Dark Guardian

by Ammar Habib

  With the room empty of foes, Ethan turned to the closed door as he heard footsteps coming his way. Knowing that his job in this room was done, he sheathed his bloody dagger as he stepped over a dead body. Moments later, the door was kicked down as numerous officers charged in, guns raised. In an instant, twenty officers were in the room and had their weapons pointed in every direction. But it was all for nothing.

  They came to an empty room.

  Victor marched in and looked at the dead and unconscious bodies. The view of the corpses did not bother him. What bothered him was the thought of angering the masked maniac. Looking up, he saw that the entrance to the air vent was open as its cover hung on one side of its hinges. He turned to the rest of the men. “Scatter and find him! Cover all the exits of the ventilation system.”

  His radio went off again. The device emitted brief static, but it was followed by panicking voice. “He’s in the—!”

  There was a sharp, deafening yelp of pain and then static was the end of the sentence. The sound of metal cutting open flesh was the last thing that Victor heard.

  The radio shook in Victor’s hand, but it was not anger that was causing him to quake. He looked at his men. They were frightened after seeing firsthand what this intruder was capable of. They looked at him, waiting for a command. “F—find him…now.”

  In a room halfway across the station, the masked assailant tackled an officer as he stabbed him right through his stomach. The man screamed in pain as the gun went from his hand and blood gushed out of the gash. The two of them went crashing to the floor and landed around three other bloody corpses. Ethan launched a couple knives at his next targets who stood near the far wall with their weapons drawn. Before either man had a chance to fire, the knives hit them square in the forehead, killing them instantly. Both their heads rolled back before they collapsed to the ground. Ethan leapt to his feet without hesitation and yanked out his dagger from the corpse’s stomach.

  Ethan twirled around and with his knife blocked a baton that was meant for his skull. At the same time his free hand went around the man’s head and grabbed the back of the officer’s hair. With a single, fluid move, he brought the cop’s head down and smashed his knee into the man’s face. Still holding the man by his hair, Ethan threw him into the line of merciless gunfire.

  Ethan turned and knocked away the next blow meant for him before sending a hard kick into his assailant’s stomach. As the officer went sprawling onto the floor, Ethan turned and struck the next officer right in the cheekbone with his elbow. He followed that by striking him in the face again with is opposite elbow. Grabbing the man by his hair, Ethan shoved the man’s face right into his dagger. He quickly and forcefully pulledit out and roughly shoved the body away.

  The officer he had knocked away moments ago charged him. Not wasting a moment, Ethan masterfully sidestepped the attack before stepping up and striking the officer with his forearm. Stunning his foe, Ethan kicked him in his side and then knocked his legs out from under him. As the man fell to his knees, Ethan grabbed him by his hair. With a quick move, Ethan mercilessly slit his throat. He shoved to corpse away without a second thought and looked around the room.

  All his enemies were either dead or unconscious.

  ***

  Still in his jail cell, William remained seated on the cold bench. He looked up at his four captors. They could hear officers radioing back and forth. Every time they did, it only increased their fear.

  Nervously, they tapped their feet against the ground, sweat running down their faces. They were too scared to even say anything. All they could do was exchange horrified glances as the body count of officers kept growing. And the thought that the masked killer was coming here for the prisoner terrified them.

  From the room right outside the jail cell, there was a sudden scream. Gunfire followed. Thunderous roars echoed through the doorway as curses and bullets flew every which way. Everyone’s attention in the cell block went to the thick, bolted door that separated them from the battle scene. They heard bullets burying themselves into the partition. Bodies slammed against the thick wall before slowly slumping onto the floor. Blades were heard as they viciously sliced through skin like hot butter. Screams of anger and cries of pain mixed with one another and nearly drowned out the shooting.

  The four officers exchanged quick glances. Their hands were trembling as aimed their guns at the closed door.

  He was here. He was coming. And he was merciless.

