him Erik. We need that witness!"
Erik glanced at Martin. "You heard?"
"We all did." The remaining guard's voice was laden with terror. "How did a hell beast get here and how can it exist on consecrated ground?"
"Pppplease," the priest pleaded. "I'll tell you anything, just don't let that thrice-damned thing take me." The priest's face was pale with abject terror. "It will kill you all! You have to fight, if not for me, then kill it to save yourself and your friend!"
Erik looked down at the wounded guard. "Can we expect any backup?"
"I don't know, Detective. We don't have weapons capable of dealing with such monstrosities. Our best protection from evil is the very consecrated ground itself. No evil should be able to survive here." The wraith came closer and the guard gasped. "It will not hesitate to kill all of us. It will drink our life force until we whither like dying plants."
The Sentient Staff roared. Agitated energy crackled and danced upon the weapon's surface. Erik allowed his body to absorb some of the power to recharge then supercharge his body. He focused his breathing and willed his body stronger. He felt even more energy course into his limbs and torso. Esper senses flooded his mind with information. Enhanced neural pathways processed the stimuli and reacted. He radiated an aquamarine glow as more raw power coursed through his body. Every hybrid sense he had screamed of danger!
Erik looked down at his companions. "Get out of here. This is my fight now."
Before he could say or do anything, a beam of amber flame struck his body. The pain of a thousand bee stings and the scalding heat of a blast furnace ate through his flesh. The demonic force beam knocked him back over fifty feet. Erik's scorched body smashed through the brick and glass lounge of the Vatican rectory. His mind reeled and his flesh burned in agony. His soul cried out as the demonic fire threatened to consume him. Despite the pain he stood. The staff fed him more healing energy and increased in power. The weapon growled like an enraged wolf on the verge of attack. Warm blood cooled the cooked flesh hanging in charred tatters off his body. Exposed muscle tissue seared, burnt, and blackened from the blast.
Erik limped through the gaping hole and stepped into the courtyard. The wraith knelt over Martin, reaching for the terrified man. The old man's eyes locked on the demon, defiant, determined to face death head on.
"NO!" Martin's plight triggered an adrenaline spike. Erik raised his staff. The weapon roared, unleashing a burst of superheated plasma. A thunderclap shook the ground as the force beam slammed into the demonic creature driving it dozens of feet backwards. The wraith shrieked in agony as the battle-raged warrior continued firing. The staff growled louder as more and more superheated plasma engulfed the enraged hell creature. The ground around the beast burned then bubbled into a molten pool. The beast sank two feet into the liquid earth, its flesh and garment ablaze. Banshee shrieks of agony and anger shattered glass panes on every nearby building and sent chills through every living soul in the area.
Erik moved painfully toward his colleagues. He could feel blood h
emorrhaging from the gaping burns on his torso. The smell of his own cooked flesh scorched his nose. He couldn't heal himself just yet. "We need to move now, Counselor, while that thing is distracted and sunk in the molten earth."
Erik's staff sounded a warning and formed into a circular shield deflecting another burning salvo of demonic power. The sentient shield howled a sound like a wounded puppy as it absorbed and refracted the demonic energy. The assault stopped and the shield changed back into its narrow cylindrical shape. The nosferatu was far from finished.
The creature had managed to crawl free from the molten slag, its flesh still ablaze but it ignored the hideous wounds. You will all die! The icy tone froze the men's hearts. Even the powerful hybrid shuddered as the deathly tone echoed through his mind. The creature charged, enraged. Hungry claws extended from beneath its burning dark cloak. Erik timed his counter. He unleashed a powerful right cross directly on the wraith's covered skull. The impact of his fist sent a shock wave through his body. His flesh seemed to recoil upon contact with the thing. The force of his blow snapped the wraith's head back and sent the creature airborne for over ten feet. The creature lay dazed but didn't stay down. It righted itself and large clawed hands cracked its fractured vertebrae back into place. Its flesh was smoking and its dark covering stopped burning. Erik could hear the exposed flesh sizzle.
