by Jason Wilcox
Another dark soul tackled one of James’s men, claws slashing the man’s face, splattering blood and knocking his yellow glasses off. Six shots nailed the creature, but only the one which Smitty shot, counted. The wire from the dark soul fell onto the man. He quickly threw it off and caught up to everyone.
Mauldrin realized there were fewer dark souls than he originally thought, especially now that they had taken care of a number of them, and they were almost to the broken part of the barrier.
Something hit Mauldrin from behind, knocking him down and sending his gun flying. Pain shot through the back of his neck as if something bit him. He reached back and oily hands slammed him down. Before he could do anything, Tagen attacked the dark soul. Mauldrin pushed himself up as the dark souls screamed at each other.
A white blast hit the dark soul, and he disintegrated in Tagen’s arms. Tagen gave a startled look to Curt who had shot the creature. “Be careful with that gun!”
“Get up, we need to keep moving.” Curt grabbed Mauldrin and pulled him to his feet. His firm grip would leave a mark.
Reaching back, Mauldrin felt where blood pooled on the rim of his armor. Surprisingly, the puncture holes were starting to heal. His body was getting better and faster at healing.
“Do you have more of those weapons?” Mauldrin asked, pointing to Curt’s gun. He was tired of useless weapons.
Tagen joined them as Curt pulled a small, heavy, black handgun out of a slot on his leg and tossed it to Mauldrin. It gripped well and there was a silver cylinder on top that followed the barrel.
“You and your guns,” Tagen remarked as they ran to stay up with Curt. The men in front of them were beginning to become separated. James and his men were in a fight with a small group of dark souls, while Smitty and Espo were plucking dark souls off from the main group, where they were coming in from the outside.
“We need to help James!” Mauldrin yelled trying to get Curt’s attention. The man must’ve been trying to catch up with the other Knuckle Draggers, because he was leaving Mauldrin behind. Unfortunately, Curt didn’t hear him and pressed on. Not wanting to abandon James and his men, Mauldrin broke with Curt and ran to James.
One of the dark souls jumped on the back of a soldier. Mauldrin let a bullet fly, and white light shot from the gun. An electrical energy could be felt on his fingers as the white light flew out of the barrel. The bullet hit the dark soul and disintegrated him. The other dark souls looked towards Mauldrin and screamed.
Moving the gun to a new target, Mauldrin got ready to pull the trigger. Before he could, a blast rang out, shaking the ground. Everyone ducked and stopped fighting.
Looking towards the explosion, Mauldrin saw a large cloud of smoke rise into the air where a bomb struck the outer wall. Soot and debris rolled down the side, but it stayed intact. He looked to the battle that had paused for a moment from the violence, so much death and killing. The scene was too familiar, and he was tired of it.
Between the wars and the espionage and assassin work he did for SDS, Mauldrin was burned out. It needed to end. He was ready to dispose of the evil and hoped humans would stay united after the fighting was over, remembering what they were going through to get peace and freedom.
The missions I used to go on were easier, because I was able to go back to Bridget. She had always been there. It was like coming out of the water for a breath of air. Her smile and touch would put me at ease. But that is the problem, after this fight, then what?
A scream broke Mauldrin’s thoughts as a dark soul dove at him. Years of experience kicked in, and he quickly brought his gun up and blasted the creature. With a puff, the creature blew to pieces. Thin wiring that the dark soul had been wearing, dropped to the ground.
Bending down, Mauldrin picked the wire up, only to feel a strange jolt move through his body. The metal quickly sliced into the skin of his fingers. Dark red blood that almost looked black, oozed out as he dropped the wire. New oily, black skin grew over the wounds.
“Mauldrin!” Curt yelled. A shadow blocked the sunlight as a dark soul was about to land on him. Almost simultaneously, they blasted the creature in the air. Dust from the dark soul blew over Mauldrin.
“We need to get you a bigger gun,” Curt began while waving him on. “Let’s keep moving.”
Smitty and Espo had created an opening through the dark souls and were almost to the crack in the barrier. “What’s the plan?” James yelled to Mauldrin as he drew closer. He was bleeding in a few places.
