Defenders of Shadow and Light: Ghost Thief

by Jason Levine

  Murray extended his mask and started his air. He ghosted, floated in midair, and reached out with his staff its tip was inside the canister. Murray pressed the button on his staff. The cartridge’s needle shot out and sprayed a dose of the sedative into the canister. As the sedative left Murray’s reality distortion field, it de-ghosted and mixed in with the black goo. Murray repeated this two more times.

  “That should do it,” Murray said. “Hopefully, the stuff I put in there will help ruin whatever it is that the General is planning.”

  Ronald beeped in agreement.

  “This doesn’t help us find Thomas or any of my other friends, though,” Murray said.

  He took out the map of the complex and examined it under the light coming from Ronald.

  “It would take far too long to search all of the buildings.”

  Murray pointed to the first building.

  “This is where they are keeping Eddie. Maybe the General has Thomas there also.”

  Murray heard footsteps approaching. He quickly put all of his gear away and locked the cabinet doors. He motioned for Ronald to follow him as he headed for the far corner of the room.

  “Turn off the light,” Murray whispered to Ronald as he skittered into Murray’s arms.

  Ronald turned off his lights, plunging the room into darkness. For a few moments, Murray couldn’t see anything. As his eyes adjusted, he saw two figures enter the room. Hoping he wasn’t headed right into a group of the General’s men, Murray ghosted and went through the wall.

  Chapter Twenty Six: The General’s Guard

  Murray emerged in an alleyway between two of the buildings. He didn’t de-ghost, but floated around until he was behind the building. He set Ronald down after de-ghosting, pulled out the map, and looked it over.

  “If Sean was right,” Murray whispered to Ronald, “they’re keeping Eddie in this building here. Maybe Thomas is there too.”

  Murray put the map away and the two quietly moved from building to building until they were at the end of the row. Murray glanced around the building at the courtyard. Sean was on the stage setting up some equipment. The guards who had almost caught Murray and Ronald were wheeling the vat of black goo towards the stage.

  Murray looked into the sky. The sun was hanging low. He had about a half hour until sunset. Forty five minutes tops. Murray moved back into the growing shadows behind the building. Ronald looked at him and beeped.

  “We don’t have much time. Let’s move.”

  Ronald climbed into Murray’s arms and the pair ghosted through the wall. Whereas the last building was full of offices, this was just one large room. Murray was standing on a landing looking over a sunken middle room about 15 feet below. In the center sat Eddie. His arms and legs were handcuffed to the chair which appeared to be bolted to the concrete floor. Eddie’s face was bloodied and swollen. His head laid to one side. For a brief moment, Murray feared he had been killed. Then, Eddie moaned and moved his head. From out of the shadows, one of the General’s guards walked into the room. It took Murray a couple of seconds to realize that the guard was Ruth.

  Ruth was wearing a camouflage army shirt and pants. Her long flowing red hair was tied up in a bun behind her head. Her shiny black boots clicked on the concrete floor.

  “I don’t know why you’re struggling so much. You, of all people, should know that the General is right. We need to work with him to make this a better world for everyone.”

  “Go to hell,” Eddie replied, clearly exerting a great deal of energy to even say that.

  Ruth’s fists glowed.

  “How much more of this is it going to take before you relent? How many more of the General’s gifts does he need to bestow on you before you stop rejecting them?”

  “I’ll never stop. I’m not going to be his pawn ever again.”

  “You’re so deluded, it’s pathetic,” Ruth said. “The General doesn’t think of us as pawns. We’re part of him. We’re his limbs. You don’t chop off your arms, you embrace them and do everything to protect them.”

  “And you call me deluded.”

  Ruth punched Eddie’s face with her glowing fists. Eddie’s head snapped back and he groaned in pain. Eddie moved his head back and spat blood at Ruth. She stepped to the side and it missed its intended target.

  “Stay here and stay hidden,” Murray whispered to Ronald.

  He ghosted and flew down to the floor below, making sure to stick to the shadows behind Ruth.

