Dead Time Series

by Jason Wilcox

  “I see the point of abandoning him, but I don’t know about following you with this Mauldrin. If the gate is up, then maybe I should head there and go back to Triaad.” Laht’s breathing was quickening, and he began to pace, going in and out of shadow form.

  “No you don’t,” Tagen snapped, frustrated by Laht’s comment. “Triaad treats us like slaves. You don’t want to go back there.” He reached out and put the hand with the white scar on his shoulder to stop him pacing. “Mauldrin is who I say he is. He’s far more powerful than Triaad. I think he’s still trying to remember everything, which is causing his weakened state. Fight under him, he’s not a dictator like the others. He actually tried to protect me last night. Have any of your masters ever done that for you?”

  “No, never.” Laht furrowed his brow with the thought.

  “Laht. A war’s coming and you need to decide where you’re going to fall. Join us and help me get Mauldrin out of here.” Tagen let go of his shoulder and backed up to give Laht space.

  Laht began to pace and his eyes darted about. Finally, he stopped and looked at Tagen. “Okay, I’ll trust you, but, we’ll have to hurry, won’t be easy to get him out.” He took two steps and stopped. “By the way, if at any point I decide he isn’t the powerful person you say he is, I’m leaving to go back to Triaad.”

  “Fair enough, I won’t stop you.” With that said, they moved down the corridor at an incredible speed, seconds went by before Laht stopped. There he was, Mauldrin chained inside a small prison cell, a light bulb flickered above them.

  “Mauldrin!” Tagen called out as he passed through the bars and exited shadow form.

  “Tagen?” Mauldrin stood, his chains clanking. “You came for me?”

  “Don’t sound so shocked.”

  “Do you have the sword?” Mauldrin asked while standing.

  “The sword?” Tagen asked in bewilderment. “No, I don’t have the sword.”

  “We need that sword. Can you get it?” Mauldrin was almost yelling. His voice was so loud, it echoed down the cells. He shifted causing his chains to clank then pulled back. His eyes looked towards Laht.

  Shifting his weight, Laht spoke up, “Do you trust me to go get keys?” he asked Tagen, sounding a little uncomfortable with the situation.

  Clenching his fists, Tagen looked at Laht. He didn’t fully trust him, but they needed to get a move on before they were caught. “Hurry back, but if you betray me, I swear it will be me that you see as you die.” After Tagen spoke, Laht gave him a serious nod. Now, Tagen needed to deal with the sword issue, which would be suicide to try to get. Besides, it wasn’t Mauldrin’s, and Mauldrin had more power than the sword.

  “Tagen, the sword,” Mauldrin demanded again.

  “You don’t need the sword,” Tagen spoke.

  Laht returned, fresh blood soaked his right hand from the guard he killed to get the keys. Wanting to hear what happened, but knowing there wasn’t time, Tagen moved so Laht could unlock the cell door. He wasn’t going to question Laht’s loyalty any further.

  “Tagen, tell me where it is, and I’ll get it myself,” Mauldrin snapped while throwing the chain in front of him so Laht could unlock it.

  Knowing he wasn’t getting anywhere, Tagen let out a sigh and spoke, “Laht, how hard would it be to get the sword?”

  “Here, take the keys,” Laht said while throwing the keys at Tagen. “Hermue has it in a place that should be easy to get to, but there isn’t a chance I’d get out of there with you two by my side.”

  Surprised by the comment, Tagen missed the keys, and they clanged as they hit the ground.

  “Whad ya doin?” a scratchy voice spoke from behind as chain clanked across the ground. Tagen turned to see an elderly, wrinkled, man step out of the darkness that covered half his living space. “Nothing. Mind your business,” Tagen snapped and bent down to pick up the keys.

  “Listen,” Laht spoke, getting closer to Tagen. “Once you get him free, go down the tunnel until it ends. You’ll come to an old door. The large rusted key will open it, which will lead you outside the walls of the city. I’ll meet you there. If I don’t make it within an hour, run for it.”

  “You won’t regret this,” Tagen said as he made his way to Mauldrin.

  “I better not,” he remarked, and then was gone.

  Tagen bent down to undo the latch as the scratchy voice from behind spoke up again. “Don’t be letten those evil tings touch you. They’ll kill you,” he screeched.