“I can only guess, but I’m thinking Smitty wants to stop the dark souls from coming in,” Mauldrin yelled back.
“We need to get the truck over here.” James waved his hands in the direction of the truck. “Doesn’t he know that?”
“If you want to talk to him about it, be my guest,” Mauldrin accidentally ran past Curt as he looked back at James while he spoke, and came to a quick stop before he ran into Smitty. Dark soul’s surrounded them, screaming. So much focus was on the Knuckle Draggers, that the dark souls weren’t paying attention to the truck making its way to the break in the barrier.
Espo quickly stabilized his gun on a knee. He snapped off a shot and a ball of white light eliminated a dark soul trying to squeeze through their makeshift entrance. Dark souls screamed and barred their black teeth. Tagen sat down by Mauldrin and leaned back, getting comfortable.
Another dark soul tried to squeeze through the crack and Espo disintegrated him. Some of the dark souls retreated through the hole. Espo hit one of them, which increased the screaming.
One of them ran at Mauldrin, the wire cutting into his skin making the black blood ooze down his body. With little effort, Mauldrin brought the gun up and blasted him.
“I’m really enjoying these guns,” Mauldrin spoke up. “Do you have more by chance that we could spread around? It makes fighting these things almost too easy.”
“It makes it easier that they are not disappearing,” Smitty spoke up. “Normally when we fight them, they go in and out of visibility.”
“They can’t go into shadow form,” Tagen looked up, still sitting on the ground, and sounding rather board. “That wire you see on them is a type of armor that protects them from the bullets that James and the others are shooting, but inhibits them from disappearing.”
Smitty just stared at Tagen for a moment and then turned his attention to Mauldrin. “To answer your question, no, we do not have any other guns on us. What you see is what we have.” Even with all the dark souls circled around and screaming at them, Smitty seemed completely unconcerned. However, Mauldrin was feeling about the same with his new gun.
“Should we blast all of them?” Espo asked as he sent a bullet flying at a dark soul that was brave enough to charge. The dark soul moved quickly and dodged the small white ball by centimeters. He let another blast fly and it hit him straight on. Multiple dark souls broke the line when they saw the miss but quickly moved back as the creature disintegrated.
More curious to Mauldrin was the bullet that went astray. It flew past multiple dark souls and ended at a large tree trunk. Normally, a bullet would hit and sink into the wood. Instead, the light seemed to be swallowed by the wood, as if the bullet never existed. Mauldrin was in disbelief. When the small glowing ball of light hit a dark soul, it was a complete melt down in a moment.
“Keep your eyes open,” Smitty spoke quietly. “They are up to something.”
The dark souls were no longer screaming. Only one or two screams rang out from the creatures wanting so desperately to kill the soldiers standing in front of them. There weren’t any more coming through either. Dark souls lined the outside of the dome and stretched into the hills, but they had moved away from the opening and just watched.
“Let’s get to the truck.” James took a couple of steps to get the others. The truck was about to pull up to the crack. Soldiers were guiding the truck, keeping guns up, ready for the fight.
“Not yet.” Smitty held out a hand as if calling James back. “Stay close.”
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Scowling, James moved closer to Mauldrin. “I’m making a break for the truck. You coming with us?”
“I think you should listen to Smitty. These guys know what they’re doing,” Mauldrin said. “Besides, how are we going to make it through that wall of dark souls? They have us surrounded.”
The dark souls grew completely quiet and stopped attacking the truck and soldiers. Shuffling out of the way, the dark creatures created a pathway to the crack in the wall. Their wire armor would randomly zap them causing their eyes to glow more and muscles to jerk.
“This isn’t good,” Tagen stood up and faded. “They know something. We need to try to get back.” Once he finished speaking, he completely went into shadow form.
“What do you think, sir?” Curt took a step towards Smitty. A scream rang out that didn’t sound like a typical dark soul. A strange simulated laugh filtered through the dark souls.