"What the hell?" Erik muttered. "That punch would have dropped a gorilla dead in its tracks."
The creature leapt and floated forward as if the living Earth repelled its body. Hungry claws slashed at Erik's back as the creature sailed past. Erik screamed in pain as the claws cleaved his flesh to the bone. To the hybrid's horror he felt his own life essence and strength draining from his body, feeding his demonic foe. The wraith flew by again, faster, striking, another blow and cutting deeper wounds into his already bloody torso. The creature cackled and moaned as it banked sharply, relishing the newfound strength. Its body stopped burning and the creature no longer left a smoking contrail of burning flesh.
Your power is a sweet candied meat to me Esper hybrid. Soon all your strength will be mine.
Erik struck as the creature went by, but his blow glanced off. The creature was moving so fast, he could barely follow it even with his enhanced senses. It struck him again and again, each time taking a portion of his physical strength and energy reserves. Erik's counterstrikes grew slower and weaker. His body was shutting down as its very life essence was drained. His staff shrieked out a fearful warning and sent another trickle of power into its master.
"We have one shot at this," Erik whispered to his weapon. "A few more cuts and we'll both be out of power."
Your soul will be mine, son of Adam and the stars. I will feast on you for a hundred years, savoring the taste of your essence. After I kill you and your ape-like friends, I will take your wife and your child and feast on them. I'll rape your wife a hundred times before I kill her and I'll force your son to watch over and over and over again. I'll cherish with glee each time mother and child scream out your name, begging for you to save them. When I'm done, they'll both be cursing you for your failure.
Erik stood stone still, feigning helplessness, gathering all of his reserves. The demon fell upon him, arms outstretched hungrily. Erik swung his staff like a baseball bat turning his hips and applying all of his enhanced speed and strength into one desperate blow. The howling weapon cracked against the wraith's skeletal shoulder shattering the bones, sending the creature crashing into the ground, tumbling end over end for twenty yards. Desperation helped Erik find more internal reserves. The hybrid's eyes burned like two angry blue suns. Burnt flesh glowed with the same fiery blue nimbus as the battered warrior harnessed every ounce of his bioelectric power.
"You're not touching my wife or my son, you fucking hell beast! Give Satan my regards and you tell him I kicked your ass. You tell your boss I'll bring a war to his domain that'll shake the foundations of both Heaven and Hell itself if anything tries to lay a finger on my wife or son!!"
Erik looked heavenward and hissed a series of commands. The very sky darkened as electrons and static energy collided and gathered together. Thunder shook all of Rome as dark clouds covered the Holy City. The hybrid pointed toward its nemesis and screamed…
"ANARAH ANKOLAH!!!!!" His voice surpassed the thunder itself. The heavens opened and a searing lightning bolt three miles long streaked down from the sky. The thunderclap shook all of Rome as the bolt of unfettered power slammed into the enraged, broken nosferatu. Three miles of endless untamed energy burned its way through demonic flesh and tissue. The wraith felt its life force escaping and shrieked one last scream of pain and rage as the overwhelming power consumed it. The explosion from the impact turned the courtyard into a massive crater. Trees, benches, and bushes vaporized before the expanding wave of fire and energy. Erik willed his staff into a large shield, covering himself and his companions from the massive detonation. Whatever power existed within the hell beast had been released when the lightning bolt vaporized its flesh. The power of Erik's attack and the freed demonic energy transformed the large courtyard into a post-apocalyptic wasteland. The sides of buildings facing the courtyard were charred and several sections of stone and mortar had been either vaporized or collapsed from the final blast.
Erik's body sagged and he fell to his knees. The embattled hybrid warrior looked up toward heaven. "That goes for you too, minus the swearing and threatening … leave my family out of this. They're innocent. You wanted me to shed blood for your cause?" He gestured toward the gaping wounds on his body. "I just did. I hope you're happy now." He turned toward his stunned friend.
"Martin, are you okay?"
The elder agent shook his head a few times to clear out the cobwebs. He studied the once-lush grounds. "My God, it's a smoking ruin." He noticed his friend's wounds.
