The Warrior's Beckoning

by Patrick Howard

  With that, the final remnant remained.

  My surroundings faded, and what appeared was a bonfire…These emotions would no longer have a hold on my heart.

  Smelting and Forging

  I STARED INTO the fire as it danced, straying only a fraction from its source. Formless it rose; in waves it swayed. As I stared deep into the fire, I saw its purpose. It was a reminder…a reminder that God may give warmth, but he may also burn.

  Just as our flesh could not directly handle fire, so, too, could we not approach God directly. I stared, my gaze piercing the very form of the fire. It met my gaze, and only my eyes truly felt its heat. I would not look away. No, I would not be moved.

  Deep in thought I remained, preparing myself for the task at hand. I would cast just a few possessions into the fire, but for me it felt like more. It was an escape, one that I allowed to overtake me. No more. No more. I rose slowly and approached Chuck.

  “Are you doing your thing?” he asked.

  “Yes,” I replied, moving back to the fire. My gaze locked with the fire as I reached into the bag. One by one, I threw the video games in, about five in all. Each melted quickly, until nothing remained.

  Chuck and Christina approached with their son Levi.

  “Is there a prayer or something to read?” Chuck asked.

  “I wrote a few things.” I began to read:

  My Declaration

  I write this as a final statement of who I am and who I have become. I know I have changed much over the years, each year. It is time to be different. It is time to be who I was meant to be. The time for pretending is over. The time for being is now. Faith and honor—these are what I live by. To many, chivalry is a ridiculous idea. For me, it is a code to live by. My friends—I have chosen the path of the knight, a knight in the service of my Lord, though I claim no nobility of my own. My honor…my faith…everything comes from my Lord and Savior, Jesus. His life was given to me, and my life I give to him. The Word of God is as a sword, striking deep the hearts of evil.

  Blade with whom I have lived, blade with whom I now die, serve right and justice one last time; seek one last heart of evil; still one last life of pain. Cut well, old friend, and then…farewell. This blade, though, is eternal. It seeks not to strike down the hearts of evil but to save them. I will always be there, and I will not give up. I love all, and I seek to help all, knowing not all will accept. My Lord loves all, with no restrictions. He wishes to aid everyone; how could I not do the same? My vow to him would be empty.

  I have not kissed. This I save for the one I will marry. I have saved myself for her, whomever she may be, for I love her already, much more than she will know.

  My Lord, I ask only that I live but one more day, if only to serve you. Your servant awaits your command; with eager heart I serve.

  My master, send me to those in need. Equip me with only love and wisdom, for all else stems from these roots. Purify your mold, for I am yours. Amen.

  God of infinite power, understanding, love, and faith, hallowed be your name; righteous is your banner. Mercy and grace do you extend; your one son you did send. For all that those who sinned did, you sacrificed the one without sin. You have chosen all, knowing not all will choose you. I return to you, my God, my best. With a heart of celebration, I choose you; with fear, I follow. Your messenger waits, for your message is what my soul sings. I love you, my father. Amen.

  With that last prayer, I looked at the picture in my hand. It showed me as I had looked years ago, wearing my trench coat, holding my sword firmly. The picture was purely black and white, and the sword and coat stood out above all. Slowly, I cast the image into the fire and watched as it burned.

  It is almost done. My friends and I parted ways, and I returned home. With a hammer, I gathered all the remaining games and smashed them. I was free. Just as a sword is forged from the ore that is uncovered from the earth, so, too, was I. Smelted within the purifying fires and hammered into what I was now.

  Sic vis pacem, para bellum. (If you want peace, prepare for war.) However, what war should we have been preparing for? My friend, it was not one fought on a distant battlefield. No, the battlefield was in our hearts and in our minds. I was a weapon of war, an instrument of love.

  Now, my Lord, take me, all that I am. I stand for you, covered in the blood of your son, casting my sins upon his body. I march under your banner, my king, as a soldier—a soldier, clad in the armor of light. I thank you, my God, for leading me to this, for it is a great honor.