  Shrieks were heard as men dropped dead. Gunfire continued, but with each second passing, there were less and less guns going off. With each second passing, more of their comrades-in-arms fell dead to the floor. Cut down by friendly fire or by the vigilante’s knives. He was like a ghost. None of them could even touch him. Bullets seemed to go right through him. He could see them all. See what they were about to do even before they decided to do it. Nothing could surprise him. Nothing could catch him off guard.

  In a matter of minutes, the gunfire died down as only a single handgun was going off now. From the twelve men that had been in that room, only one remained. They heard the officer roar as he pulled the trigger again and again, praying that at least one bullet would hit his target. Then, the firing ceased as the man’s gun went dry. There was a desperate cry for mercy as the masked man menacingly approached his target. But the begging fell onto deaf ears. There was a quick, earsplitting scream.

  Then silence.

  The four officers had formed a perfect horizontal line facing the door. Whatever came through would not be able to dodge all their bullets at once. Their comrades would not have died in vain. This killer would not get out of here alive. His reign of terror would end here and now.

  William slowly rose to his feet. His eyes were fixed on the door as well. As his captors’ fear increased, so did his hope. He could not believe that Ethan had come to rescue him. Something behind them all caught his attention and he looked back and saw his savior silently drop down from the ceiling and noiselessly land on the floor. He rose to his feet without wasting a moment. As he began approaching the officers from behind, both his hands reached behind his cape and onto his belt.

  About twenty yards away from them, Ethan pulled his hands out from behind the cape, holding two throwing knives in each. He raised his arms a little before releasing his weapons with a quick flick of his wrist. The blades cut through the air and simultaneously buried themselves in the back of each of the officers’ skulls. Each of the men emitted a short gasp before their eyes rolled backwards and their legs caved in.

  Without even looking at his good work or even glancing at the streams of blood leaking out of the backs of the dead men’s skulls, Ethan moved to the cell door. He unsheathed his bloody dagger and with incredible speed, broke the lock before swinging the cell door open. Ethan stepped aside, allowing William to exit the cell. “Thanks for coming.”

  “Can you get out of here on your own?”

  William nodded.

  “Get out using the door on the east side.”

  “Why?”

  “Trust me.” Ethan reached behind his cape and pulled out a thin, black chain about two feet long. “When you get outside, wrap this around the door handles from the outside.”

  William took the chain into his hands. “Locking yourself in with them?”

  “Trying to keep them from leaving.”

  He stared at the chain in his hands. “Don’t you think this is kind of thin?”

  “When you get out, meet me on the rooftop of Raul’s apartment complex.”

  “Got it.”

  Ethan turned and walked away. William took one of the guns of the dead cop off the floor. As he squatted down, he heard Ethan’s voice once more. “You don’t have much time.”

  “Until what?”

  “I put the city’s firework show to shame.”

  ***

  Ethan’s exploits near the cell block had not gone unnoticed. In a hallway near the very center of the building, Victor quickly marched
down the corridor surrounded by eight heavily armed SWAT officers. With automatic rifles in their hands and their full armor and masks on, they marched in two rows towards the cell block.

  The police chief had a gun in each hand that was aimed at the floor as he looked through each open door and hallway they passed. Although he had ordered this part of the station clear, he could hear thunderous voices in the distance as officers tried to get their hysterical subordinates under control.

  Every officer in the building was panicking. In less than an hour, they had gone from wondering how the fireworks would turn out to hoping that they made it through the night. Even Victor was praying. For the first time in his life, he feared another man besides Anthony Griffin. He knew that his boss had betrayed him, but right now that was not his main concern. What he was worried about was making it out of this alive. His thoughts came back to reality as he heard a sharp sound.

  There was a sudden yelp right behind him.

  By the time Victor and his men turned around, the scream had subsided. They were met with the view of the bodies of the two officers in the back of the pack falling dead to the ground. Victor raised his weapons as his eyes went from the dead men and to the deserted hallway. There was no sign of the killer anywhere. The only mark he left were the knives buried in the backs of the corpses’ skulls. It was his undeniable signature.

