Blood Heavy: Ascension

by S. L. J. Shortt

  “I think I got a winner,” Goose said showing the screen of his iPad to Joe. It was a news article about a factory being closed down. “Olsen Construction Yard, it's about a hundred K from here just outside of Wessington Springs. My dad told me about it, they used to build ship parts there. Closed down in ninety-three for unsafe work conditions. Most of the equipment has been removed, unfortunately there's still a bunch of stuff there that she could fling at us but It's well out of the way. Nothing for at least six or seven miles in all directions.”

  “Sounds like a good place for a title fight,” Joe nodded. “And there's a hardware store at the other end of town that sells the kind of chains we're looking for.”

  “Hey, can I borrow one of those for a second, I just need to check something,” Wick asked.

  “Sure,” Goose said handing him the iPad.

  “You wanna go tell Jerry, we're ready to pick up these chains?” Joe asked Goose.

  “I'll do it, need to show him something anyway,” Wick said wondering off while tapping the screen.

  For the most part, the mansion was perfectly fine. It was only the front entrance and the main hallway that had been blasted apart by Aria. Broken bits of wood and glass still lay everywhere and given everything that had been happening, they hadn't had any time to clean it up.

  He made his was to the back of the mansion, through a large white door that led to the garage. Inside there were four black SUV's parked side by side , two removal trucks and a red Suzuki motorbike. Even with all the vehicles there was still plenty of space for more. The place was huge.

  Wick heard the sound of a grinder in action towards the other side of the garage. He walked over while scrolling through some information on the iPad. He found Jerry in front of the machine, using it to sharpen a finely crafted ten inch blade. It didn't seem to have a handle but instead had two round wholes at it's bottom edge.

  “What's that?” Wick asked.

  “Something I've been working on. Wasn't sure if I could make it work until now.”

  “Make what work?”

  Jerry shut down the grinder and walked over to a work table where a leather arm harness sat. He spent a moment attaching the blade to a few metal straps that had been added before locking it around his right arm. When it was secure the blade sat perfectly on his forearm and stretched from his elbow to his wrist.

  He suddenly gave his arm a sharp flick and the blade shot out, extending above his knuckles. He flicked it again and it retracted back to his forearm again. Wick's eye brows shot up and he looked very impressed.

  “Wow, Wolverine.”

  “Nah, he'd have three blades,” Jerry shrugged but still looked pleased with himself. “This is more like Optimus Prime.”

  He undid the straps of the harness and put the arm blade back on the work tale before walking over to the Mustang.

  “That really is a nice car,” he said looking at the nearly completed Boss 429. Jerry smiled as he picked up a hydraulic drill and started tightening the bolts on one of the wheels.

  “Don't I know it,” Jerry said. “What's the story?”

  “Goose found a location. Olsen Construction Yard.”

  “Yeah, I know that place. It's about an hour from here.” A hour with the way he drove.

  “Yeah, which reminded me that If we're going to be in that area, I think I've got the perfect place to perform the ritual,” he handed the iPad to Jerry. He put the drill down and took a look.

  “Mitchell residents win battle for church renovation. St. Paul's church will undergo full restoration after suffering storm damage three years ago,” Jerry looked back at Wick unsure of why this was important.

  “Mitchell? It's only twenty-five minutes from Olsen Construction,” Wick explained. “The restoration doesn't start until next week so the place will be empty.”

  “I thought Aria wasn't effected by consecrated ground?”

  “No, but the spell is. Performing the exorcism inside a church will make it stronger. And Joe just found us some heavy duty chains to use. I'm thinking you guys go pick up the hardware, I'll head to this church and get everything ready. If we manage to capture her, we're gonna have to move fast.”

  “When.”

  “Huh?”

  “When we capture her, not if,” Jerry corrected.

  “Right...look, I'm trying to be optimistic too but err-”

  “It's not optimism. Things are gonna turn out the way the way we make them turn out. There are no pre-written results. I don't care what she says,” he grumbled the last part.

  “What she says?”

  “Aria...she seems to think I have a destiny.”

  “But you don't think so?” Wick raised his eyebrows.

  “Destiny didn't make me an exterminator, I chose it. There is no schematic for how life is gonna end up. It's up to us, just like this fight is up to us.”

  “I hope you're right. Speaking of which, you might wanna carve these into your new toy,” Wick said opening a page of his journal and pointing to a few of the symbols. “These are the same binding spells we'll be using on the chains. It'll do the same to the blade.”

  “You wanna trap my knife?” Jerry said looking confused.

  “It'll basically keep it the way it is now. It won't get blunt and the metal will be extremely tough. Her wings are still tougher but it might help.”

