Death Flag

by Richard Haygood

  The creature tried to float back and create some distance, but Madison refused to let it get away. Why did I ever run from you?

  He grasped his weapon with both hands and swung it around in a heavy-handed slash from above. The creature blocked it with his own weapon again, but Madison shifted his stance and lunged forward as soon as his blade was back on the level. Just as he expected, the wraith turned his blade to the side and away from its body. Madison allowed himself to be guided along at first, stepping into the maneuver, and then threw his entire body weight backward. His weapon snapped around, cutting a tight arc and slamming into the scythe yet again.

  Madison smiled as he hopped back away from the creature a half step. He was having fun now. He faked a high strike, stabbing forward with a one-handed maneuver only a sword distance at the creature’s head before pulling his sword back and stabbing at its chest. It didn’t take the bait and responded by returning a heavy, two-handed slash of its own aimed for Madison’s head. He pushed himself forward and a bit to the side, stepping inside of the creature’s reach and dragging his weapon up in a powerful slash. The sword cut through the wraith’s arm, severing it where the elbow should have been. The creature lost his hold on the scythe, and both it and its weapon crashed to the ground just behind Madison.

  The wraith tried to flit back again, but Madison wasn’t having it. He jumped into the air and brought his sword crashing down into the creature’s cowl. Finally, unable to block, it took the blow full on. There was the sudden sound of bone crunching as its skull shattered, and then the sound of his sword ripping through the empty cloak it wore. There was a loud hiss, and the wraith seemed to evaporate in a cloud of smoke, leaving Madison standing alone on the wicker mat in the falling snow, a tattered cloak at his feet.

  He took several long and deep breaths as he calmed himself down and then looked over at where Rae and Warren were. The two were whispering back and forth with one another without ever taking their eyes off of him. He looked behind and saw Davion watching him as well. A strong wind whipped through the clearing, driving the snow first in one direction and then another, and at long last, the flag the apparition planted unfurled. Madison stared at it in disbelief. There, flying in front of him, was the fanged skull. He was suddenly very conscious of the tattoo inked onto his wrist and the back of his hand where it was hidden underneath the bandages.

  He stood staring at the image completely dumbstruck for one impossibly-long moment and then the magic of the room was dispelled. He felt a sinking feeling in the depths of his stomach, except in reverse. It felt as if some invisible tension surrounding his body suddenly broke and as if a weight that he didn’t know was there lifted. His vision turned to black, leaving him slightly disoriented, and then he heard a door open and a ray of light shone into the dark room from outside. He could see Davion’s massive form outside waiting, as he was probably the one who had opened the door, and he could hear Rae and Warren padding along behind him as they made for the exit as well. Stumbling through the dark room, he made his way out of the room and back to the hallway.

  Madison stepped into the light and was surprised to find three young women waiting there along with Davion. They were dressed similarly to Rae, each wearing a golden-white robe, and their eyes were immediately locked on him as soon as he stepped into the hallway. Two rushed forward and circled around him from either side, checking his body. Since he still wasn’t wearing anything but the thin pants he had been given in the infirmary, it didn’t take them long to finish their inspection. One with mousy brown hair looked up at him, confusion written plainly on her face, and she chewed on her lip for a moment as if she was going to say something. Whatever it was, however, went unvoiced when the third girl tapped her on the shoulder, causing her and the other girl to step back in line.

  “How long?” Davion asked, just as Rae and Warren emerged from the room.

  The same two girls rushed across the hallway and immediately began inspecting those two as well. Apparently, whatever they found sat in line with what they expected, and they seemed to be much more satisfied with what they found there. Madison stood and watched as all four were rushed away down the hall and back toward what he assumed was the infirmary.

  “Two days,” the remaining girl answered.

  Madison’s head whipped around as he turned to look at her. No. No, don’t tell me . . . “We were in there for two days,” he stated plainly, voicing his own fear. Something clicked in his mind as he remembered what the older lady had said just before they entered. No wonder that other lady said it was a waste of time. Wait, was it? “So . . .?” he began, turning to look at Davion.

  “It has yet to be seen,” Davion answered, as if he could predict Madison’s question before it was asked.

  CHAPTER 5

  “So, are you ever going to tell me what’s going on?” Madison asked. After the little episode in that storage-closet-turned-training room, Davion had led him back to what turned out to be his private office. If anything, it actually looked even messier than it had been the last time he was there. The piles of random books and papers and folders seemed to have grown larger and even more disorganized, and a large trunk of some sort had wedged into a bit of empty floor space on one side of the room. It was a bit curious, considering that Davion had been with him the entire time, but Madison assumed that it was entirely possible that someone else had been using the office during their absence as well.

  Davion crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair and seemed to study Madison for a moment. Defiantly, Madison stared back at the larger man. He had dealt with nothing but ambiguity and misdirection since he arrived here. He had been treated decently—it certainly seemed that they had treated him medically—but he had been thrown into some absurd fight with a ghost, had his voice stripped from him, had been exposed to magic on multiple occasions, and they seemed intent on running some sort of test without his knowledge or consent.

