Shi’mon watched Yehuda save his life, and that bought him the few seconds he needed to heal himself. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw blood trickle out of Danka’s stump, but the blood did not hit the floor. Instead, the blood gathered around the stump and gradually started forming bone, muscle, and flesh. Before his very eyes, Danka regrew her missing limb in seconds, and she completed the regeneration with perfect, white fur. Then, without waiting, she zipped towards Yehuda, who was about to take out Dreyko. His adrenaline took over, and he zipped perpendicular to her line of zip and crashed his shoulder into her lower ribs.
The force of his momentum lifted Danka’s body off the ground and crashed her into the wall. As she recoiled from the impact, she flung her left paw in a wide arc towards Shi’mon’s face. Shi’mon ducked as he caught Danka’s left arm in his bent left arm. He continued his movement around Danka until he wrapped his right arm around her neck and connected his right arm with his left arm. Danka was caught in a reverse choke hold. In a swift motion, he jerked his arms upwards, snapping Danka’s neck. He let her limp body drop to the floor.
Danka’s attack had temporarily distracted Yehuda, and when Shi’mon had come to his rescue, Dreyko had regained his senses and planted a solid stump kick into Yehuda’s chest. Yehuda fell backward as Dreyko zipped upwards in the air and zipped back downwards with the intent of crushing Yehuda’s skull against the floor. Yehuda rolled away just in time. The impact of Dreyko’s feet on the floor caused the floor to crack in irregular patterns around his feet. Dreyko heard a snap and whipped his around to see his sister’s limp body hit the ground. Shi’mon looked straight into Dreyko’s bright, red orbs as he walked towards Yehuda. Each apprentice summoned a sword and took a combat stance. Dreyko took a step back, and his bat-like mouth seemed to stretch in a grotesque smile. To their surprise, Yehuda and Shi’mon saw Danka rise from the ground and walk towards her brother. She flexed her shoulders, planted a kiss on Dreyko’s snout and The Twins turned to face their opponents once again. Then Shi’mon remembered that snapping a Bright Eye’s neck does not kill the Bright Eye. How dumb of him!
“And now, you die!” Dreyko hissed.
But just as The Twins were about to zip, a voice called out from the door.
“Your highnesses, we must leave now!” Andrew spoke out loud. “Sunrise is nigh!”
Around them, the building had started falling apart. Chunks of concrete fell to the floor from the ceiling and gas pipes ruptured as more explosions rocked the building.
“Your highnesses, please!” Andrew implored.
“We must go, your highnesses!” Sasha pleaded.
Reluctantly, The Twins relaxed.
“We will meet again,” Dreyko promised.
“No fooling around next time!” Danka added.
“Looking forward to it!” Shi’mon said.
“I’ll make sure to give you a bath next time,” Yehuda said to Danka. “You’re a very dirty pet, you know that!”
Danka snorted, or so Yehuda thought. The Twins of Terror zipped away. Andrew and Sasha paused for the briefest moment to bid Shi’mon and Yehuda an unnoticeable farewell before zipping after their bosses. Shi’mon turned around to face Yehuda, and the two arch enemies stared at each other, ignoring their crumbling surroundings.
“Thanks for saving my life,” Shi’mon said finally.
“Thanks for saving mine,” Yehuda said in turn. “We’ll get them next time, brother.”
Another explosion shook the building.
“Yes, we will,” Shi’mon said, summoning a grenade and walking over a gas pipe.
He ripped it open, and gas came hissing out.
“Until then,” he said pulling the pin from the grenade and tossing it into the torn gas pipe.
“I’ll be in touch,” Yehuda said.
Both men teleported away to their respective locations, as the grenade went off. At the end of the chain reaction of explosions, the Nazi facility had been reduced to dust, smoke and a pile of rubble.