  “Fair enough. We're gonna need everything we can get.”

  “You're right...you still got your game face on?”

  “You mean am I still angry?” Jerry asked. “Yes, I am. Every time I think about Rachel, my blood boils. You don't have to worry about that.”

  “I'm just saying. I've seen a lot of people hesitate around her because of her looks and the things she says to them. You can't let her play with your emotions,” Wick warned.

  “That's not going to happen.”

  Wick seemed to believe the conviction in Jerry's eyes because he decided to drop the subject. “Okay, I'm going to use the bathroom then we'll get going.”

  “You got a bladder the size of a walnut. Maybe you should get your prostate checked,” said Jerry with a smirk.

  “I'll do that if we survive the next twenty-four hours.”

  Jerry returned to the armory where everyone else was waiting. He strapped on a few weapons and made sure the sawn-off was loaded. The others were already waiting.

  “You know, the sun is gonna be up in two hours,” Jerry said watching Cass and Claire check their guns. “You guys don't have to come with us.”

  “We're not. We're going to check on Rachel, see if there's been any change.”

  “Let me know how she's doing,” Sophinia said.

  “You're sure this place is open?” Goose asked, checking his watch. It was five in the morning.

  “Yeah, It's twenty-four hour,” Claire said. “Believe it or not, I actually checked one of these places in Minnesota when we were looking for you.”

  “Oh, the irony,” Jerry groaned before tossing a set of car keys to Cass.

  He had another set for Wick to use but noticed he still hadn't arrived. Jerry decided to go hurry him up. Every second they waited was another moment that Aria could be getting closer.

  “Come on padre, we're waiting on you,” he said banging on the bathroom door. Apparently Wick had forgotten to lock it because it opened up. Jerry froze in confusion as he saw Wick standing next to the sink with his sleeve rolled up and an empty syringe in his hand. It took all of about three seconds for him to realize why. “I'm really hoping that's insulin.”

  “Fraid not. Makes me pee a lot though,” Wick sighed. He knew he was busted.

  Jerry's shoulders fell and he leaned against the door frame rubbing the side of his face. This day was just getting worse and worse. “How long?”

  “In about nine months I'll be so sick that I can't even get out of bed,” he said rolling down his sleeve and throwing on his ragged jacket.

  “No chance of treatment?” Jerry asked.

  “I
went to see a witch doctor in Angola. He gave me a few more years...that I've already used up.”

  “Damn, I'm sorry man,” Jerry said, his voice low.

  “Well, I've only got one thing on my bucket list and we're in the middle of it so -”

  “If you can promise me that your illness isn't going to cause problems during this fight.”

  “I can. I'm fine...for now.”

  Jerry could see a sort of hidden desperation in his eyes. Wick didn't just want to be apart of this fight, he needed to be.

  “Alright, let's go.”

  “Jerry, I don't see any reason to tell the others about this,” the priest said. Jerry nodded and they returned to the others.

  Wick quickly packed a bad full of everything he'd need for the exorcism ritual and Jerry handed him a set of keys for one of the SUV's. He drove away from the mansion as the other prepared to leave. Jerry headed towards the other car but he was stopped.

  A simple nod was all it took for Sophinia to tell him that they needed to talk. A few moments later and they were both alone in the library.

  “You haven't slept,” she said simply.

  “Sweet dreams aren't exactly on the cards at the moment,” Jerry brushed off.

  “How can I let you run off into danger when you're not at a hundred percent?”

  “I'm fine.”

  “You are definitely not fine,” Sophie correct as she paced around him. She stopped and sighed. “You can't blame yourself.”

  “Of course I can!”

  “Rachel knew exactly what she was doing when she tried to protect you! It wasn't a fluke that she ended up this way, it was her choice!”

  “That just makes it worse!” Jerry snapped.

  “Why? She's believes in you Jerry, enough to put her own life before yours!” Sophinia shot back.

  “I'll find a way to get her back! I promise!”

  “At what cost?” Sophinia almost had a pleading tone to her voice. “How far are you willing to go?”

  “As far as it takes!”

  “That's what frightens me...you never had a family. Not a real one. And so you cling to people to fill the void. Goose, a brother, Joe, a father, Cass, Claire, Rachel, sisters you never had...”

  “And you?” Jerry dared to ask.

  “A bad influence,” she said sadly.

  “Why?”

  “Because...I shouldn't fill your head with...I shouldn't encourage you to...”

  “To what?” Jerry growled. “Protect us? Avenge what happened to Rachel?!”

  “That's not what I wanted for you!”

  “Well, it's what I am!”

  “You shouldn't be!”