  “Be quiet,” Tagen snapped, “Or I’ll eat your limbs off.”

  The old man hissed and Tagen went back to work. With a click, the lock was open and Mauldrin free. “Let’s go,” Tagen spoke as he bolted out the door, making sure to give a quick growl at the old man as he passed.

  “Wait,” Mauldrin spoke up.

  “What?!” Tagen growled as he slid to a stop. “We have to get out of here.”

  “We have to free them first.” Mauldrin pointed to two cells. One of them was the old guy, the other was the cell next to his.

  “You’re wit dem, I’m not letten you in here!” the old man yelled while going farther into his cell.

  “We want to help you,” Mauldrin called out, moving towards the bars. As he did, the man threw a clump of dirt into Mauldrin’s face.

  “Bug off, or I’ll poke your eyes out!”

  “Fine!” Mauldrin snapped and walked to the other cell. “We need to get this one out. His name is Matt.”

  With a growl, Tagen ran over and quickly unlocked it. A man was hanging in the back of the cell with his arms chained to the ceiling and his legs shackled to the walls. Scars covered his body and he wore only a pair of tattered shorts. Tagen could see he had something in common with him. Dark matter flowed through the man, but not by normal means, it had been done by an injection. All of his hair had fallen out and his skin was white with a greenish blue hue. The man hung limply, barely alive, with IV’s attached in two places on his arms and one on his neck.

  Having been unprepared for the sight, Tagen stood there and stared. Even for him, the scene was startling. Mauldrin pushed past him while grabbing the keys. Moving quickly, he released the locks and pulled Matt down. With a labored groan he fell into Mauldrin’s arms, causing the IV’s to pop out.

  “Let’s get out of here,” Mauldrin directed as he threw the keys back to Tagen. He shifted his arms and lifted Matt over his shoulders. Horrible scars from torture covered his back and legs.

  Happy to get out of there, Tagen started into the corridor. If Mauldrin wanted to keep saving prisoners, they weren’t going to make it. He hoped the rest of the cells were empty.

  Tagen looked back. Mauldrin was staying with him and no guards appeared. He couldn’t believe they hadn’t been caught.

  Not wanting to see more people, Tagen kept his eyes forward and hoped Mauldrin was doing the same. They passed cells in silence and within a couple of minutes, they were in a rougher, undeveloped part of the tunnel. The walls were rough like a cave, and made Tagen feel at home.

  Another moan came from Matt. “We need to stop and make sure he’s okay,” Mauldrin said.

  “Not yet,” Tagen yelled. “We’re almost out of this place and then you can.” There was no response from Mauldrin, which made Tagen feel good. He puffed his chest out a little and had an extra bounce in his step. Maybe Mauldrin finally respected him, especially since he saved his life.

  They came around a corner where the overhead lights stopped. The air stagnated and was heavy with moisture. Doubts entered his mind about Laht. Maybe we’re heading for a trap and Laht is hoping for the glory of catching us. Dark souls are devious creatures. Why would Laht be any different?

  At his feet, the ground was soft with mud and light from behind grew dim. Fortunately, he could see the door with rust covering the surface, making it look like it was bleeding.

  Mauldrin stepped next to him, his feet slopping in the mud. “What are you waiting for?”

  Not feeling a need to respond, Tagen ga
ve Mauldrin a dry look and moved to the door. The key clinked into the lock as he turned it, causing the door to make a loud moaning noise that vibrated the metal. Once he finished turning the key, a loud clunk came from the door.

  Taking hold of the rusted handle, Tagen pulled with all of his might. Every inch was a fight and the door screamed the whole way. Once it cracked open, a foot of thick muddy water rushed from the other side helping push the door open.

  Daylight lit the darkness as Mauldrin used his free hand to help. Water and sludge slowly subsided and they barely slipped through. On the other side, a wall of mud had been hanging over the door. They pushed through, and then started to push the door shut. Mauldrin put his friend on a grassy hill next to the door so he could help. The door screeched as Tagen pulled. He stepped back to look. As far as he could tell, it had been buried under a wall of mud for some time.

  Wiping away a layer of mud, Tagen locked the door from the outside, not wanting anyone to follow. He turned to look where they were. A small lake stood in front of them, and a thicket of reeds concealed the door.

