Savior Part 2: Son of Eden (The Savior Series)

by Bradley, A. King

  “Dammit, Jason, I don’t have time for this crap! Reaper needs your help!” Howie responded as I holstered my pistol and quickly drew my sword and a smoke grenade.

  I threw the smoke bomb to my feet and flipped high into the air just as The Strangers whipped around the corners and opened fire. I landed safely on top of the overturned SUV as the smoke filled the air, and when it was clear that the squad of Strangers had lost track of me I slipped in behind them and silently moved amongst them, slicing them all to pieces before they knew what had hit them. In only thirty seconds they were all dead except for one and I cocked my head to the side and watched as he tried desperately to drag his legless body away before I could kill him.

  In one leap I covered the twelve feet that separated us and cut him in two with one sweep of my sword. His squirming almost instantly ceased as a pool of dark red blood appeared beneath him and spread out in all directions.

  “You’ve got to get moving, Ace,” Howie insisted as I stood over the field of dismembered corpses as the wind picked up and my long headband fluttered in the wind behind me.

  “What do you think I’m out here doing, Howie?” I shouted. “You keep screaming ‘Reaper needs my help’ as if I’m not already out here risking my freaking life trying to save him!”

  “Look, Ace, I understand—”

  “No, you don’t understand!” I yelled. “You can’t possibly understand what it’s like for me or Reaper because you’re not the one taking all the risks! We are! Instead of worrying about me doing my job maybe you should focus on doing your own. If you had done your job then maybe they wouldn’t have gotten that signal off in the first place!”

  A wave of anger rushed over me when Howie didn’t immediately respond. Guess I must have hurt his feelings, I thought as I looked around for a vehicle to commandeer.

  “You’re still a few miles out, Ace,” Howie finally said, seemingly ignoring my outburst. “The entire quadrant has been evacuated so you shouldn’t have any issues with traffic. If you can find a vehicle you should be able to get there relatively quickly.”

  “That’s a negative, Ace. I need you to report to the moon base, ASAP,” Wells suddenly ordered over the radio.

  “But sir—”

  “That’s an order!” Director Wells insisted.

  “I’m sorry to interject, Sir, but I would strongly recommend sending Ace to assist Reaper. Otherwise I’m not sure if he’s going to make it,” Howie said.

  “I don’t recall asking for your recommendation, Echo, and I’ll also need you to report to the moon base as well. We need to start planning for the arrival of the Anokian fleet,” Wells snapped.

  “Sir, but what about the plan? The Greater is destroying him! If Reaper dies then—” Howie started.

  “That plan is no longer an option, son! The Knights of Eden are already inbound and they will be here in less than an hour! I need all essential personnel off that planet ASAP!” Wells barked.

  “You expect us to just leave him?!” Howie demanded. “Ace, say something!”

  I opened my mouth to reply but nothing came out. As much as I wanted to help Reaper, there was no way I could go against Director Wells’ wishes. I simply owed him far too much to defy him—far more than Reaper or Howie would ever know.

  “The game has changed, Echo,” Wells continued. “I don’t think you truly understand what’s at stake here. Within the Anokian fleet is a ship known as the Pillar of Eden—”

  “And it’s equipped with an Infinite Mass Weapon. Yes, I know,” Howie scoffed.

  “Then you know they can use it to destroy the entire planet if they wanted to. Our only hope at this point is to repair the main wormhole generator in the moon base and call in help from our Equillian allies. You’re the only one on my team that’s both smart enough and alive enough to get that done. I need you up here and I need you here now!” Wells ordered.

  “But we can still save him! Your plan can still work if we help him defeat The Greater!” Howie pleaded.

  “But what good does that do if he doesn’t have time to defeat The Righteous before the Anokian fleet arrives?” Wells replied. “As soon as the Knights of Eden get here they will start prepping to resurrect their Goddess and now that we’ve lost the Guardian there is no weapon on Earth that could stop Her. We need to reach out to the Equillian Federation and we need to do it quickly. I won’t ask you again, Vargas.”