Again, a strange scream rang out, but this time Mauldrin knew from which way it had come. Bushes and brush pushed out of the way as a much larger dark soul appeared outside the barrier. Mauldrin tightened his jaw and swallowed. It was the same type of dark soul Hermue had turned Matt into.
The truck arrived and men were clambering around as they were preparing to close up the crack. Surprisingly, the dark souls left them alone, not engaging the soldiers as they worked.
A hose was extended and murky liquid came out covering the hole. Solidifying quickly, the substance created a thick patch.
Screaming again, the large dark soul disappeared into shadow form. Even with the glasses, Mauldrin could only see an outline of the creature. It became difficult to keep track of him as he ran with tremendous speed at the sealed hole.
With a loud thud, the dark soul hit the barrier, pushing it inward but didn’t get through. The surrounding dark souls screamed and resumed attacking. Many went after the truck and soldiers around it. A smaller portion behind Mauldrin and his group came at them all at once. Guns were going off everywhere.
Espo pulled out a small metal cylinder that looked like a grenade. He pushed a black button on top and tossed it into the oncoming dark souls. A high-pitched ringing filled Mauldrin’s ears, piercing his hearing. Everyone but the Knuckle Draggers covered their ears, including dark souls. A half a second went by and a bright flash, like a large liquid bubble, blasted outward and then sucked back in, leaving no dark souls, just piles of wires.
“Do you have more of those?” Mauldrin asked, seeing that it completely annihilated the mass of dark souls coming at them.
“Only a few,” Espo said as he turned his attention to dark souls attacking soldiers by the truck. “But we have to use them sparingly, only when we need to protect you.” His flat robotic voice held no emotion.
A muffled scream rang out over the other noise, and the large dark soul hit the barrier again creating a loud thud.
“He’s not giving up is he?” Espo spoke up.
Moving forward towards James, Smitty spoke, “Will that patch hold?”
“It should, as long as they made it thick,” James trailed off as another thud hit the barrier.
“Let’s clear these dark souls,” Smitty added as he sent blasts towards the two closest. There were few left, thanks to the Knuckle Draggers. Unfortunately, a number of soldiers had been killed as well. Bodies lay across the grassy field. More men spewed out of the building, joining the ranks with weapons that did nothing against their enemy.
Sprinting, they made their way to the dark souls, shooting as they went. James led them, shooting as well, even though his gun only irritated the creatures. Another explosion hit the barrier and shook the ground. Everyone stopped and some ducked. It wasn’t as close as the last one but still pretty close.
A muted screaming took Mauldrin’s attention to the patch. Black vein like liquid seeped through and the patch appeared to start bubbling inwards.
“Smitty, he’s getting through.” Mauldrin pointed to what was happening.
The patch pushed inward and the black lines increased. One last thud, and the large dark soul slammed through. He made short work of three men that were there.
Smitty was first to get a shot off. The ball of light pelted the creature’s left shoulder, but the hole quickly filled back in. Unfazed, the dark soul headed straight for them. Bullets from all directions blasted the creature but did nothing beyond leaving a momentary wound. Green bullets seemed to hurt him, but nothing stopped him.
Seeing him getting too close, Espo, who was in front, ran at the dark soul and tried to tackle him. With brute force, the dark soul overpowered Espo. Long black claws ruthlessly smashed Espo’s helmet, knocking it four feet away.
The other Knuckle Draggers were quickly on the scene with Mauldrin beside them. He slammed his knee into the creature’s head, only to be pulled into its clutches. Claws tore into Mauldrin’s arms and sides, and even with the Knuckle Draggers and soldiers attacking the dark soul, the creature dove forward with Mauldrin in his arms.
Mauldrin was powerless. He struggled to breathe as he squirmed to get away. Sharp black teeth bit into his face and neck.
Black, pungent blood splattered Mauldrin’s face as Smitty drove a strange knife into the dark soul’s shoulder. Like a helpless child, Mauldrin was slammed into the ground. The last thing he saw before his vision faded was Tagen dashing out of nowhere and knocking the large creature down.
