Gargoyles I, II, III: Dark Angel Alliance

by Rach Elle

  Junior wanted to feel sorry for his friend, but he couldn’t ignore the churning in the pit of his stomach. He resisted the urge to drop to his knees and vomit. “You’ve done nothing but lie.”

  “I know,” Kingsley whispered, “and I understand that you’re upset; but please realize my intentions at their core were…”

  “All this time you’ve been manipulating me. I trusted you; hell, she trusted you.” He pointed behind him to the frail girl sitting at the base of a tree. He began shaking his head. “She knew not to; but I convinced her otherwise. I tried to tell her of your virtues but to be honest I was coming up short; now I know why. You’re worthless and pathetic.” His eyes narrowed and his voice darkened, “I should kill you now.”

  Kingsley looked up to his friend with pleading eyes. “Please do; if you think you can, please do.”

  Junior’s fists tightened as he walked across the clearing. He stopped in front of his knife lying on the ground; its blade covered in grass, dirt and blood. He picked it up and held the handle tightly in his hands. He squeezed his eyes shut; his heart pounding as he inhaled deeply. “Does she love you?” He asked. He turned to face the old gargoyle. “Does Elizabeth love you?”

  Kingsley’s eyes dimmed with sadness. “Yes,” he whispered.

  Junior returned his gaze to the dirty knife in the palm of his hand. “Then I can’t do that to her.”

  Kingsley slumped further, “Then what do we do now?”

  Junior stared at his tormented friend. His once mentor had fallen. The roles were reversed as Kingsley now looked to him with the same question Junior had asked only moments ago. “You and I will go back to the castle to get Elizabeth; but we’re letting Awilda go.”

  “You know I can’t do that; she’s my Responsibility.”

  “Not anymore,” Junior cut him off.

  “But, the pain,” Kingsley gripped his stomach as if preparing for the onslaught of cramping and churning. “It’s too painful to be away from her.”

  “Sounds like an appropriate punishment.”

  “You’re punishing her too, you know. She’ll be unprotected.”

  “Without you there isn’t anyone to protect her from.”

  “She could get mugged, or hit by a bus crossing the street; there are a million dangers in the world.”

  “She will be no different from every other person; it’s what she’s always wanted anyway.” His words were laced with sadness; he too would never see Awilda again.

  “But…” Kingsley searched frantically for a rebuttal. “The Limrids; she needs protection from them. You can’t deny that.”

  Junior opened his mouth to respond when his ears twitched with the faintest sound.

  “Even though she’s not the destroyer,” Kingsley continued, “you can now see why others might think she is; that’s probably why the Limrids are after her. At least for this year – the year of war – she needs protection from anyone else with the misconception; please.” He begged, “No more lies; you know everything there is to know; every intention and misdirection has been revealed and brought into light. You know I can’t hurt her myself; I’m biologically programmed not to. Please, spare me the pain and allow me to watch over her from a distance. I promise to not even go near her anymore.” His voice quivered. “You trusted me once; let me prove myself to you again, my friend.”

  The wind blew against Junior and carried a new scent that burned his nose. The hairs on his arms and the nape of his neck stood on end. “You want to prove yourself?” He whispered, staring off into the distance. Kingsley could feel the urgency radiating from his friend. His eyes darted across the clearing, hoping to see whatever the kid saw. Junior’s eyes burned red and he bared his fangs into the empty darkness. Through a low growl he commanded, “Get Awilda out of here; now.”

  A silent bullet sliced through the air and drove itself into the flesh of Junior’s arm. He roared and grabbed his wound. From behind the trees and greenery four figures emerged and began running in their direction as blood gushed from his left bicep.

  Kingsley scrambled to his feet and ran toward the frightened girl. Another shot rang out but it wasn’t a bullet. A catapulted net soared across the clearing and wrapped itself around his body, cinching his legs together and strapping his arms to his sides. Kingsley fell forward unable to brace himself. His head hit the ground, nearly knocking him out cold. He tried to struggle with the little consciousness he had left but the netting was too tightly wound. He looked up to Awilda, who was trying to get to her feet despite her wobbly legs. His vision of her blurred and doubled. “Run,” he could barely whisper.

  Awilda couldn’t hear Kingsley, but she knew what he had said. She gathered her strength and whipped her body around only to collide with another. She inhaled sharply and prepared to scream before realizing who the man was. Simon wrapped his arms around her. “Thank God you’re alright,” he breathed. Awilda allowed him to pull her into his body as she trembled in relief.

  Junior prepared himself for the oncoming attack. He watched as one of the dark figures pointed his gun and pulled the trigger. The sedative dart shot through the air as Junior turned to the side and grabbed it before it could penetrate his other arm.

  Sunders couldn’t believe it; he’d just caught a gargoyle! He ran into the clearing as the monster turned back around to face him, holding the sedative dart between his fingertips. Sunders came to a sudden halt and lifted his gun again. The beast leaped forward and snatched it from his hands. He used his massive strength and bent the barrel, rendering the weapon useless.