  “Why not?!” Jerry yelled.

  “Because it'll destroy you!” she screamed back. “You think your rage is helping you?!”

  “You don't?”

  “I think it's ruling you. I think you're blinded by it and soon it'll it won't matter what your fighting our why, only that you beat it.”

  “My rage is making my blood stronger. My blood is going to stop Aria. This is a real-time Bruce Banner situation and the Hulk can solve it!”

  “And what then?” she pleaded. “You were so afraid of becoming something else...now you're embracing it? What happens when there isn't anyone left for you to take your anger out on? Who will you fight then?!”

  A pain when through him that almost made his insides feel hollow. Just a shell of human flesh, like mannequin in a department store window. He'd been so scared of becoming something inhuman and now he was begging to use his unnatural side. He was feeding his rage, trying to turn it into a weapon. But she was right.

  What if the weapon couldn't be disarmed? What if this was what made him turn into something else?

  It scared him, more than anything to think about it. But he had to go through with this. The collateral damage was too horrible to comprehend. It didn't matter what happened to him. Goose had promised to stop him if he went dark side. He had to stop Aria.

  “You saying you don't trust me?”

  “You said vengeance wasn't a part of this anymore,” said Sophinia, her eyes trying to remind him of the goodness there once was. “You said it was about duty.”

  Jerry's face turned hard. “It is about duty! But duty or not, vengeance will always be a part of it. Nobody can shed their origins, you of all people should know that.”

  “I know that better than anyone. But if you don't know when to draw the line...you will become what you hate the most.”

  Those words went through him like the lightening bolt he'd once been struck by. He turned and looked her in eye.

  “You think that will happen to me?” he almost wished she wouldn't answer.

  “I think that you can be anything you want, but that rage inside of you is begging to get out. If you let it, it won't just destroy your enemies...it'll destroy everything.”

  “I won't let that happen,” he said but his words sounded fragile.

  She pulled him into a tight embrace and he hugged her back. Her head was rested on his shoulder, an inch away from his neck but he didn't care. He knew her fangs would never touch his skin. The same way she didn't care that his fingers moved along the joints of her wings. The wings she wished she didn't have.

  They were family.

  “You called me Jerry,” he said with a smile.

  “You asked me to,” she smiled back as she pulled away from him.

  “Thank you,” he said, looking into her eyes. He wasn't just thanking her for her hospitality or her generosity, he was thanking her for even helping him in the first place. For being there when he needed someone and for warning him about what it could mean if he truly lost control of himself.

  Jerry kissed her, this time on the lips. Not a romantic passionate kiss but a loving gesture of happiness. Luckily his lips were dry or she might have ended up acting like Cass. He then returned to the others.

  They all split off to take care of their tasks. Cass and Claire headed for the hospital to see Rachel, Wick drove off to Mitchell and Vic teleported Jerry, Goose and Joe to the other side of Sioux Falls.

  Sophinia watched them all go with concern on her face.

  The flash of light that carried the four men in one of the removals trucks subsided in an empty parking lot about a mile from the store. Joe started the engine and drove towards the hardware superstore while Jerry's eyes scanned the sky for any sign of Aria. Unfortunately, her wings would have been camouflaged against the night sky perfectly. It was doubtful he'd be able to see her coming at all but he didn't stop.

  Sophinia's words stayed with him. If he couldn't control himself, he'd become one of them.

  They reached the Big Build store which was completely deserted apart from one very sleepy looking cashier. They walking in and straight over to a long, tall aisle that had just about every type of chain, rope, wire and string known to mankind on it. They were all wrapped around spinning wheels that allowed people to measure exactly how much they wanted.

  “How much of this stuff are we gonna need?” Goose asked.

  “If we wanna wrap it around her wings as well, I'd say at least fifty feet,” Jerry said.

  “Just take all of it. We can cut it down later.”

  They unraveled all of the chain around the wheel and dragged it back down the aisle which took all four of them since it was like carrying a big metal snake. They got over to the cashier who didn't look very sure about how much to charge them. After about five minutes he decided to call his supervisor who looked like he had been sleeping in his office. He finally decided to charge them about two-hundred bucks for the lot of it.

  They carried over to the truck and loaded into the back before driving away again. As soon as they were back on the road, Joe noticed that the black car behind them had government plates. The FBI were still around.

  “How'd they find us?”

  “We dropped off the grid straight after they paid us a visit. They've probably been using facial recognition to try and
find us...and we just showed up on camera inside a hardware store buying lots of chains,” Joe sighed.

  “Yeah, we're not exactly helping our image here,” Jerry admitted.

  “You might want to get some distance from them before I port us back,” Vic said.