by KJ Harlow
“I’ve got a bit of back pain,” Greg said, wincing. Trust him to be cracking jokes even at this time. Agatha looked through his ripped shirt at his wound. The knife jutted out at an odd angle.
“Hmm. Doesn’t look like a deep wound,” Agatha mused. Before Greg could say anything, she wrenched the knife out. Greg howled while Agatha deftly ripped a piece of cloth from the bottom of her habit and bound it around his body, making sure it was covering his wound.
“There, that should do it. Just don’t move too much,” Agatha said, standing back and observing her work.
“Hey, how are you guys doing?” Tracy inquired through the Light Bug.
Agatha, Tor, Greg and I walked over to the edge of the building and peered down. Conflicted were still coming into the work site but at a slower rate than earlier.
“We’ve taken care of the Conflicted up here but the Tormented got away with Stan,” Greg said hoarsely. I glanced across at him. He was looking a bit pale.
“What are you guys waiting for? Go after him!” Walter said in between Ridding Conflicted that had begun to climb up to his platform. “Don’t worry about us, we could do this all day.”
“Where could they have gone?” I wondered out loud. Did Mortimer give any hints as to where he would be taking Stan?
We’ll be seeing you later.
“He’s expecting us to come and find him. He’s just biding his time,” I said. “He’s gone back to the children’s hospital.”
I looked out over the work site. The hospital was just next door. “Let’s go – we have no time to waste,” Tor said, Soul Stepping down to ground level. We followed him, running towards the Conflicted that were still coming into the work site. When they saw us, they stopped attacking Walter and started running towards us.
With a war cry that could have shaken the stars above, Tor ran straight into the army of Conflicted and blasted a path through them. I took care of Conflicted either side of the path, while Agatha and Greg protected our rear from the Conflicted that were closing around from behind us.
“Go! We saw them go through the west wing!” Silas yelled. I Soul Stepped through the storm of blades and bullets, making it to the door first.
“Come on, this way!” I yelled, waving furiously. The Conflicted were slowly starting to thin out, but there were still enough for Agatha and Greg stop and take care of them before running towards me.
Tor arrived next. He stood inside the door and kept shooting at Conflicted that were coming in from the front of the hospital, trying to cut Agatha and Greg off from us.
“Hurry!” I said frantically. Greg looked as pale as a sheet by the time we got in. Agatha was gasping for air. Tor pulled the door shut, sliding the deadlock in. He then pushed a coffee table from the inside against the door. Conflicted rapped the glass loudly with their weapons. It was holding for the time being.
“We don’t have long before they break through,” Tor growled.
“Just give me… a sec…” Greg wheezed.
“Are you going to be OK to go on?” I said, crouching down to look him in the face. He looked up at me, face sallow but determined, nodding resolutely. I smiled at him and stood up.
What was in the west wing of the hospital? Just like when I was in here with Tracy, the lights weren’t switched on this side either. I walked through the hall until I saw a sign. I took off my glasses, hurriedly rubbed them with the corner of my shirt and put them back on. My eyes widened.
“He’s taking Stan to the chaplaincy,” I said, running down the hall. Agatha and Tor started running after me, looking back at Greg.
“You go on without me, I’ll catch up,” he said, coughing.
“You’re coming with us,” Tor said. He lifted Greg’s right arm and flung it over his shoulder. Agatha came up behind me.
“Mortimer was always one for drama,” Agatha huffed. “He must consider Turning people into Tormented like some sort of spectacle.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought too.”
We rounded a corner and came upon a door with frosted glass. It formed a picture of Jesus on a cross. It was slightly opened. My heart skipped a beat. Was it too late?
Agatha and I burst in through the door. Sure enough, Mortimer, Matylda and Stan were there. Mortimer’s Ombre Gun was emanating dark light and pointed straight at Stan. He stood there, looking at the gun. All three of them looked at me and Agatha. We drew our Lucent Guns and pointed them at Mortimer while Matylda pointed hers at me.
“Ah, glad you could make it… just in time for the main event,” Mortimer said, leering at us. Stan gave me a wan smile, his eyes shining feverishly.
“Rose, I’ll save you.” My hand tightened on my gun. If only he knew who was saving who.