  • • •

  The past faded, and the present returned. Slowly what had been faded away and what was fell in its place. I stood in the corridor of what appeared to be a hospital. I stood beside a desk covered with office equipment. Six rooms connected to this corridor in a hexagon formation. Each room gave the appearance of a patient’s room, each with a bed and medical equipment.

  Below me, I heard the sound of rushing water…the sewer system through which I had gained entry. A large, closed hatch rested just before my feet. Only the emergency lights were on. The equipment was inactive. Unsheathing my flashlight, I fixed my gaze on the room across from me. A form lay hidden beneath a blue sheet. I approached with caution, scanning the adjoining rooms. My focus remained on the form beneath the sheet. Who, or what, was hidden there?

  I would soon find out. I reached for the sheet and slowly raised it to reveal a young woman. She looked at me, our eyes meeting. She took my hand gently, great pain evident in her expression. I grasped her hand gently with one of my own and brushed the other lightly along her forehead. A small smile crept to her lips.

  “Are you the one she called?” she asked lightly, looking into my eyes. With a nod, I returned her gaze. Her eyes…they looked so familiar. “I watched helplessly as they tormented her, forcing her to see things no one should ever know,” she said, her smile widening. “You have the same look in your eyes.”

  “Darkness?” I replied, not knowing exactly what she meant.

  “Yes, darkness,” she said gently, stroking my hand. “It goes by many names: night terrors…schizophrenia…it’s all darkness.”

  I sighed softly, bowing my head.

  “They forced them on her?” I asked, closing my eyes.

  “Yes,” she said, sighing. “They managed to tap into the unknown… and brought unseen forces upon us. They funneled them into her mind, and all she has known is nightmares. But you, Warrior, you can set her free. You have seen this darkness…you will face it. Find her…”

  I nodded and squeezed her hand gently. “Well, not before I get you out. Hold on to me, Mary,” I said, reaching beneath her to pull her toward me. She wrapped her arms around my neck. Turning, I carried her to the center of the room. The hair on my body began to stand up as I approached the center. Something drew near me. Setting her down gently in the chair beside me, I unsheathed my flashlight and scanned the area. The shadows danced before the light, quickly moving about. They began to meld into a single form.

  The form resembled a human, its eyes glowing with a black aura. My light could not pass through it. With a shrieking howl, it lunged for her. She turned, screaming as it drew near. Leaping onto the desk beside her, I jumped toward the creature, thrusting my right foot to its head at an angle. The creature fell to the ground, shrieking louder. Charging it before it could recover, I flipped my flashlight in the air, catching it at the tip and smashing the end of it into the creature’s neck. In retaliation, it swept its arm sideways, knocking me back.

  The creature quickly lunged for the girl once more, reaching for her throat. She screamed helplessly as I recovered my stance. I grabbed a nearby wooden chair and threw it at the creature’s legs. The creature fell, landing just before her feet. It rose quickly, reaching again for her throat. Diving forward, I grabbed it by the legs, pulling back hard. Shrieking, the creature struggled to resist, kicking and thrashing.

  I pulled once more before diving forward and wrapping my arm around its neck. Locking it in a choke hold with m
y other arm, I slid to the side, away from its kicking. Soon, it began to dissipate, until nothing remained but its cold aura. I stood quickly, moving to the girl. I picked her up once more.

  “Thank you,” she said, resting her head on my shoulder.

  “No need to thank me,” I replied softly, carrying her to the next hallway. The exit awaited us just across the hallway. Her body was light and frail, her life fading in my arms. “Hang in there,” I said, moving across the hall quickly and opening the door. I carried her out and moved swiftly to my car, opening the passenger side and laying her into the seat, buckling her in. In the back, I kept bottles of water and protein bars. I opened both and gave some to her. She drank and ate hungrily, as though she hadn’t been fed in days.

  “Thank you again,” she said softly, resting her head against the seat.