  He didn’t even know what they were testing for, much less what the effects might have been. What if he had died? Or had his head chopped off? The thought hadn’t even occurred to him at the time. He had simply reacted. And how did he explain that strange connection he had felt when he held the sword? There was no way he should have been able to perform those maneuvers, no matter how naturally gifted or athletic he was. He had absolutely zero experience with weapons training, and yet he had moved as if he were a proficient fighter.

  Madison felt like he was being examined under the larger man’s gaze, and he might have been, though when Davion finally spoke, it was to offer some enlightenment.

  “I know you have a ton of questions, and although I cannot answer everything, I can at least provide some small amount of knowledge and perhaps a bit of insight.”

  “What do—”

  “Quiet,” Davion ordered, though it wasn’t nearly as brusque or snappy as it had been prior to their trip to the enchanted wonderland of death.

  Madison remembered all too well how little good it would do for him to try and speak now, so he just kept his mouth shut and didn’t even bother trying.

  “It seems you learn quickly,” Davion observed. “Let’s begin with the basics. This place, this entire compound, is unique in several regards. There’s a reason we’re isolated way out here from the rest of the world, and there’s a reason that you will likely never see another guest or visitor here for the rest of your time here—or even your whole life if you were to remain here for that long. How much do you know about history?”

  Back in 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. Considering I don’t even know where the hell I am? Or When? What time period this is? Or even what planet I’m on? Madison shrugged.

  “Hmm . . .” Davion scratched at his beard and then crossed his arms back over his chest, leaning back in his chair.

  “There’s a bit that has been lost to time, and some other parts that are muddled, so let me just give you what you need to know. Long ago, the entire continent and most of the
known world went to shit. Things were good for centuries, then they just turned plain rotten. It wasn’t an overnight thing, of course, but in the scheme of things, it all went down pretty quickly. It was the type of awful where you signed up to kill your brother to save your child from starving. Politicians were corrupt, lords were sadistic, and there was no tomorrow or the day after for most people. A once-thriving and prosperous world fell into ruin and became a thousand small territories bickering over scraps from a table that no longer existed.

  This facility was created during that time. This”—he waved a hand briefly as if it were to indicate the huge compound around them—“is K’yer Utane.”

  If he had been looking for some sign of shock or surprise for his big reveal, he wasn’t going to get it. It was about as dramatic a fashion as he could remember Davion using, completely monotone and told as matter-of-factly as almost everything else he said, but he didn’t have a clue what that name meant. If it was supposed to invoke some sort of reaction, it didn’t. Since he couldn’t say anything, however, he just leveled his gaze on the larger man and waited.

  “This institution serves as a failsafe of a sort. We are here to make sure that things don’t get out of control like that again.”

  So, you’re . . . cops? You’re the police? You’re the last line of hope when the rest of the world is destroyed by pettiness and greed? How clichéd. How mundane.

  Davion stared at him as if he had heard Madison’s silent denouncement, but there was a knock at the office door before either man could say anything else.

  “Come,” Davion barked, loudly enough for anyone outside and everyone probably two doors down to hear as well.

  Madison twisted around just in time to watch the door swing open on its silent hinges to reveal the young girl who had informed them of how long they had spent in the testing room. Her eyes were initially locked on Madison as she walked into the room, but she quickly swiveled her gaze to Davion once she had completely stepped inside.

  “You asked for me, sir,” she said quietly.

  Madison studied her for a moment. She was about average height for a woman, had straight, brown hair that hung down to just above her shoulders. He was fairly certain she had brown eyes, but she was otherwise unremarkable in every way. She was pretty enough in the face but in a plain sort of way without there being anything truly remarkable or noteworthy in her appearance—no beauty marks, no moles, no freckles. She wouldn’t have won any beauty pageants back home, but she wouldn’t scare off a flock of crows either. She was the type of girl who would just more or less completely disappear in a crowd without anyone giving her anything more than a passing glance.

  “Miss. Erin, please escort Madison to the men’s dormitories,” Davion said, much to Madison’s dismay. He had actually thought that he was going to get some answers this time, but, then, he probably should have known better. Davion must have caught sight of his face because he said, “Everything will become clear in time. It’s not like you’re in a hurry to rush off, right?”

  It was more of a statement with a thinly-veiled promise than an actual question, and a sudden sense of panic flared up in the back of Madison’s thoughts. He had too many questions that hadn’t been answered yet. What was that stone you made me hold? What was that room? What was the test for? What was the conclusion? Why do I care? What do you mean I won’t be rushing off? Why was I suddenly able to fight with a sword like I had been doing it my entire life? I think wandering alone through the woods and dying of thirst and starvation is beginning to sound a bit better than whatever crazy shit you guys have going on here. He opened and closed his mouth several times as if he were going to speak but kept changing his mind. The unanswered questions were too numerous, and they all flitted through his brain at breakneck speed, one after the other.