Eighteen
“Greg has passed out.” Tor’s murmured through the Light Bug. Damn it. The wound must have been deeper than initially thought. I didn’t know if Tor had left him somewhere and was coming to find us or if he was going to stay with him. Agatha and I kept our guns pointed at Mortimer. Matylda was gazing intently at me. She cocked her head slightly to the side. I watched Agatha out the corner of my eye. Her stance was relaxed but alert.
What did we do now? If Matylda shot us, it was game over. We could shoot the Tormented and try to take Stan again but it seemed like his mind was made up. Dark circles ringed his eyes, darker than when he would come back from an all-night shift at the bar. What had Mortimer done to him?
“Stan,” I said, trying to ignore my heart going into overdrive. “Can we talk?”
“What’s there to talk about?” Stan said wearily, shoulders slumping. “I need to rescue you. Mortimer will give me the power to defeat the person who hurt you,” he paused. “Dante said so.”
“There is something to talk about,” I said, taking half a step forward. “You and me, remem–”
I threw myself behind a pew as Matylda’s gunshot whizzed past my head and shattered the stained glass door behind me. Agatha rolled behind a pew on the other side but not before firing a round into Matylda, catching her in the chest. She fell to the ground, clutching her wound as her gun clattered to the ground.
“Stop being so meddlesome!” Mortimer roared. I flattened myself to the ground as he blasted the pews in front of me with his Ombre Gun. Splinters embedded themselves in my hair as I covered my head. He stomped closer and closer. Could I get a clear shot of him before he ended me?
I twisted my body and pointed my gun straight up just as his snarling face loomed above me. The chaplaincy exploded with gun fire as three shots rang out. Mortimer’s face was contorted in unrealized triumph as he slumped in the middle of the aisle. I was still here. I got up and saw Agatha on one knee, gun still smoking. The chapel doors swung open, the remaining stained glass falling out as Tor burst in. His Lucent Gun glowed with a faint light as he directed it at Mortimer.
“Tor!” I exclaimed breathlessly. “Where’s Greg?”
“We don’t have long, let’s–”
Tor grabbed me with one arm and threw us to the ground right next to Mortimer as a gunshot flew past us from the front of the room. Matylda was awake again and hiding behind the lectern.
“Hello, Tor,” she giggled. “Who is she, your girlfriend?” She stuck her hand out to shoot Tor and me when we heard another gun shot. Matylda screamed as she dropped her Ombre Gun, nursing her hand that had been obliterated by Agatha. Agatha stepped out from behind the pew and shot Matylda again, this time in the head. She slumped to the ground, not moving. Tor had stood up and was pumping round after round into Mortimer’s head. Agatha started doing the same thing. They were preventing them from reanimating.
“Rose!” Agatha yelled above the gunshots. “Go and rescue Stan!”
I got up and went to the front of the room. My eyes widened as I moved closer. Where had he gone?
“Rose,” Stan was standing by Matylda, pointing her Ombre Gun straight at me.
“What the hell are you doing?” I said, exasperated. “Put the gun down.”
“I can’t do that.” His gun was pointed right at my chest, his hand trembling. Agatha and Tor stared at us as they continued to pump rounds into the Tormented.
“Stan. Let’s talk this through.” I said slowly.
“Then you put your gun down first,” Stan said shakily. I didn’t even realize that my gun was pointing straight at his heart. I wanted to reach across and slap him across the face. Why wouldn’t he snap out of it? How had Dante convinced him that we were the bad guys?
“Look at them,” he said. “Why won’t they stop shooting Mortimer and Matylda?
“Stan, it’s not like that–”
“That’s exactly what’s happening!”
Without warning, he shot in Tor’s direction. Tor jumped out of the way as the bullet pinged into the door. Stan followed Tor, shooting aimlessly.
“Stop!”
I ran into Stan, tackling him to the ground. He grunted as the Ombre Gun slid across the floorboards.
“Why are you doing this? He shot you!”
“If they were really on your side, why are they trying to shoot me?” I yelled as I got to my feet. Stan shook his head despondently. He was completely under the spell of the Tormented. His mind was beyond logic. I had to get through to him.