  “And I won’t leave here without him,” Howie said firmly. I wanted to say something too but I was too conflicted between my loyalty to Director Wells and my loyalty to the assignments that I had mistakenly allowed to become my best friends.

  “I’m going to make this simple for you, Vargas,” Wells snarled. “As you know, your family was transported to the moon base once I gave the order to evacuate all essential personnel from Earth. You should also know that the same articles that extend your safe passage rights to your immediate family also grant me the ability to revoke those rights in the event that you become a threat to our national or global security. If we don’t establish contact with the Equillians then we’re finished and I won’t let you throw everything away just to save one person. Get here in fifteen minutes or your family is looking at a one way ticket, son.”

  “You wouldn’t! They could die if you send them back down here!” Howie exclaimed.

  “Just do what he says, Howie,” I finally said. “Just think about your family. We can come back for Reaper after we repair the main wormhole generator.”

  “There’ll be no use coming back if he’s dead, Ace!”

  “Well if we wait around here we’re all dead! Is that what you want, Howie? You’re the smartest person on the face of this planet so I know you have to see what’s coming! We have no second strike capabilities against an Infinite Mass Weapon. You know our only option is to call in the Equillians,” I urged.

  “And what happens when they get here, Ace? Huh? I’ll tell you what happens! All hell breaks loose in the skies and the Earth is still destroyed as collateral damage to a war that it never should have been a part of. And if the Equillians are so damn powerful, why the hell are we waiting so late to call them for help?! You could have asked me to repair the main wormhole generator at any time, Wells, so why now? Why wait until we’re staring into the face of oblivion to try to call for help?”

  “I’m done talking. You’ve got ten minutes,” Wells said coldly before ending the transmission.

  “Echo, I know he may come off as harsh but he’s only—” I started.

  “Save it, Ace! You’ve said more than enough already!” Howie snapped. I could tell by the quiver in his voice that he was holding back tears as he contemplated choosing between leaving Reaper behind and condemning his family to being jettisoned from the safety of the moon base.

  “Howie, we may have had our differences but you have to know that we’re still fighting for the same cause! You’ve gotta save your family, man. Reaper can take care of himself and I’m sure you’re smart enough to find a way to help him once we get to the moon base. That’s what you have to do, bro. Just find a way. Find a way to save him and after you repair the wormhole generator nothing will stop us from going after him.”

  “Alright,” Howie finally said, with a bit more composure in his voice this time. “I’m setting my beacon for the moon base right now. I’ll see you there in a few minutes.”

  “Good deal. See you in a bit,” I confirmed as I took out my wormhole beacon and initiated the jump sequence.

  “Hey Echo, try not to take that deal with Wells personally man. He’s—”

  “He threatened to kill my family, Ace,” Howie interrupted. “How else am I supposed to take that?”

  “Are you okay, Howie?” I asked, concerned by the bitter tone of his voice.

  “What kind of B.S. question is that? Of course I’m not okay—but once I kill Director Wells I’m pretty sure I’ll feel a lot better,” Howie said darkly.

  My heart skipped a beat as I digested his ominous words and
realized the reality of what I’d have to do if he was serious.

  “Howie, I need you to slow down for a second, okay? I just need to know that you’re not serious about this,” I cautioned as the colorful wormhole that I had opened rapidly spun and crackled with energy in front of me.

  “I’m completely serious, Jason. But you don’t have to worry about me sacrificing the mission. I won’t make my move until after I know the Earth is safe,” Howie replied, in an eerily calm voice.

  “Come on, Howie, let’s be serious for a second—”

  “I am serious, dammit! He threatened to kill my family! What do you expect me to do?!”

  “Howie, you know I’ll have to stop you,” I warned as I clenched my eyes shut and hung my head.