THE END OF PART ONE
SHADOW OF THE SOUL
“You have heard of me, and you think you have never met me. That’s okay. Right now, that is not important. You have been here before, but not in this current form. I do admire your courage and bravery. Not many in all of Creation have ever dared to venture in this part of Akasha. So, congratulations to you on that account and I bid you good fortune during your stay here.
“I know you have many questions, and I have all the answers you seek. But I will not give them to you. Why spoil the fun? Why make it easy for you? You made the choice. You abandoned your form in Earth Realm and came here. So, it is your responsibility to find your way out of here. I suppose you already know that if you fail, not only will you die in Earth Realm, but you will also die the true death, and your existence will be erased even from the walls of the Akasha; that was just a small reminder.
“I can see the fire in your eyes; the fearlessness, the resilience, the strength and the confidence! You will need all those and more, I assure you. Whatever it is you think you have heard, whatever it is you think you know, whatever it is you expect, it will all sum up to naught. In this part of the realm-dimension, your darkest hours and your greatest weaknesses are multiplied a thousand-fold and more. You will be taken to the very brink and beyond! Alas, I have spoken too much. So, accept my best wishes, once again, as I give you a very warm welcome to that part of Akasha called Shadow of the Soul…”
“Thank you very much, Priya,” said Melchizedek.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: BUCHAREST
“American, huh!” said the lady at the check-in counter at the Bucharest Aurel Vlaicu Airport.
“Yes,” Jake replied flatly. No need for sarcasm now, he reminded himself.
“Business or pleasure, Mr. Fellows?” asked the lady.
“Pleasure,” he replied flatly, stealing a moment to appreciate her ample bosom.
“I see you travel a lot, Mr. Fellows,” she continued, flipping through his passport.
“Yes, I do,” he replied flatly.
“Someday,” she said, stamping his passport, “I wish I can travel the world like you, Mr. Fellows.” She smiled and returned his passport. “Enjoy your stay in Romania!”
“Thank you, miss,” Jake replied and smiled back.
They headed for the baggage claim and were relieved to find that everything made it safely through the flight. Normally, they would hail a cab to the hotel, but after corresponding for a few months with the man who sent them the video, they had decided to take him up on his offer to be their designated driver. He also insisted that it was only fair for him to be a part of the expedition because it was his discovery. After much debate and deliberation, the team had agreed, and the necessary legal papers had been drafted and signed. The team met him at the terminal. He was a well-groomed, middle-aged man, dressed in a nicely ironed dark-blue shirt tucked in a pair of gray pants, holding a hand-written sign that read MYTH HUNTERS: TEAM JAKE. The matched the picture on Duke’s phone with the gentleman. After brief introductions, they headed for his minivan.
The drive to their hotel from the airport took about thirty-six minutes in light traffic. Their guide offered to pick them up for dinner at six p.m., giving them about two hours to settle in their hotel rooms and to get ready for dinner. The guide was prompt, and so was Team Jake. They went to a restaurant called ‘The Fountain of Plenty’ when translated into English. The service was great, and the food was even better. The team opted to eat something traditional. While the men wolfed down tons of food, Blades stuck with a salad and breadsticks. Four bottles of white Romanian wine later, everyone was gastronomically satisfied. Their guide suspected foul play with the tab, but the team did not seem to mind. A swipe-of-the-business-credit-card-and-a-heavy-unexpected-tip later, the party staggered back to the minivan.
It was great that their guide was the designated driver. Even better, they all made it to their rooms in one piece. Duke shared a room with Mark, Jake was with Paul,
and Blades did not mind sharing a room with any of the guys. Besides, she considered herself as ‘one of the guys.’ Given her involvement with Jake, she was going to share a room with Sam. By the time she was getting ready to take a shower, Sam was already spread across his bed with a mouth wide open and smitten in sleep. He still had his shoes on. His cuteness made her smile.