  I smiled in reply. “Rest now,” I said, running my hand along her temple. She gave me a smile, then silence. It would take some time for her to recover, if she lasted at all. I locked the car door and turned back. There had to be more people in the building, more like her. I had to find them.

  As I sprinted back to the building, my mind wandered. What was happening to me? Was this all real? Creatures? Ghosts? Me playing hero? As I slipped into thought, what light existed around me began to fade and was replaced by a blanket of darkness. My heart raced, and my breathing became erratic. I heard a piercing howl, followed by the scream of a young woman. A dark figure approached, tall, the dark shadows dancing around him, each with its own voice…calling me, mocking me.

  “She may live,” the figure said, “but you will not. I will break you, Warrior, and harvest your soul.” With an echoing laugh, he vanished. I looked around. Glancing back, I saw that the car was still there and the young woman slept soundly.

  “I will not be broken, nor will I give up,” I said in defiance to my doubt. With another sprint, I returned to the hallway. To my right was a locked door; to my left was another hall. I turned and walked the left hall. The entire place seemed to be a hospital or research facility of some sort.

  The room at the end of the hall caught my eye: a security checkpoint. My flashlight revealed a broken door leading into a large office. Monitors lined the wall to the left. To the right was a wall of heavy glass.

  The room was a mess, with chairs overturned, papers scattered. I sifted through some of the papers, looking for clues, and found only old security reports, nothing current. A computer glowed on a desk in front of the wall monitors. Pulling up a chair, I sat down in front of it and started reading the incomplete security log on the screen:

  The facility is in chaos. It seems that we can no longer control the dark rift…nor whatever darkness it has wrought on us. There have been reports of personnel having heart attacks, shrieking about an encroaching darkness. Others have reported seeing shadows and then watched as others were severely beaten by invisible hands. The research staff cannot give us answers. And we cannot secure the facility. There is no place to hide. What we thought we could control is now destroying us. God help us…

  The log ended.

  A sentence appeared on the computer screen. “Watch the monitors,” it said.

  Glancing up at them, I saw static at first and then the horrible events that had befallen the facility.

  The first monitor showed a break room, where two people sat across from each other at a round table. A shadow passed by the camera and quickly enveloped the two. It entered into their bodies. They clutched their chests, shrieking. A security guard broke into the room. “The darkness…it’s alive!” they screamed before falling lifeless. The guard called repeatedly for medical assistance on his COM link. No one came.

  The second monitor showed the main lobby. Employees and a few visitors roamed around; some were seated in a circle of chairs to the left of the door. The receptionist worked ceaselessly across from the door. Several dark figures formed, looking much like the one I had encountered, and charged everyone in the lobby, attacking them viciously and swiftly. Two security guards entered the area and fired into the creatures, which shrieked and receded into darkness. A woman who looked quite familiar caught my attention. She had been beaten severely and was taken into the arms of the security guard. I caught a glimpse of her face. It…was her! The woman I had helped and left in the safety of my car. Three more guards entered, sweeping the area. Many people were in the lobby, and only a few survived.

  The next monitor displayed the entrance to the checkpoint room in which I now stood. I watched as shadows moved into the room, and the scene on the display vanished. I scanned the room, watching as all the loose papers and overturned furniture returned to their original places. Personnel faded in, moving about the room. Two security guards stood over me, watching the monitors as if they did not see me. One leaned over, moving through me. Security guards moved swiftly through each room, gathering all the people they could. They skirmished with the shadow creatures but remained intent on evacuating the survivors.

  A scream echoed from the connecting corridor, and a man burst into the room. “Something’s coming!” he cried out. A dark tendril pierced his chest. He shrieked, trembling as his skin turned gray. Soon, his body fell lifeless. The guards drew their pistols, firing into the dark mass. It reached for each of them, draining them of their lives…their souls. Throughout the struggle, the room returned to the state in which I had found it, with overturned chairs and scattered files, but now it also included the bodies and the dark mass looming over them. It was there with me.