  “This is pointless,” Ruth told Eddie. “You might be able to struggle against the General’s pull more than any he’s seen before, but once he is reborn nobody will be able to resist him.”

  Murray reached the lower level and floated towards Ruth. He pulled out one of his staves.

  “His influence will reach worldwide,” Ruth continued. “He will enforce peace and order on this corrupt and chaotic world.”

  Murray came up from behind Ruth and raised his staff. He prepared to de-ghost and inject her with the sedative. Unfortunately, Eddie’s eyes flickered from Ruth to Murray. That was all the tip off she needed.

  “No one will defy the General,” Ruth yelled, blasting energy as she spun around.

  Her blasts went through Murray. He hadn’t been worried since, until now, nothing seemed to hurt him while he was ghosting. Ruth’s blasts, however, hurt. They hurt bad. Murray dropped his staff and it de-ghosted as it fell until it clattered on the floor below. Murray barely managed to keep ghosted and flew away from Ruth as she blasted her beams at him.

  Murray dodged and weaved around Ruth’s beams.

  “Traitor!” Ruth screamed at him. “You betrayed me.”

  “You’re the one who left me,” Murray countered, twisting as a beam almost hit his stomach.

  “You defied the General when he gave you a gift!”

  “What? Those leeches? Sorry. It wasn’t my kind of animal. I’m more of a cat or dog kind of guy. Pretty much any pet that doesn’t take over your brain.”

  “You dare compare the General’s gifts to a mere pet?” Ruth roared. Her blasts had stopped but her hands glowed bright white.

  “You’re right. That’s completely not fair,” Murray responded, circling wide around Ruth.

  Ruth’s fists faded slightly.

  “I mean, pets everywhere would be insulted if they heard I compared those slimy leeches to them.”

  Ruth screamed in rage. Her fists glowed bright enough to light the room and she slammed them together. Murray had seen Ruth project a straight beam of energy on many occasions. What emerged from Ruth this time was no mere beam, though. It expanded outward, an ever larger wave of energy. Murray moved away from it quickly. Though he pushed his boosters to its limits, the wave was catching up. Murray headed for a wall and passed through it seconds before the wave hit.

  Murray was plunged into darkness. This room had obviously once been an underground basement and now he was moving through dirt. Murray quickly turned up before he lost his sense of direction. He surfaced only enough for the top of his head to poke through the ground. Reorienting himself, he flew back towards the building at top speed.

  As he approached the building, Murray drew his remaining staff. He passed through the walls and spotted Ruth. She was kneeling on the ground, breathing heavily. The white glow around her hands flickered on and off.

  “Looks like your friend… deserted you…” Ruth panted to Eddie. “No matter. I’ll just inform the General that…”

  She never finished her sentence. Murray de-ghosted at top speed and tackled her. As they toppled to the ground, Murray pressed his staff against Ruth’s neck and pressed the button. The glow around her hands flickered and faded. Ruth grabbed Murray’s shirt and tried to struggle, but the drug quickly took hold. Her eyes rolled back in her head and her hands slumped to her side.

  Murray got up and retrieved his second staff. He placed it in its holder and walked to Eddie.

  “You’ve certainly looked better,” Murray said to him.

 
Murray took out his lock picking tools and opened Eddie’s restraints. Eddie tried to get up but collapsed instead. Murray caught him and helped him slowly down to the ground.

  “You need a doctor,” Murray said.

  “I’ll be fine,” Eddie replied, “Just get me away from here.”

  “Not yet. I came here to rescue Thomas and I’m not leaving without him.”

  “What about me?”

  “The General is planning something big and he needs Thomas for it. I need to get Thomas away from here also. If I don’t, I have the feeling that running will be useless.”

  Murray looked towards the upper level.

  “Ronald, come down here.”

  Beeping and whistling came from the upper level as Ronald turned visible again. He skittered over the railing and walked along the vertical wall to the lower level. Murray waited with Eddie until Ronald approached them.

  “Ronald, keep an eye on Eddie. I need to help Ruth.”

  Ronald beeped and helped Eddie stand. Murray walked to Ruth and examined her. He ran his hands up and down her back.