Fifteen minutes later, she was done with her shower. It was refreshing. As she walked over to her bed, with one towel wrapped around her torso and another one wrapped around her head to dry her hair, she started considering paying Jake a visit in his room. But then, she heard a gentle knock on the door. She walked softly towards the door. She looked through the peephole and saw it was Jake. She had butterflies in her tummy. She felt like a school girl. Jake knocked on the door for the second time. She opened the door for him, and … was Jake having puppy eyes or what?
“May I come in?” he asked.
“I’m sorry,” she apologized, realizing she was standing in the doorway. “Please come in,” she said, stepping aside.
“Sleeping like a baby!” he said, gesturing towards Sam as he walked in.
“He was out before he hit the bed,” she replied, and they both laughed softly.
“So,” she said, sitting on the bed, still having nothing on the towels on her torso and head. “What brings you here?”
Jake frowned and seemed to gather his thoughts.
“I’m not so sure, but my Spidey senses are starting to tingle a little,” he said. “I mean, am I the only one having this feeling?” he asked.
“Perhaps,” she said, removing the towel from her head.
Long, wet strands of black hair curled down her back and shoulders. Jake swallowed involuntarily.
“What I’m saying is this,” he continued. “We watched a video that involved two people getting torn to pieces, but not before they’re both…” he fumbled for the right words.
“Drained?” she finished the sentence for him.
“Yes,” he answered. “Drained! We concluded that the video was genuine and STILL flew out here to check it out? Come on, Eva, think about it. Something does not add up.”
“You called me Eva, Jake,” she said in a soft whisper. He stared into her eyes. “I like it when YOU call me Eva.”
“Screw this!” Jake said and reached for her hand.
“I’ve missed you, Eva,” he said softly.
“I’ve missed you too, Jake,” she replied, taking his hand.
He inched closer and they kissed passionately. A quarter of an hour later, the content couple lay on Eva’s bed. Sam had not even turned in his sleep yet.
“I have to head back now, honey,” he said.
She sat up on the bed and stared at him in disbelief.
“What did you just call me?” she asked.
“You heard me,” he replied.
She smiled and lay back on his chest with half-closed eyes. She felt like she was the luckiest girl in the world.
“This will be our last trip as a team, Eva,” he said flatly.
Now she bolted from the bed and could barely contain her shock.
“You can’t be serious!” she half-yelled and had to cup her mouth when she remembered they were not the only ones in the room. Sam turned in his sleep but did not wake up.
“Yes, I’m serious,” Jake affirmed. “We’re now a couple, and I think it’s time I retire and have a normal life, free of the camera. And I was hoping you’d join me.”
She relaxed a little and seemed to give it some thought.
“I guess I’ll join you!” she finally said. “We’re doing the right thing, aren’t we?”
“We are,” he replied and smiled.
They talked for a few more minutes before Jake left for his room. The team was scheduled to meet their guide at 9 a.m. in the hotel lobby the following day. From there they would head out to camp somewhere near the location where the video was captured. Eva went to sleep almost instantly. Jake, on the other hand, could not shake the feeling that he was missing something. He replayed the video several times in his mind hoping to find something he might have missed. In the end, he gave up and let sleep take over.
That night, he dreamed of living in the suburbs with Eva and their two children: a boy and a girl. The children were playing in the backyard, and he was watching them play, while Eva was preparing lunch. Suddenly, the bright noon sky was smothered in pitch blackness. Naked women and men emerged from every corner and started making their way towards their house. The kids screamed and ran towards him. Eva came outside to join them. Jake ordered everyone to go back into the house, but the door was locked from inside. The naked people then stopped, looked up to the black sky in unison, closed their eyes and turned their faces towards Jake and his family. When they opened their eyes, Jake and his family were staring into hundreds of brightly glowing eyes as the naked people started marching towards them with outstretched arms. He was glad it was just a nightmare when his alarm went off.
Their guide was on time, and so were they; hungover but on time. He wore a long pair of brown jeans, a gray polo shirt, brown face cap and a black pair of boots. He urged Duke to change his khaki pair of shorts and put on a long pair of pants. Duke insisted he would be just fine and that bugs in the woods were the least of his problems. Jake sat in the front seat, mainly because he wanted to feel out their newest companion.