  I stood quickly, my gaze fixed on the dark mass. A thousand whispers emerged from it, followed by an echoing laughter. My EMF meter beeped rapidly in my pocket, and my heart began to beat erratically. My breathing followed the same pattern. The dark mass moved to me, stretching its tendrils to wrap around my body. I felt its cold touch as it encircled me. The tormented memories of its victims flooded my mind as it pulled me into the air. A rush of sorrow, anger, hatred, and rage all swept over me.

  What followed was a feeling I had never felt, not even in my worst nightmare. It was a coldness…so cold I felt my spirit begin to slip as it pierced deeper and deeper into me. Closing my eyes, I focused my energy, strengthening my aura. In response, the hair on my body stood straight out and a surge of energy flowed through me.

  The darkness weakened its grip on me, and I focused more intently on the love I had had and the love that I knew. Slowly, bit by bit, the dark mass faded, as if erased by the energy I channeled into it.

  The screams became whispers, and the whispers became echoes, until there was only the sound of my heart. I fell to the floor, bracing my forward fall with my hands. Though I tried, I could not push myself back up. I could hardly move. The battle had exacted a toll—one I could scarcely afford. Trembling, I tried to push myself up once more, only to fall forward again.

  The girl—I had to save her. I had to get up. But my energy was spent. I gave up the fight and passed out on the floor.

  Though my eyes closed into darkness, they opened to a bright light. I watched as the victims of the dark mass approached me, forming a circle around me. “Thank you,” they said, leaning over to place their hands upon my shoulders. A sensation of comfort cleansed me as they released their touch. They turned toward the light and walked to it. Soon they all vanished, save for one.

  She turned to me, smiling. “Warrior, there is another in need. She awaits you,” she said, pointing to the monitor in the center. As I looked up, the light vanished. The room returned to its former chaotic state, though the bodies still remained. The monitor showed a small office with a woman crying in the corner. The door was barricaded, but it shook and trembled. Something was trying to break in.

  I stood quickly to read the label on the monitor. It was the administrative assistant’s office. Using my flashlight, I studied a map posted beside the desk. A quick run and I would be there within minutes. I darted out the door, running to the right and through the lobby. I switched my head lamp on, navigating with eas
e through the dark rooms. Another right and straight down a hall.

  Waiting rooms lined the hallway. There was a maintenance closet to the left. The door opened before I passed it, and a metal pipe fell out, about the size of a staff. A useful weapon. I picked it up and ran forward.

  I broke into a large room, with three offices lining the far wall. I stopped, scanning the area. My EMF reader beeped, just after a tingle crawled across my neck, and two shadow creatures lunged from the darkness, circling me slowly. Holding the pipe tightly, I braced myself, awaiting their attack. The closest one lunged forward. Spinning quickly, I swung the pipe toward the creature, focusing the entire force on one end. The creature screeched, knocked to the ground.

  The other creature charged. Throwing the pipe into the air with a spin, I rolled past the creature, catching the pipe before it hit the floor. I swung hard at the creature’s knees and sent it forward, shrieking. Both creatures retreated into the darkness. I stood, looking at the office door in the center, approaching it slowly.

  I read the nameplate in the door and called out to the woman. “Christina? Are you in there? You’re safe now,” I said reassuringly. A moment later, the door opened a crack.

  “Who are you?” the woman asked timidly.

  “Someone who cares,” I said, smiling. She opened the door wider, motioning for me to enter as she stepped back. She sat at her desk, and I entered her office.

  “She said you would come,” the woman said.

  “Do you know where she is?” I asked, standing beside the desk.

  “No. She hasn’t been seen since the attack,” said the woman, looking up at me.

  “Do you know what’s going on here?” I asked, motioning to the darkness outside.

  “We were researching night terrors and schizophrenia. We found that such subjects typically have some telepathic capabilities, though most go untrained,” she said as she turned her attention from her computer to me. “When we ran tests to find subjects with the strongest telepathic abilities, we found her. Our researchers developed a means of channeling dark forces into her mind. This allowed them to project the symptoms linked to both disorders.”