  “Sorry about this, Ruth. I’m not usually this forward, but I’ve got to find… aha!”

  Murray rolled up her shirt. There, on her lower back, squirmed one of the General’s leeches. Murray grabbed hold of it and pulled. Ruth began twitching. Murray closed his eyes and focused on the leech. He ghosted and leaned forward. When he opened his eyes, he saw the leech squirming in his hands as he slowly moved away from Ruth. The leech, upset that it was detached from its host, began to squirm more and tried to turn back towards Murray to bite him.

  “Oh no, you don’t.” Murray said.

  He tossed the leech across the room. It landed with a wet splat and turned around. It rushed across the room, heading back towards Ruth. Murray turned around and raced back to Ruth. He de-ghosted next to her and swatted the leech away. It attempted to approach again, but Ronald let go of Eddie and skittered after it. Ronald pinned the leech down with one of his hands.

  “Good job, Ronald. Now we just need to destroy it somehow.”

  Ronald beeped and his “fingers” changed shape. Murray recognized Ronald’s “soldering mode” instantly. Ronald’s fingers glowed bright red and the leech let out a high pitched screech as Ronald’s fingers cut cleanly through it. Two big chunks of leech landed on the ground, still sizzling. For a second, the front half wiggled towards Murray and Ruth, but it quickly expired and stopped moving.

  Ruth moaned. Murray knelt next to her and helped her to her feet, moving the back of her shirt down with one hand.

  “What happened? Last I remember, Eddie was tied to a chair and I was…. Oh. Oh, no.” Realization flooded over her. “Eddie, I’m so sorry!”

  “I don’t blame you,” Eddie said, struggling to get to his feet as Ronald skittered back over to help. “It was the General.”

  Tears welled in Ruth’s eyes.

  “I was sure I could stop him and save Thomas. I knocked out a dozen of his guards before someone hit me from behind. Next thing I knew, everything the General said just sounded so… so right.”

  “Believe me,” Eddie said, “I know what you went through.”

  “But what I did to you and Sean. I can’t forgive myself.”

  “You’re going to need to,” Murray said. “And quickly. In a few minutes, the General is going to do something to Thomas. I’m not sure what, but it’s going to be bad and it’s going to make the General more powerful than ever. I have a friend waiting for me to give a signal. When I do, he can free everyone from the General’s control and take out the General himself.”

  “So why doesn’t your buddy attack now?” Eddie asked.

  “He’s not strong enough to fight the General directly. He needs me to weaken him first.”

  “You can’t go against him,” Ruth said. “He’s too strong.”

  “Don’t worry,” Murray reassured her. “I’ve got a plan. I need your help, though.”

  “What can I do?” Ruth asked.

  “First of all, I need the General to think that nothing is wrong. That means you’re going to have to attend his little ceremony, Ruth. If you’re absent, he might suspect something’s up.”

  “You want me to attend his ceremony? I’m not going to just sit back and let him hurt Thomas.”

  “Not only won’t you interfere, but you’ll cheer him on if need be,” Murray insisted. “Remember, he needs to think that everything is fine. Just make sure you’re not in the first few rows.”

  “But Thomas...”

  “Let me worry about Thomas. Trust me. I’m not going to let the General hurt Thomas. But before I can act, I need him to think you’re on his side or he might figure out what’s up.”

  “I’ll try,” Ruth said.

  “Secondly, when I have the General incapacitated, I need you to fire your blasts straight up. That should give a good enough signal for my friend to see.”

  “That I can do… Though I’d rather aim them at that monster’s face.”

  “What about me?” Eddie asked.

  “Stay here with Ronald,” Murray answered.

  Eddie started to protest, but stumbled. Ronald propped him up and helped him sit down on the chair he was held captive in.

  “I appreciate you wanting to help,” Murray told Eddie, “but you’re too weak right now. Besides, you’re supposed to be a prisoner. If you’re not in here, he’ll suspect something is up. Don’t worry. We’ll be back for you. If everything works out, all of the General’s men will walk out with us free from his control.”