  There was dead silence. In an instant, their heart rates doubled. The men raised their rifles and scanned the hallway they had just passed. He was here—here for their blood.

  Two more earsplitting screams came from behind them. Whipping their heads around Victor and his remaining officers gazed upon the two heavily armed men who had been leading the pack. They stood completely still, facing the rest of the group. But from each of their chests, the tip of a bloody dagger was sticking out as it split apart their skin and padding. Victor could see the figure hidden behind the dying men. His hands were on the daggers’ hilts. His cape and tactical suit were covered in blood. His eyes were focused on the police chief. Even through the mask, Victor could see that this man’s eyes were full of a fury unlike any other.

  With a sudden move, Ethan wrenched out the daggers and the bodies fell to the floor. There was silence as the remaining men stared at Ethan. They did not know whether to fire or run. Could they really kill a ghost? But their instincts took over. Gunfire suddenly consumed the hallway as every cop in the corridor fired upon the masked man.

  Ethan dropped to his belly as he launched one dagger at the furthest officer. As it slashed open his mask and face, the officer collapsed and Ethan lunged at the closest officer. Tackling him to the ground, Ethan had cut him open before they hit the floor. He howled in pain as he felt his insides burst, but his screams fell onto Ethan’s deaf ears.

  Leaping to his feet, he knocked away the gun of the next officer before he could pull the trigger at point-blank-range. Following a quick spin, Ethan’s elbow struck the officer across the face. Without hesitating, he grabbed the cop and roughly threw him right in the line of bullets intended for the masked man.

  The officer fell to the floor, severely wounded and screaming in pain. Ethan charged the last officer. The officer fired, but it all his bullets missed the charging foe as Ethan sidestepped the onslaught. Coming close enough, Ethan knocked his gun out of the way with his dagger. The hooded man followed through by grabbing the man’s head and slamming it against the thick wall with all his might. He immediately let go and the unconscious body collapsed unhindered.

  Ethan leapt to his left to avoid Victor’s merciless bullets. They buried themselves in the wall, completely missing their target. While in midair, he twisted his body around to face Victor and pulled out two more knives from the strap around his right forearm. As he perfectly landed crouched down, he launched them. They cut through the air and nailed Victor in both of his shoulders. With a quick, piercing yelp, both Victor’s arms fell to his sides and his guns fell to the floor.

  In a flash Ethan was upon his prey. With a swift but powerful kick, he knocked Victor onto his back. Ethan’s thick gloved hand came around his victim’s throat. The tip of his bloodstained dagger came inches away from Victor’s stomach. With defiant eyes, Victor waited for his strangling and gutting to begin.

  But it did not come.

  Ethan brought his masked face only inches away from his captive’s. He could see the terror in his prey’s eyes. “You’ve lost.”

  “If you kill me, you’ll never know where Griffin is. He’ll hunt you down until he gets you and everyone you care about.”

  “I already know where he is.”

  Victor’s eyes widened. “W—what do you mean?”

  “Maybe you shouldn’t say his location so close to the window. I read lips.”

  The police chief was silent for several seconds. He could not believe what he was hearing. Finally, Ethan’s words sank in. He lightly closed his eyes. “Make it quick then.”

  With a fluid move, Ethan sheathed dagger as his hand left Victor’s throat. “I won’t kill you.”

  He grabbed Victor’s left ankle. Victor’s gaze went to his foot that was in the masked man’s hands.

  “I’ll let the flames do that.” In a sudden move he broke his prey’s ankle.

  Victor howled in pain as Ethan let the now useless foot drop. Hearing his victim’s cries only made his own wicked smile grow. “You freaking animal!”

  Ignoring the screams, Ethan turned around and began to walk off. “Don’t go anywhere. You’ll miss the show.”