  “Trust me,” Davion said in a low, dangerous tone. “Whatever you may be thinking, you’re wrong. The first lesson you will learn here is this: You are nothing. You know nothing. And you really don’t have much choice in the matter. Even if you try to escape, even if you somehow made it past the walls, where do you think you would go? Back to the slavers who drug you into this part of the world? I don’t know what bad fortune you had to end up here, but you’re here now. You might as well make the most of it.” Davion flexed the muscles in his arms and his chest, making them stand at attention for a moment as if he were trying to prove a point.

  Make the most of what, asshole? You think I’m gonna join your band of cops? Sign up to be a snitch? A narc? A hero to save the world in its darkest time? Nah. I just want to go home.

  “You’re both dismissed,” Davion said with finality.

  Even before the words were out of his mouth, the young girl had already turned and started out of the office. She took several steps before realizing that Madison wasn’t behind her. Unmoving, he just kept his gaze on Davion. Even if he wasn’t allowed to say anything, he was going to get his point across through his look alone if it killed him. In truth, however, he was as much confounded as anything. There were too many unanswered questions at the moment, and he didn’t have anywhere else to go anyway.

  He heard her come back and then saw her tentatively reach out from the corner of his vision, as if she were afraid to touch him. Finally, she grabbed him by the upper arm and pulled him toward the door, and he allowed himself to be led out.

  Once they were in the hallway and the door had swung shut behind them, she turned and looked at him. She was clearly angry about something, although he had no idea what or why she should be—much less with him. As best he could remember, this was only the second time he had ever seen her in his entire life, and he hadn’t even said a single word to her yet.

  Madison sighed. I guess it doesn’t matter which world I’m in, women are going to perpetually be mad at me for things I just don’t understand. “Well, let’s get on with it, then,” Madison said impatiently. He’d had just about as much as he could take for one day—or two days or six days or however long it was since he had first arrived in this place. He had a long list of things he had to figure out already, and parsing out why she was pissed off didn’t even register on the list.

  She narrowed her eyes, staring at him long and hard, then turned and stalked off down the hallway without saying a word.

  He followed her back down the hallway, once more amazed at how remarkably well built the structure was. One giant stone slab fit right up against the next like they had been carved out exactly where they were found. He was still studying the grey slabs when they exited the building back into the yard he had passed through after leaving the hospital, though on an opposite side this time. Erin continued down the steps and began crossing the yard, but Madison stopped where he was. Finally, after all this time, he was able to take in everything.

  The yard was really more of an open plaza than anything else, and in truth, it probably more closely resembled a campus quad on a university than anything else. There was a field of well-maintained green grass that, at his best guess, was probably about as long as a football field was in either direction, and there were small stone pathways leading through the field to various different buildings. The structures were of various shapes and sizes, and they all seemed to be connected in one fashion or another. Looking at it up close, he realized that this must be what he had assumed the castle was before.

  Most remarkable, however, were the four massive towers looming in the background set at each corner. These were what had originally attracted him to the place when he saw them from the rim of the valley, and now that he had a chance to look at them up close, he realized that they were even more impressive than what he had first imagined. Built entirely out of the same muddy, brownish-red stone as the other building, they rose into the sky so far that he had to tilt his head back to see them. The closest thing that he could find to compare them to was a skyscraper in a major city, yet there was no way they could possibly be that large. They weren’t so tall that their tops were lost in the clouds, but
they were still impressive nonetheless.

  Madison leaned back and stared up at the towers. He could only imagine what they must be used for. This is a world in which magic apparently exists, so maybe they’re part of some spell? Or maybe they’re part of this place’s defenses? Although, that wall was thick enough and high enough that I can’t imagine someone scaling it or breaking through. He twisted the corner of his mouth around and thought for a moment. That was another thing that he was going to have to add to the list of questions he needed to have answered: Who were they so afraid of attacking them? He had no idea what the political climate was at the moment, but Davion had made it seem as if they were in the middle of nowhere, and he’d never make it out of the surrounding countryside alive if he tried to escape. So, who then would attack? And why? What did he say, exactly? That they were here to make sure things didn’t get out of control? Ambiguity on top of more ambiguity. Ugh.

  He heard a tapping noise and realized that Erin had finally figured out that he wasn’t following her any longer. She had come back for him yet again, and she stood nearby tapping her foot impatiently while he did his sightseeing. Madison tried to give her his winningest smile, but it turned into more of a grin than anything, and it only seemed to tick her off even more. If he didn’t know better, he would have expected to see steam coming out of her ears.

  “You have something you want to say?” he asked, growing slightly perturbed at her silent petulance.

  She scrunched her face up and harrumphed but never actually said anything, instead turning her back to him and crossing her arms.

  “Oh, come off it,” Madison said, exasperated. Seriously, what is this girl’s problem? “Let’s just get on with this.” He walked past her and continued on his way as if he knew where he was going, though he didn’t have the faintest clue. He only knew the general direction she had been moving in before she stopped, but that wasn’t going to stop him. Once he put his pride in motion, it was a terrible thing to try and stop. Thankfully, Warren appeared before he had to figure it out on his own or admit his mistake. He came jogging across the field from what Madison thought was the medical wing since it was all white and stopped just short of the pair.