  Coughing caught his attention, coming from the right. “Come on Matt, you’re going to be alright,” Mauldrin spoke while leaning over Matt and holding his head up.

  “It’s okay, I’m ready to go,” Matt struggled to speak. Black ooze seeped out of multiple wounds that stretched across his body. “I’m ready to end the suffering,” his voice was weak. Tagen now recognized Matt from some of his first endeavors to capture Mauldrin.

  “What happened to you?” Mauldrin asked.

  Matt tried to sit up, but couldn’t. Ooze came from more wounds on his stomach and chest. “I’m not… sure,” he spoke closing his eyes. “After you left, everything fell apart.” After more coughing, he continued, “A civil war broke out…The military tried to stop us with technology I had no idea even existed.” He began coughing uncontrollably. Black mucus came from his mouth and dripped down his chin.

  “It’s okay Matt. Tell me later. Rest now while we get you to a safer place.” Mauldrin placed a hand on his forehead.

  Once the coughing stopped, Matt opened his eyes and stared at Mauldrin. “Caden, it was Justin. He rebelled against me and began calling himself a new name, Hermue. He’s evil. He did this to me. Injecting me with…” His passionate tone caused a coughing fit. “…this strange, black liquid stuff. They made incisions and forced the substance into me. They poured it down my throat. I no longer feel human, just an empty shell of pain.”

  “Justin did this?”

  “Stay away from him Caden. He’s evil… his body is starting to become deformed,” Matt’s voice was growing weak again.

  “Just rest.” Mauldrin pressed his hand over Matt’s eyes. Allowing his body to do as Mauldrin asked, Matt laid on the grass with his eyes closed. Mauldrin sat down next to him and placed a hand on his forehead.

  “It’s dark matter, isn’t it?” Mauldrin asked while looking up at Tagen. His finger pointed to the black oozing wounds.

  “It’s definitely some form of it. But I don’t know how it got here or how they were able to collect it and put it in him,” Tagen said as he looked over his shoulder becoming concerned that Laht had set a trap. Turning his attention to Mauldrin, he knew he needed to tell him who Hermue was. “About Hermue, he isn’t Justin any longer. He’s a demon or something trapped in that body.”

  “How do you know this?”

  “I met with him, and I’ve seen what he is. We need to get out of here before he knows you’re gone.” Tagen could feel his heart racing as he began to imagine Laht coming with an army and Hermue leading. “Maybe we should run for it and leave the sword behind. It’s better to stay alive and come back than sit here and die.” Mud gushed around his toes as he paced.

  “No! We wait for the sword,” Mauldrin snapped.

  Stopping, Tagen stared at Mauldrin. A darkness had come over Mauldrin’s eyes and face. This was troublesome to Tagen, since he had only seen this in people like Triaad.

  With a plop, the sword, wrapped in linens, landed in the mud at Mauldrin’s feet. “Miss me yet Tagen?” Laht’s voice called as he came out of shadow form near Tagen.

  Tagen looked around especially since Laht easily came up with the sword. Mauldrin appeared unworried as he picked up the sword, unraveling the linen. He strapped it on and seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

  “Now let’s get out of here,” Mauldrin spoke while walking over to Matt. His friend moaned as Mauldrin picked him up, and black ooze dripped out of the corners of his eyes and nose.

  “It’s about time,” Tagen snapped. From behind, a scream rang out. Freezing, Tagen looked at Laht. “You tricked us.” His eyes blazed and his claws grew.

  “No, no I didn’t.” Laht backed up gesturing with his hands. More screams followed. “They must’ve followed me. I thought I’d gotten out without being noticed.”

  “I don’t believe you.” Tagen positioned himself for attack, staring Laht down.

  “Enough!” Mauldrin growled. “Move!” Without another word, Mauldrin began running with Matt. Tagen held his ground, his top lip shaking with anger. Across from him, Laht stood not moving a muscle.

  “I swear I did exactly as you asked.” As Laht spoke, a dark soul dove over the hill that contained the metal door, claws pointed at Tagen. Shifting, Tagen drove his claws into the attacker’s neck and slammed him to the ground. The creature tried to scream, but Tagen bit through the dark soul’s neck. Power and energy flowed from the meat and black blood. After spending lifetimes with Snyp as a demon hunter, fighting a simple dark soul was easy, but taking on a multitude of dark souls would be difficult.