CHAPTER 32
Moving with intense speed, a knife headed straight for Azgiel’s head, flying past the large trees that surrounded him. He could hear it whistle through the air. Shifting his weight, he put both hands out, and the knife, just inches away, blew into tiny pieces, which glittered in the rays of the sun.
“Again,” Azgiel yelled to a group of trolls and demons. This time a small troll shot an arrow at him. The black tip drove through the air headed for Azgiel’s chest. Moving to a different position, Azgiel lifted a finger. The tip of the arrow hit his finger, but instead of cutting through flesh, it came to a stop. The shaft splintered outward, making a circle then quickly came back together and reversed direction.
The arrow now flew back towards its owner, repaired and sturdier than before. It moved at double the speed than when shot at Azgiel. Bringing his hands together, he produced a ferocious clap, and the arrow came to a dead stop, hovering in the air. As he brought his hands apart, the arrow dropped to the ground, leaving a wide-eyed troll with sweat rolling down his pale face.
Smiling, Azgiel looked down at his hand. His finger was bleeding. He let out a deep breath and looked up. Time had made him slow, rusty.
“Sir?” A broad gray demon, with black spots, stood out of the crowed. “Do you want another?”
Bringing a hand to his forehead, Azgiel began wiping sweat. “No thank you. I’m done for today.” He gave a courteous wave and turned, almost walking into Kaz, who stood behind him.
“Kaz? You’re back?”
“Yes, sir. I have a lot to tell you both good and bad.” Kaz fidgeted with a leather strap around his waist.
“Well?”
“Even though the humans didn’t trust me at first, their leader, General Denial Clair, wants to join us.” Kaz swallowed. “He’s eager to wipe out the source of the dark souls.”
“And the bad news?” Azgiel watched Kaz fidget.
“As I was leaving their facility, I ran into Hermue and his army. They were on their way to wipe out the General and his men, and I don’t think the General has a chance.”
Azgiel chuckled and began walking right past him. “Walk with me.” They walked up a large hill, pine needles and twigs snapping and a small rodent ran into a dead tree as they came to the top.
“You’ve done well,” Azgiel said as he looked over the forest. “Have you told Maselda yet?”
“No, the Witch doesn’t know.” Kaz stepped beside Azgiel and looked down a cliff.
With a smile, Azgiel let out a deep breath and kicked a rock off the edge, watching it bounce off multiple large rocks. “Most o
f the other demons have returned. About three fourths have decided to join us. I’m not worried about them. If the General is victorious, then we will use them, if they lose, we move on.”
“Then you don’t want me to help them?” Kaz lowered an eyebrow.
“No, you and the others are more valuable to me than his small army.” Azgiel kicked a bigger rock this time. Half way down it hit a large boulder and shattered.
Kaz shifted his weight snapping a stick under foot. “Would you like me to go back? If the General wins, I’ll prepare his army.”
Azgiel tapped his foot on the ground. “There is a lot to be done.” He rubbed a hand across the back of his neck as he looked at Kaz. “I’ll leave it up to you. I trust your decision. If you feel it best to go back, then go, but stay out of the conflict. If you feel it best to stay here, I’ll welcome your help.”
Looking away, Kaz shifted his weight. Birds chirped in the distance as the silence persisted. Finally, Azgiel put a hand on Kaz’s shoulder behind his large wings. “My friend, if you wish to go, it’s okay. We have enough here. If they win, it would be nice to have you getting them ready.”
Flicking his wings, Kaz let out a sigh of relief. “Then that is what I’ll do. I’ll leave immediately.”
“Kaz,” Azgiel said as the large demon extended his wings to leave. “Stay out of the conflict. I can’t lose you!” He stared at the demon for a moment giving him a serious look.
“Yes sir. I understand.” With that, Kaz dove off the cliff and was gone.
CHAPTER 33
Multiple voices could be heard as Mauldrin opened his eyes. He felt his body moving up and down as someone carried him. Pain shot through his head once his eyes were open, so he closed them tightly.
“You can’t come in here!” someone yelled. A voice that Mauldrin wasn’t familiar with spoke something that he couldn’t understand, in response.