“Just tell me what’s wrong! What did you want to tell me the night I died?” I pleaded.
Stan’s eyes grew wide. He was about to say something when gunshots flew at me. I ducked behind the pew. In the time Stan had attacked Tor, Mortimer had come back to life.
“Stan, grab the Ombre Gun! Shoot yourself!” Mortimer roared before being felled again by Agatha and Tor.
Stan and I looked at the gun. Before I could shoot it, Stan threw himself in front of it, grabbing it with both hands. He placed the barrel behind his chin, grasping the handle with both hands. The Ombre g=Gun started radiating black light. He turned to me and smiled.
“I’m going to save you,” he pulled the trigger and fell.
“No!” I screamed as I collapsed and watched my boyfriend’s lifeless body crumple onto the floor. The room was suddenly quiet. Tor and Agatha forgot about Mortimer for a second, standing up to look despairingly at me.
Matylda had revived and taken her Ombre Gun back from Stan’s hand, which was twitching sporadically. She pointed it at me, smiling triumphantly.
I didn’t care anymore. She could Cease me for all I cared. I had no more purpose for being a Deliverer now that Stan was turning into a Tormented right in front of me. There was a rush of wind and someone came between Matylda and I. Through my tears, I saw Tor’s hulking back. His Lucent Gun was pointed at Matylda.
“Why do you keep protecting her?” Matylda hissed.
“Do not shoot her,” Tor warned. Agatha stood up about to unload a round into Matylda. Mortimer shot up and grabbed her gun, pushing it out of the way so that it discharged harmlessly into the wall.
“Aggie, it’s all over,” Mortimer said, eyes gleaming. “You have lost.” My sobs continued to punctuate the silence in the room.
“Guys, what’s happening?” Greg’s croaked through the Light Bug. Hearing my voice, he became quiet. “Oh no…”
“We are merciful people,” Mortimer began dramatically. “We’ll let you retreat for the time being. Go and tell Death how you have failed another mission. We’ll be on our way.” He added, snickering. He let go of Agatha’s gun, letting her drop her arm in defeat. He holstered his own weapon. Stan’s twitching became more pronounced as if he was having a seizure. Tor stayed in front of me, not breaking eye contact with Matylda.
“Where are you going?” Tor asked flatly.
“Oh, we’ll probably head back home for a while,” Mortimer chortled, as he fiddled with a button on his suit. His eyes flicked up to Agatha. “You could come with me, you know. We could put all this behind us, start fresh.”
Agatha brought up her gun and pointed it at Mortimer. He pouted and put his hands in the air, walking backward towards Stan. Agatha followed him, fury bubbling beneath her calm exterior.
“Where you call home isn’t the same as where I call home,” she declared, shooting Mortimer again. Matylda slumped to her side with a surprised look on her face as Agatha shot her before she could react. She then turned her gun on Stan’s twitching body and fired three rounds into the back of his head.
“No!” I screamed. I pushed Tor aside and threw myself on Stan.
“It’s too late, silly girl!” Agatha bellowed. Stan’s blood was all over my hands. He was still for a moment but started shifting under my weight again.
“He really is becoming a Tormented,” Agatha said with a defeated tone. “We have to get out of here. Walter, Silas, Tracy. Do you read me?” She said speaking through her Light Bug.
“Yes. What’s the situation?” Walter asked tensely.
“Mission failure. Stan has been turned.” It was quiet for a moment.
“OK, come back out to the work site and let’s retreat.” Tor unloaded a round into Mortimer. His Lucent Gun paused over Matylda’s head. Grimacing, he unloaded a bullet into her too.
“We don’t have much time now. Stan will become a complete Tormented in a matter of minutes. His Ombre Gun will materialize and he’ll come after us – especially you,” Agatha said, looking sternly at Tor. “We have to reunite with the others and retreat. Tor go back and find Greg.” She looked down at me. I would not let go of Stan. I wanted to stay here and be with him. I didn’t care that he was a Tormented. I stroked his blood stained hair. Agatha bent down. I braced myself for a stinging rebuke but it didn’t come.