  “Protect Mauldrin and I’ll let you live,” Tagen said as he turned and ran after his master. Beside him, Laht kept up as screams sounded from behind them. Ahead they could see Mauldrin running faster than a human but not as fast as a dark soul.

  “You grab Matt. I’ll grab Mauldrin. We’ll move faster that way,” Tagen spoke as they gained ground to catch him.

  “Let me lead. I know a place where our scent won’t be detectable,” Laht said, as they kept moving.

  “How far is it?”

  “Not far. We should be there in about five minutes.” He jumped over a dead tree, landing lightly on his feet in the long grass.

  Knowing they needed to be swift or they’d be dead, Tagen yelled at Mauldrin. “Give Matt to Laht. He’ll carry him.” In front of them stood a wall of bushes and small trees. Behind, they could hear screaming from their pursuers.

  Once Laht caught up, Mauldrin handed Matt over. Black lines ran down Matt’s face and skin from ooze seeping out of him. His skin was paler and his lips were becoming black.

  Not wanting to argue with his master, Tagen swooped him into his arms and kept running. It gave him a strange feeling to have a human in his arms. Normally the only time he ever touched a human was to kill but never to rescue.

  “I can run on my own,” Mauldrin said while pushing away from Tagen.

  “Stop fighting. We can move faster this way. Otherwise those dark souls are going to kill us.” Tagen pulled Mauldrin in tighter, causing him to stop struggling. He could feel Mauldrin relax but turn his face away. Surprised by Mauldrin’s reaction, Tagen found himself hurt by the actions, with all they had gone through, he thought they were developing a bond.

  A distractingly strong odor seeped through the bushes as they ran. It was almost too strong for Tagen’s sensitive nostrils. “Sulfur,” he spoke under his breath. Within seconds, a clearing opened into a large hill. Holes were left from old sulfur mines.

  Quickly, Laht jumped down one of the holes. Tagen reluctantly followed, not appreciating the horrible smell. The mine was dark and damp, the way Tagen liked it, except for the horrid smell. He wrinkled his nose.

  “I can’t see,” Mauldrin spoke as he jerked out of Tagen’s arms.

  “But I can. So trust me.” Tagen looked down the tunnel and spotted Laht waiting for them about ten feet away. “Either let me carry
you or take my arm so we can keep moving.” Not saying a word, Mauldrin found Tagen’s arm and gripped it hard.

  They moved slower but caught up to Laht. Matt had black foam coming from his mouth and his body was shaking.

  “I’m not sure how much longer he’s going to be contained,” Laht spoke with a worried tone while looking at Matt.

  “What do you mean?” Mauldrin gripped Tagen’s arm tighter.

  “He had life support IV’s running into his body in the cell. Hermue set it up that way, and I’m not sure how long he’s going to last without them,” Laht explained quietly since screaming could be heard outside of the tunnel.

  “We need to keep moving,” Tagen cut in. “We can talk as we go.” He began pulling Mauldrin along. “Where will these foul smelling mines take us?”

  “This one breaks into an underground cavern which comes up in a city. I discovered it by accident while running from our enemies,” Laht sounded proud. He followed beside them with Matt gurgling in his arms.

  “That’s fine,” Mauldrin spoke again, “but tell me what’s going to happen with Matt. Why did he need a life support?”

  “Hermue was doing tests,” Laht began. “He was trying to develop a super dark soul. He had a crazy idea that if he could keep a human alive long enough and shoot him full of dark matter, over time the human body would evolve and create a stronger, more powerful, dark soul. Matt and others in those cells were his experiments.”

  “So he’s going to die without life support?” Mauldrin again tightened his fingers around Tagen’s arm.

  “Enough with my arm,” Tagen snapped, but Mauldrin just ignored him.

  “I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Laht explained. “I’ve never seen anyone come off the life support. Matt was the first he experimented on, so I truly don’t know what will happen.”

  The ground grew sludgy, sticky, and smelly as they proceeded. Tagen pinched his nose, unable to tolerate the horrible smell that burned his nostrils and eyes. He wanted to suggest leaving Matt behind or putting the man out of his misery, but he figured now wasn’t the time to anger his master.