  “Yeah… I thought you’d feel that way. You see, that’s the thing about me. I know people—better than they know themselves most times. That’s how I know you’re hanging your head in shame right now and you’re probably thinking about how terrible you’ll feel when you have to come after little old me once I make my move against your boss. But you can spare me the pity, Ace, because I don’t need it—and you’ll soon realize that I’m not as weak as you may think,” Howie retorted, still speaking in a calm yet extremely threatening voice. “I’ll see you at the moon base,” he continued just before the transmission went dead.

  I stood there in awe for another few seconds wondering what the hell had just happened. Of all the people in the world, I would have thought that Howie would have been the last person that could send a chill down my spine with a single threat but something about the tone of his ambiguous posturing had made me dread the thought of what he could possibly have in store for Wells once this was all over. The more I thought about it the more I realized just how right he had been when he said I would soon realize that he wasn’t weak. He wasn’t the most physically imposing individual but with a mind like his who knows what kind of diabolical plots he could come up with if he had the right motivation.

  I wasn’t sure if I could really kill Howie if it ever came to that but something told me that if he really meant to go through with his plan to assassinate Director Wells… killing him would be the only way that I could stop him.

  31. DEFIANT TO THE END

  THE GREATER:

  - SEVERAL MINUTES LATER

  IT HAD BEEN NEARLY SEVENTY YEARS SINCE I HAD LAST defended the Right Hand of the Crown. So long that I had almost forgotten the very thrill of it all. Though The Reaper had shown some impressive flashes of resilience he was still clearly no match for me, yet I admired the fact that he had not only chosen to face me alone but he continued to get back up no matter how much punishment I dealt upon him.

  A swift kick to his chest sent his bloodied body crashing into a row of parked cars thirty feet away from where I stood. We had been fighting inside of that dimly lit parking garage for nearly twenty minutes by that point and while I was enjoying every second of the battle I knew that it would soon come to an end.

  Reaper’s battered body slid from the hood of the crumpled SUV that I had thrown him upon and he collapsed to the floor as I slowly approached to finish him. I paused and watched in awe as the headlights of the hundreds of vehicles that filled the garage suddenly began to flicker and a strange crackling noise filled the air as The Reaper began to stir.

  “Get up, Reaper! Reaper, it’s Echo! You have to get on your feet right now! Do you hear me?!” a male voice suddenly shouted. It took me a few seconds to realize that the voice had come from the speakers of every vehicle that was parked within the garage.

  “You can’t go toe to toe with him, Reaper!” the voice continued. “You have to use your speed, remember?! He’s not nearly as fast as you are, now get up and show this son-of-a-gun what you can do!”

  Hoping to end it quickly I charged forward and prepared to crush his broken body beneath my boot but The Reaper rolled out of the way just in time, causing my foot to smash into the concrete below instead. I whipped around and sprinted after him but he quickly pulled himself from the ground and darted away before I could attack him. I could hear the mysterious voice still calling out instructions to The Reaper as I chased after him. Just as the voice had said, I soon realized that I wasn’t nearly as fast as he was. Still, there was only so much room for him to run so I eventually cut him off and threw my right fist at him with all my might. Somehow he still managed to dodge the punch and zoom further into the garage while my fist smashed through a five foot wide concrete pillar, sending dust and debris into the air as the massive pillar crumbled under the force of my blow.

  The fire within my chest blazed brighter as my aura spilled out of my eyes and I unleashed a massive blast of my mother’s holy energy as The Reaper rocketed away from me. The blast of energy tore after him and sent an entire row of nearby vehicles up in flames. For a second I thought for sure that I had gotten him but as the smoke cleared The Reaper was nowhere in sight and there was nothing left before me besides a large charred sedan which was now standing upright within the path of my blast. I realized that The Reaper must have used this vehicle to shield himself from my power when the car suddenly shifted forward and came flying at me as if it were shot out of a cannon. Luckily I was able to dive to the right just before the vehicle could hit me, but The Reaper zoomed in out of nowhere and hit me with a powerful uppercut that sent me crashing against the concrete wall behind me.

