Judgement (The Twelve)

by Jeff Ashcroft

  Within that fraction of a second, minutes passed within the In Between and when Edge reappeared, he was healed and whole again but standing next to Coffee not his father. That place was filled by Chris.

  Chris removed his wide brimmed hat and with a flourish bowed to Coffee, “Enough blood has been spilled here today, let us withdraw.”

  Coffee examined Edge seeing him whole again, “I would have healed him myself after a time but you have done me a small service and for that I grant your wish but we shall meet again and I shall kill you.”

  Chris replaced his hat, “That is to be expected but for now a truce.”

  Priest called over to Chris, “Before we go can you help me with Slash. I can’t stop the bleeding.”

  Chris turned his back on her and left Anvil and the others to watch Coffee in case she or the others tried an attack. Chris hurried over to Slash, who was kneeling on the ground in the pouring rain with blood seeping through the fingers of his hands that was pressed hard against the side of his ruined face.

  But Coffee had one final trick of deceit to play, as Chris turned away to help Slash, she materialised Willow directly behind him, the others where unaware of her actions, only Bulls Eye glancing over to see how his friend was doing saw her appear.

  Her stinger came up over her head and plunged towards Chris’s neck. The blow would be fatal but suddenly blocking the strike was Heartless. He never had a chance to shout a warning or raise his hands in defence.

  The stinger pierced his heart, filling him with deadly poison. Willow looked back at Coffee for fresh orders. Stamping her foot like a child at being thwarted she brought Willow back to her side and slapped her hard across the face.

  Edge was white faced with fury, “He healed me and called for a trace!”

  Huntress was on her feet and held her bow sideways, “Hey bitch!” she yelled thinking still of Hot Cross and what they had done to him. Edge would be next.

  Coffees head snapped up, she laughed, “You dare?”

  Huntress sneered, “I fucking dare.” and fired.

  Coffee raised her free hand contemptuously to ward off the blow, but it was a special arrow. One of the timed explosive charges filled with silver church cross fragments and holy water. Huntress had set it to explode upon two seconds after leaving the bow. It was a shaped charge so all the force was directed forward. The arrow sped fast and true, cutting a path directly to Coffee, for effect she casually blocked the arrow six inches from her raised hand, the arrow head exploded! Coffee staggered back several yards but did not go down. The holy fragments pierced her magic and ripped her hand to shreds. Her face also took some of the impact. Some of the fragments also reached Willow, who staggered and fell to one knee, blood started from several small entry wounds on her chest. She stared down in disbelief. Edge had been standing with Willow between him and Coffee so missed being injured. He ignored Willow and took hold of Coffees arm as she staggered in pain.

  Screaming, Coffee looked at the mangled remains of her hand. She slashed the air before her with her good hand, opening a jagged black slash and with Edge holding her upright, leapt through the crack. The rest of the Dark where sucked in through the gap from wherever they stood or lay, alive or dead. With a blast of thunder the crack snapped shut.

  Spitting out muddy water, Speed coughed and spluttered, “Never seen the In Between entered like that before.

  Priest was helping Slash, “That wasn’t the In Between.”

  “Then where..?”

  Chris looked over to where she had vanished, “There is another place besides Purgatory.”

  Anvils face was white, “She dares!”

  Chris nodded, “By the river Acheron, just before entering Hell, is the place called Limbo. No one but she would dare enter there.”

  Patch looked where the crack had been, “Why Limbo?”

  Priest glanced up from helping Slash, “They can heal there. It is a place that belongs to there Master.” Then he saw past Chris.

  Chris heard Huntress take a quick intake of breath, followed by a gasp, as at the same time Priest raised a shaking finger to point behind Chris. He spun to see what was wrong, noticing Heartless on the ground, “Heartless?”

  Patch ran over, “Hey man you ok?”

  Bulls Eye shouted, “It happened so fast. I think that bitch with the tail stabbed him or something!”

  Chris and Anvil reached Heartless at the same time they could see he was very badly injured. Chris started to try and heal him but Heartless gripped his arm, “You made a promise to me.”

  Anvil looked puzzled, “Son help him.”

  Chris took hold of Heartlesses hand in his, “You wish this?”

  Heartless coughed, his voice growing weaker, “I do with all my heart.”

  Chris lowered his head and closed his eyes, “So be it.” He took a deep breath and suddenly standing near to Heartless was the shadow like figures of his family. They smiled down at him, his wife holding out a hand towards him. Anvil took a step away, ”Ghosts!”