“It will be a two-hour drive to the location,” the guide said in his heavy eastern European accent. “I hope by then your hangover would be gone?” he teased.
“You should’ve seen me trying to get them out of bed earlier on,” Jake added.
“Tell me about it, my friend!” said the guide. “Sounds like my ex-wife.” Jake noticed the sadness in the guide’s eyes. “It was always a hassle getting her out of bed. At first, it was cute, but later, it got old, you know.”
“If you don’t mind me asking” Jake said, “what caused your divorce?”
“Irreconcilable differences,” the guide replied. “She passed away seven years ago.”
His eyes seemed to tear up.
“My deepest sympathies to you,” Jake offered.
“Thank you kindly, my friend,” he replied and returned his focus on the road.
They drove for another half an hour in silence. Jake and his team enjoyed the city sights and sounds until they started driving towards the countryside. The scenery was so peaceful and serene, unlike the buzz of back home. For a moment, Jake had nothing on his mind as he absorbed the farms, the hills, the livestock grazing in the distance, little children, both girls, and boys, playing soccer in the fields, oblivious to the cares of the world. They all looked happy and content even though they had no riches. Jake truly envied them. He envied how they could find such happiness without the materialism and greed he was used to seeing back in the US. This strengthened his resolve to quit the team even more.
“So, I’ve been meaning to ask,” Jake said, still looking out the window, “what makes you so sure that the couple will show up at the exact spot again?”
“Because I have seen them right around the same area before,” the guide replied, stunning Jake.
“What do you mean?” Blades asked.
“The first time I saw them was by pure luck,” he said. “I was out at night with my camera because I wanted to take some pictures of night creatures. I had my camera on night-vision. And as I lay in the bushes, looking for something to shoot, I saw the naked couple.”
Suddenly, the guide slammed on the brakes as a rabbit stopped in the middle of the road.
“Jesus H. Christ!” Mark cursed from the back, “What was that about?”
“He didn’t want to squash a bunny rabbit,” Jake replied.
“Oh ok!” Mark said less aggressively. “Good man!”
The guide shifted the car into gear and resumed driving as the rabbit scurried away.
“So, as I was saying,” he continued, “I noticed the naked couple. I thought about calling out to them, b
ut instinct held me back. I’m glad I didn’t.”
“So, I kept watching them,” the guide continued. “They just seemed to be standing there doing nothing. And then they both suddenly crouched, raised their noses and sniffed the air.”
The guide paused.
“What happened next?” Blades asked.
He navigated the minivan around a few turns before resuming his story.
“A few seconds later,” he continued, “two deer came idling by. What happened next blew my mind!”
“Please, continue,” Jake prompted, and observed him.
“Well,” he hesitated. “Well, they moved so fast that the deer barely had any time to react. In a few minutes, nothing was left of the animals but torn flesh, blood, and bone. It was a very… unusual sight to see.”
He cleared his throat and swallowed.
“I mean,” he continued, “these were human beings draining animals of their blood and eating their flesh… RAW!”
He took a few deep breaths to calm himself as he tightened his grip on the steering wheel.
“I bet it was a sight to see,” Jake interjected still keenly observing their guide.
“And that was just the first time,” continued their guide. “I saw them once more around the same area doing the same thing. The video I sent to you was the third time I saw them. I went out to collect hard evidence of what was going on, but instead…” the guide trailed off.
“What about the couple?” Jake asked. “I mean, didn’t anyone notice them missing?”
“They must have been new here,” he said, “I tried to ask around, but no one seemed to have noticed their absence.”
“And the police?” Jake prompted.
“Did you really expect me to take this video to the police?” their guide shook his head incredulously. “I would’ve been locked up and fined for ‘making such a video.’ Besides, who would have believed me in the first place?”
The Bright Eyes (The Soulless Ones Book 1) Page 12