“Rose,” she said, using the tone that she reserved for Tracy. “Stan is gone. The being you are lying on isn’t Stan. He is a Tormented, our sworn enemy. I don’t know if he’ll recognize you when he’s fully awake.” My sobs were drowned out by Tor continuing to shoot Mortimer and Matylda.
“The best we can do now is retreat. Let’s find out what’s tormenting him. Discover the truth behind it and share it with him. If it gives him the answer to the question that’s infected his mind, you’ll be able to give him peace.” Agatha’s eyes traveled down to Mortimer’s still body as she said this. I stopped sobbing and sat up, looking at her through my tears. There was a level of tenderness I hadn’t seen before on her face. What was their connection?
“Agatha,” Tor said, maintaining his rhythmic assault on the lifeless bodies of the Tormented. He avoiding looking at Matylda while he shot her. Agatha looked at me with calm eyes. She extended a hand to me. I took it and we stood up together.
“Rose…” Stan murmured.
I became wide-eyed. Agatha jerked my arm towards her and made sure I was looking at her face.
“Do not be fooled! That’s not Stan!” She said under her breath. “Now come on!”
She pulled me towards the door. I turned back once to get a final glimpse. Tor was methodically shooting the three Tormented but slowly moving towards the door.
We started running. Agatha held onto my hand, pulling me forward as we retraced our steps back towards the door. Tor stayed behind us, his heavy footfalls bringing comfort to my aching heart. It didn’t take us long to find Greg. He was standing. His face was shiny with sweat, but it looked like his bleeding had stopped.
“Rose!” He breathed. He strode towards me and gave collected me in his arms. “I’m so sorry.” He put his hands on my shoulders and searched my face with his sea-blue eyes.
His embrace brought a surge of life into my soul. I was still distraught that I had lost Stan to the Tormented, but the pain seemed to be eaten up as I looked into Greg’s freckled face. Is this why Death emphasized the importance of bonding amongst us Deliverers?
“Come on, they should be reanimating any moment now,” Agatha urged. She moved towards the entrance. The coffee table was still there and so were the Conflicted. They were milling about aimlessly at the door. Once they saw us, they collectively pushed at the door. It heaved, the deadlock threatening to give.
Tor pushed past us and
jumped up onto the coffee table. He shot at the glass, shattering it with his Lucent Gun. In the space of two seconds, a dozen Conflicted collapsed and disintegrated. He jumped through the window, got down on one knee and rid Conflicted as they surged towards him. Greg jumped through the shattered window and joined Tor.
Slowly they pushed the wave back, moving towards them as they kept advancing. Agatha and I jumped through the window, dispatching Conflicted from behind the two men. I sensed it before I felt it.
“Duck!” I yelled as Ombre bullets screamed through the air. We all got down just in time as the bullets took down Conflicted that were in front of us. I glanced back over my shoulder and could make out the silhouettes of three people walking quickly towards us. Greg cursed.
“Come on, let’s keep moving!” The four of us blasted our way through the wall of Conflicted. Once we had a clear path, we started running back to the work site. We could see the gate in front of us. Walter, Tracy and Silas had taken care of the Conflicted inside.
We ground to a halt as Mortimer, Matylda and Stan appeared in front of us. Their weapons were drawn. I stared at the weapon in Stan’s hand. It glinted dark and menacing. Looking at Stan, I felt disconcerted. He stood casually with the swagger that he had the night that we met. His eyes were different though. They were dark and hooded. He wasn’t looking at me. His gaze was directed at Tor.
“Sorry we’re late.” Mortimer drawled. “One of us took a bit longer to get ready.” Conflicted started converging on us from behind. We were surrounded.
“Where are you?” Tracy said urgently through the Light Bug.
“We’re close by but we’ve got company,” Greg said under his breath.
“Enough games,” Mortimer said, his simper subsiding. “Let’s end this.” The three Tormented raised their guns.
“Scatter!” Tor yelled. The four of us split up into different directions.
“Find your own way back to the work site,” Agatha ordered through the Light Bug. “Remember, we cannot retreat until we are all together.”
Tor Soul Stepped down an alley way, Stan hot on his trail. He didn’t see me as I clung to the shadows a safe distance behind. We were moving away from the work site but I didn’t care. I had to stop Stan.