  Murray pulled a cartridge out of his satchel.

  “The syringe in here should contain enough sedative to knock out four people. Use it if the guards come check in on you. Ronald, keep Eddie safe.”

  Ronald beeped once.

  “Do me a favor,” Eddie said.

  “What?” Murray asked.

  “If your plan involves hitting the General, whack him a few times for me.”

  “Gladly.”

  Murray and Ruth walked up a flight of stairs that led to the door.

  “Remember, Ruth. The minute you walk out of that door, you’re one of the General’s men. Act as though everything he says and orders you to do is perfect. Keep your cover until it’s time to give the signal.”

  “I will. Murray?”

  “Yes?”

  “Before we go out there, I need to apologize for how I acted back in your apartment.”

  “It’s fine. I know my… profession isn’t the noblest there is. It’s why I avoided telling you about what I did for so long.”

  “I’m still not sure how comfortable I am knowing that you’re a thief, but you’re a good person. Thank you for saving me.”

  Murray smiled at Ruth.

  “No problem. Now let’s stop the General and save our friends.”

  Chapter Twenty Seven: The Stage Is Set

  As Ruth reached for the door, Murray hung back. She took a deep breath, turned the door handle, and confidently strode out of the building, slamming the door behind her. Murray refilled his air tank and walked down a few stairs. Then he ghosted and moved slowly through the upper level’s floor so that only the top of his head was visible.

  Murray silently slid past the door and into the open. He worked his way past people’s feet as the last of the General’s men gathered in the courtyard. Murray slid undetected through the crowd until he spotted the stage.

  It was a wooden platform about four feet tall, ten feet wide, and seven feet deep. It was high enough that the General would be above all of his men, but not so high that his men would have a hard time seeing him. All of the General’s troops were gathered in neat rows on one side of the stage.

  Murray headed for the opposite side. Once there, he saw a set of stairs leading up to the top of the stage. This side seemed deserted at first, but then Murray spotted the General striding up. He was wearing army fatigues that matched the ones Ruth was wearing except his had two large white stars on his upper ar
ms. His distorted face was twisted into a smile as he strode towards the stage with his arms behind his back.

  Behind him, two big guards dragged Thomas. He seemed in decent shape. A little haggard looking, Murray thought, but not beaten up like Eddie had been. His wrists and ankles were chained, giving him only minimal leeway to walk. A strip of duct tape covered his mouth and a blindfold blocked his eyes. The tufts of hair on the sides of his head had been neatly trimmed.

  Murray ghosted through the stairs and under the stage before the General or his guards could spot him. The stage was sturdy, but hollow underneath. Murray de-ghosted and risked refilling his air tank. He held his satchel close by as he moved close to where the stairs were. Murray peeked through a break in the wooden beams.

  “Keep him here until I motion for you,” The General said, pointing at Thomas.

  “Yes, sir!” the two guards answered in unison.

  “Once you’ve brought him onstage, you may leave the stage and take your places with the rest of the men.”

  “It’s a joy serving you,” one man declared.

  “Of course it is. And, soon enough, the entire world will feel that joy as well.”

  The General turned around and began to walk off. Murray fingered the staves in their compartments. Two guards didn’t seem too bad. He should be able to take them by surprise and have Thomas out of immediate danger pretty easily. The General stopped and twirled back to face Thomas.

  “I almost forgot,” he said as he snapped his fingers. From further along the path, eight more guards marched up carrying large weapons at the ready. “That should help ensure that my esteemed guest is properly protected until his moment on stage.”

  The General turned around again and walked out of Murray’s view. The clunking of boots on wooden stairs let him know that the General was ascending to the stage. Once he was at the top, the entire base reverberated with raucous applause.

  Murray examined the men guarding Murray. Two guards he could overpower, but he doubted that he could take out ten–even with his powers. Murray moved away from the stairs and towards one side of the stage. He risked ghosting enough to peek through the floor. He could see the General standing, facing the crowd. His arms were in the air as if he were absorbing the adulation they were giving him. Finally, the General moved his arms down and everyone fell silent at once.