"Holy shit! Erik, the skin on your torso—it's gone! You need a doctor!" He spotted the ripped flesh on his friend's back. "Jesus! Your back and arms, they've been filleted! We need to get you to the hospital now!"
"I'll be fine." Erik looked at the surviving guard and priest as he forced himself to his feet, an involuntary gasp of pain escaped his throat. "Are you two okay?"
Only the guard responded. "We're fine. Father Bashir appears to have soiled his vestments. You need both spiritual and medical care, Mr. Knight. A hell being has had contact with your essence and you must be cleansed." The guard looked up at Erik with awe. "You engaged a nosferatu in hand-to-hand combat and actually won! A single wraith has wiped out hundreds of men at one time, stealing their life essence and their souls. You saved us all, Detective. I am in your debt, as are all of us in the holy city."
Erik placed a filthy hand over the charred exposed muscle on his torso. "I appreciate the gratitude. I just hope nobody was in the courtyard when I let that thing have it." Erik studied the scorched buildings. "Or no one in those buildings was hurt."
"Your wounds, Mr. Knight…"
"My wounds are the least of our problems," Erik snapped. However the pain kept increasing and the detective had a difficult time blocking the discomfort. He took several steps away from the other men, holding his weapon tightly. "You saved our bacon, my silver friend. From now on you don't leave my side." The weapon purred at its master's praise. Erik willed the staff to shrink and take its customary place of concealment around his waist. He looked toward the center of destruction where the nosferatu had perished. Something had survived the incredible amount of power he'd unleashed. Erik limped over and discovered a section of tattered black fabric. Nearly a square foot of material lay by the scorched and molten earth. It had been singed and burnt but remarkably, a piece of it survived. The detective painfully bent over, ignoring the searing agony from that motion and picked up the material. It was dense but remarkably thin. He studied a few fibers, rolling them between his burnt fingertips.
"The chamber … This is made of the same fibers we found in the chamber."
Another searing wave of pain coursed t
hrough his body. Erik cried out in agony. "What the hell!"
"As I said, your wounds, Mr. Knight. The flesh may heal but your spirit has been attacked too, you need a healing cleric and several cleansing prayers." The guard yelled, still laying on the ground.
A wave of nausea shuddered through Erik's body and the edges of his vision began to fade. There were no more power reserves to call upon. He had reached the end of his endurance. "Martin." He struggled to force out the words. "I think I'm in some deep shit."
Erik collapsed into the dirt.
◆◆◆
Bellingham MA, Newberry Comics
Shanda glanced over at EJ. He was playing with his trucks in the corner while she continued ringing up customers. She hated having to bring him to work, but the young boy enjoyed talking to people and playing with several of the unusual items in her store. Shanda's employees also genuinely loved him. EJ never wanted for attention.
Her body began to tingle. A feeling of dread swept through her body. She could sense the danger surrounding her husband. Erik was fighting for his life and his mental stress tore through the link they shared.
"Daddy! Daddy's hurt!" A tiny voice wailed in agony.
Shanda spun. In tears, EJ rolled on the floor, his arms wrapped around himself, hysterical.
"Daddy! Daddy!" he kept screaming.
"My God, he feels it too!" Shanda tried to move. Another sense of panic followed by a searing wave of unbearable agony assaulted her senses. She stumbled and fell, crashing into a display sending dozens of DVDs sprawling across the floor. "EJ, EJ," she cried, only wanting to reach her son.
The cashier nearest rushed to her aid and another employee scooped up EJ and brought him to her. Both mother and child huddled together, riding through a sea of panic and terror. Each knew that the feelings came from the man they loved over four thousand miles away.
Two women helped Shanda to her upstairs office as she cradled her weeping child. Shanda's assistant manager helped her get EJ settled under a heavy blanket on her couch. The child fell into a heavy sleep clutching a large stuffed animal. Her assistant, Carla, poured the frazzled young woman a hot cup of tea and sat down next to her boss and friend of ten years.