  The entire parking garage trembled as he zoomed forward and hit me with another left jab that bounced my head against the wall. I blocked his next attack and forced him to back away with a failed overhand right. He quickly slammed his hands into the charred car that he had thrown at me and whipped around with the vehicle in hand and slammed it against me hard enough to crash me against the wall once more. For the first time in years I saw stars as the back of my head slammed against the thick concrete wall and he began to repeatedly smash the vehicle against my face as the mysterious voice continued to shout instructions to him.

  Several pieces of metal and glass fell from the vehicle each time that he used it to drive my head into the wall, but with a perfectly timed right jab I finally punched through the crumpled sedan and tore it in half before The Reaper could hit me with it again. He quickly turned to flee once again but my left hand instinctively lashed out and latched onto his arm before he could get away.

  To my surprise, The Reaper suddenly turned and yanked his arm away from my iron grip and darted away before I could stop him. It was not without great effort, but the fact that he was now somehow able to pull away from my grasp absolutely baffled me.

  How is this possible? I thought as I desperately raced behind him. How is it that he seems to be getting stronger?

  In a flash, The Reaper zipped up the entrance ramps and stormed onto the top level of the garage before I had even reached the first ramp. I chased after him as fast as I could run but as soon as I made it to the top level of the garage a large SUV slammed into my face and sent me tumbling back down the ramp.

  Furious, I scrambled to my feet and stormed back up the ramp, but I was once again pelted in the face by a flying vehicle as soon as I made it to the top. I angrily galloped up the ramp once more and leapt high into the air just as he threw another car at me. The vehicle sailed underneath my feet while I soared through the air. The fire inside of my chest smoldered as my mother’s holy energy emerged from within my soul and manifested itself around my right hand. The Reaper hurled another car at me as I sailed through the air, but the vehicle missed its mark and my fist smashed into the concrete beneath us as I landed and sent a powerful wave of energy ripping throughout the entire level of the garage. The vehicles that were parked within the top level all exploded in an instant and the wave of bright blue energy that I had unleashed spread outward and collapsed the entire roof within seconds. My eyes widened with dismay as I realized that The Reaper had somehow managed to leap into the air and escape the blast. He continued to sail upward as I fell through the collapsing concrete below my fee
t and tumbled into the level below. Seconds after I crashed into the floor The Reaper descended upon me and hoisted a massive piece of broken concrete above his head as he loomed over me.

  His left eye was still swollen shut and the rest of his face was so badly bruised from the beating that I had given him that he would have probably been unrecognizable to even his closest of friends. Still, despite the devastation that he had endured at my hand he refused to back down—as if resilience alone would somehow lead to victory in a battle that he didn’t stand the slightest chance of winning. I ferociously smashed my fist against the giant chunk of concrete and reduced it into rubble as soon as he threw it at me. In a blur I lunged forward and grabbed his legs before the debris had even hit the ground. The Reaper toppled to the ground as I yanked his legs from beneath him and I forcefully shoved him down once more as I climbed on top of him just before he could scramble away.

  “It’s over, Reaper,” I urged as I pinned his face to the floor with my left hand and pulled my right fist into the air. “I must admit that you have fought well and proven yourself worthy of the challenge—but in the end, your destiny is to die, as is the fate of all who foolishly seek my Father's crown,” I snarled as my fist became wreathed in the blistering flames of my mothers holy power.

  “Then what are you waiting for, dammit?! Go ahead and do it!” The Reaper barked as he gripped my left wrist with both hands while I continued to pin him down by his neck. The mysterious voice that was speaking to him through the speakers of the cars that remained within the garage repeatedly bellowed something about a “triangle” to him but I wasn’t quite sure what he was saying because I could barely hear a thing over the sound of my own heartbeat echoing in my ears.

  The fire in my eyes intensified as I threw my flaming right hand towards his head. The veins in his forehead bulged beyond belief and his woefully swollen face ignited with fear as he strained to remove my left hand from his throat before my arching deathblow could descend upon him. I was convinced that he was finished; mere seconds away from meeting his doom—but somehow The Reaper managed to loosen my grip on his throat just enough for him to pull his head out of the path of my deadly blow.