  Heartless smiled, “No my family.” and died.

  Chris opened his eyes and looked up. Heartless was holding the hand of his wife and smiling down at his children. He nodded once to Anvil and bowed slightly to Chris before they faded away from sight.

  Priest who was still helping Slash added, “Blessed be the Creator.”

  Anvil turned back to Heartlesses body, “He wanted to be with his family?”

  Chris nodded, ”He sacrificed himself for another. The Creator granted his wish. I suspect they will all ascend now.”

  Jennings and his people woke at that very moment. He climbed unsteadily to his feet, “I miss something?”

  No one answered but he saw the body of Heartless lying on the ground. He looked between his men and Anvil, “We’ve all lost people today.”

  Anvil nodded, “You did us a great service.”

  Rage staggered over, he was grinning through a face full of tiny cuts and bruises, “Good fight!”

  Then he to noticed Heartless, silently without being asked, he picked him up gently in his arms. Huntress recovered Hot Crosses head. Jennings looked at his own dead and gave instructions for his team to collect the bodies, ”Leave nothing behind.”

  Chris placed a hand upon his shoulder, “Have those men that carry your dead, go with Huntress and Rage, they will take them back to the warehouse in no time at all.”

  Jennings didn’t understand, but then again, none of this made any sense, “Where are you going?”

  Anvil walked up to stand besides his son, “Embankment I think.”

  Jennings nodded, “Then I’m coming too.”

  Chris inclined his head,” Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  Jennings wondered about the local residents and ‘damage limitations’ as he called it. Chris or rather Judgement told him that a wall of forgetfulness had been erected around the Graveyard, no one would remember hearing or seeing anything.

  Chris waited until one by one the dead where removed from the graveyard. He bowed his head with his hat held tightly across his chest. Anvil stood on his right hand side, head lowered, hands resting on the shaft of his hammer. Priest stood on his left, praying for each soul as they where taken into the In Between.

  Finally Chris replaced his hat and squared it off, “Now for Embankment.”

  The place was a battlefield after the battle, quiet, deadly and almost destroyed. Except that is for the soldiers and security agents that where sitting and standing around in small groups, talking amongst themselves, or the medical teams that were seeing to the wounded and the dead that lay in neat rows, concealed in body bags.

  Simmons noticed them arrive, blinked and shook his head, not quite believing what he’d witnessed. But then again he’d witnesses a hell of a lot today. Together with ‘Boom Boom’ he walked over to Jennings and The Twelve,” Been one hell of a fire fight but we’ve won.”

  Chris looked at the carnage, “For now.”

  Priest was also lo
oking at the flames and smoke but his mind was elsewhere, “We found and lost Chameleon all in a day. We killed some of the Dark but we lost Hot Cross and Heartless.”

  At that very moment the red sky faded to reveal a beautiful star lit night sky.

  Anvil watched the stars shining in the heavens, “So my son what now?”

  Judgements voice answered, “We won the battle but not the war, the matter is unresolved.”

  Priest nodded, “Coffee still lives but you did enough to open up Heaven again.”

  Chris shook his head, “The sacrifice made by Hot Cross and Heartless did as much.”

  Patch took hold of Chris by the arm, “Her turn will come soon enough. We owe Hot Cross and Heartless that at least.”

  Anvil stood his hammer upright and leaned on the tip of the shaft, “You healed Edge instead of killing him.”

  Chris looked up at the sky, “That was my intention.” It was the other reason the sky had cleared, but he kept that to himself.

  Bulls Eye wasn’t happy with that, “The bastard killed Hot Cross!”

  Chris sighed as he searched the heavens, “He was following Coffees instructions. Just like a bullet from your gun isn’t to blame for killing someone. The person who pulls the trigger is. Coffee’s the trigger and she’s the one I hold to blame.”

  Anvil wasn’t finished, “You healed him twice son and gave him that bracelet yet he still stayed with The Dark.”

  Chris smiled, looked across to his father and replied in his own young voice, “He’s your son as well father. As for staying with the Dark, we shall see.”

  The End

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  The Graveyard of Bones does exist in Southwark, London and upon its gates is a plaque engraved with a wild goose and the following inscription:

  Cross Bone Grave yard

  In medieval times this was an unconsecrated graveyard for prostitutes or ‘Winchester Geese’

  By the 18th century it had become a paupers’ burial ground, which closed in 1853.

  Here, local people have created a memorial shrine.

  The Outcast dead

  R.I.P.

  Book Two

  (Coming soon)

  The Dark Rising