  About ten steps from his victim, Ethan stopped as a voice came over the PA system. “Three bombs have been located in the building. All personnel are ordered to evacuate immediately. I repeat, all personnel are to evacuate immediately.”

  Under his mask, a smirk came to Ethan’s face.

  It did not take long for every officer to make way for the nearest exit to escape this to-be-massacre. Across the building, at the north entrance of the station, a large officer slammed his shoulder against the heavy, securely locked door once more. Again, the heavy doors did nothing but shake a little bit. His sweat drenched face looked back at the group of officers behind him.

  The doors were locked. They would not open, no matter how hard he charged them. They knew that something on the outside was keeping it shut, but none of the group could see the unbreakable chain wrapped around the doorknobs. While breathing heavily, the officer spoke to the group. “It’s not opening.”

  The lieutenant, who had just been listening to a voice over his radio put up the device. “I just got word from officers at the east and west entrances. None of the doors are opening.” He pulled out his gun from his holster. “Step aside.”

  The officer moved aside as his superior took aim. Without thinking, he pulled the trigger. The first bullet out cut through the air and tore through the thick wall just like it was intended to. But, unbeknownst to them, the bullet was about to kill everyone in the building. The bullet set off the bomb detonator that was on the thin, black chain.

  And the fireworks began.

  The building was consumed by the explosion. Nearly every inch was swallowed up by the blast. Its thunderous roar shook the entire city. Its bright flames lit up the night sky and it seemed as if daylight had momentarily appeared during the darkest hours of the night. It caught the attention of every citizen. People who had not been awaken by the sound of gunfire or the sirens suddenly shot out of their beds thinking that Judgment Day was upon them. People dashed outside to see what could have caused such a disturbance.

  The sleeping city awakened in an instant. They could see the fire shoot into the night sky. They watched in amazement as the explosion rose to the sky and slowly dispersed. They ran down the streets over one another to see the source of such a monstrous eruption. And when they came to it, they were utterly and completely speechless.

  The building was a pile of rubble. The explosion was over by the time the masses arrived, but a few small fires remained. Heavy chunks of the b
uilding had flown and crashed onto the parking lot, smashing many of the parked vehicles. Numerous bodies were thrown out of the window like rag dolls and lay completely scorched on the ground for the world to see. Melted glass was scattered everywhere. Pieces of burning furniture could be seen all over the place.

  The heat of the flames kept many of the onlookers at bay as they stared in disbelief. Under the pile of rubble were the bodies of almost every officer who had been in the station. There was no way any of them could have survived. And if they did survive the blast, they would be crushed under the heavy wreckage. Every cop that had been harassing citizens with their power, was now dead.

  The night’s first battle was over.

  ***

  On a towering rooftop not too far from the destruction, William looked down from behind the railing. From here, he had a good view of the explosion that had happened less than half an hour ago. He watched on as the fire brigade did everything in their power to put out the fires and try and rescue any victims that may still be alive. Numerous law enforcement agencies were here by now trying to bring order to the chaos.

  A long perimeter had been set up to keep the onlookers at bay as many of them tried to snap pictures and take videos of the destruction. Hundreds of reporters were on the scene as they tried to get interviews with as many eyewitnesses as possible as they tried to piece together minute-by-minute how this destruction had come to be.

  Turning away, he walked towards the center of the roof. He looked down at the pair of handguns and ammunition that rested on a black cloak. No doubt Ethan had left these for him. William crouched down and picked up one of the holstered pistols and attached it to his belt. As he picked up two extra clips of ammunition and put them into his coat pocket, a familiar voice came from behind him. “How were the fireworks?”

  He turned around, coming face-to-face with Ethan. “A lot better than last year.”

  Although he was still in his blood stained costume, his hood was lowered and he held his mask in his hand. William stared onto Ethan’s sweat covered face. His body wanted nothing more than to sit down and rest, but his eyes were telling a different story.