  “Let’s get out of here.” Simon urgently pulled Awilda away from the clearing. She heard Kingsley roar and turned to see two Protectors forcing a taser into his ribcage. Awilda watched with horror as the pain shot through the old man. His eyes rolled into the back of his head and he lost consciousness. “Wait!” Awilda pulled away from Simon. “We can’t leave them!” She ran toward the gargoyles as Simon grabbed her by the arm and forced her to a stop. “Let me go!” she demanded.

  “There’s nothing you can do for them.” Simon said.

  “They’ll kill them!” Awilda cried as she looked around for some sort of weapon she could protect the gargoyles with. A small rustling sounded from behind the bushes as a Limrid cautiously emerged. “Limmy!” Awilda called, “help me, please!”

  “You can’t be serious.” Simon breathed.

  “You have powers Limmy, I know you do.”

  “That’s not his name,” Simon put his hands on his head, trying to comprehend the ugly creature before them. “He needs to be claimed, remember what Sunders said?”

  “I don’t know his real name.”

  Sunders screamed as Junior wrapped his hand around the Finder’s throat and lifted him off the ground, pinning him against a tree.

  Awilda’s heart raced as she watched the scene. She could barely hear Simon behind her, “you must know his name.” She looked to Limmy. “He must have told you what it was.” Simon urged.

  Awilda wracked her brain, searching for an answer. She tried to recall every encounter she’d had with the Limrid. “It starts with a ‘T’,” she began, “but I ran through every name I could think of and it wasn’t any of them.”

  “He had to have said something else,” Simon continued, “just think.”

  Sunders could barely breathe. The monster’s fingers were clenching tighter and tighter around his neck, cutting off his air supply. He tried not to show any fear as he looked into the blaring red eyes of the gargoyle. His vision began to lose color and he could feel the lightheadedness setting in. Just when he thought it was all over the monster’s expression changed; it seemed to soften. The bright red dimmed and natural blue eyes took their place. Sunders could feel the sting of cold air flood his lungs as the gargoyle’s fingers loosened. He now stared in awe at the face of the beast. For a moment it looked… human. He almost recognized the features staring back at him but couldn’t remember where from.

  Junior couldn’t bring
himself to kill the man before him; he’d grown tired with the prospect of death. He leaned into the Finder, his face now mere inches from his. “You’re not worth it.” He growled and let go. The man fell, his legs giving out from beneath him as his ass hit the ground. He didn’t try to get to his feet and run away; instead he stared at Junior with curiosity. It was starting to agitate him. He considered returning to his original idea of killing the idiot.

  Briefly, the Finder’s eyes darted past Junior’s leg. He jolted and screamed, “No!” Junior whipped his head around to see a Protector with a gun to Kingsley’s head. Red scorched his eyes as he let out an enormous roar and leapt through the air, knocking the gun from the Protector’s hand. He pounced and pinned the bastard to the ground, preparing to break his neck.

  Wade pulled a gun from the waist of his camouflage pants and pointed it at the massive gargoyle that sat atop his partner. His finger was about to pull the trigger when Sunders tackled him to the ground. The gun went off and the bullet soared into the night sky, missing the monster.

  “What the fuck Harper?” Wade yelled as he kicked Sunders off of him.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Sunders asked with wide eyes. “You can’t kill them!”

  “Of course we can; it’s what we do! Why the hell else did you bring us here?”

  “To capture; there’s so much we can learn from them.”

  Wade picked up a knife he found on the ground. “Like hell,” he grunted as he leapt forward and plunged the blade into the side of the gargoyle.

  Junior jolted backward and roared in pain as the Protector twisted the knife deep into his abdomen. The Protector beneath him grabbed his taser and pressed it to Junior’s chest, sending bolts of electricity throughout his body. He could feel himself losing control of his limbs as his head began to spin.

  “You need to think!” Simon urged.

  Awilda tried desperately to remember what Limmy had said before leaving her hotel room the night before. “Back and forth,” she whispered.

  “What?”

  “He said back and forth.” She whipped around toward Simon, “What’s back and forth and begins with a ‘T’?” She held her hands to her forehead and tried to think.

  Sunders jumped to his feet and tackled Wade to the ground again, the knife leaving Junior’s body with a sickening slice. Junior howled before dropping his elbow onto the face of the Protector beneath him. Chase’s body went limp from the blow.

  Wade punched Sunders in the nose with the palm of his hand and watched as the Scotsman’s head whipped backward, his nose suddenly bloodied from the force. He clenched his fist and punched Sunders in the jaw before pushing himself off the ground and onto his feet. He’d had enough of this interference. If the Finder wanted a fight then he was going to give him one.

  Sunders managed to stand on his unsteady legs as Wade closed in on him; his expression grave and dangerous. In a flash the Protector punched him in the gut, causing Sunders to buckle forward as Wade’s steel-toed combat boot kicked him in the face. He lost his sight; everything suddenly black for only a second before he came to on his back on the ground. He looked up to see Wade standing over him, his right hand now clenched tightly around the handle of a large blade. Sunders searched for mercy in his eyes but found none as the blade was lifted and then thrust downward. Sunders squeezed his eyes shut preparing for the stabbing pain but none came. Cautiously, he raised his lids to see the monstrous, tattooed gargoyle standing over him, staring down the Protector; his fangs bared and a beastly growl escaping his throat.

  Awilda watched in horror as Junior fought against the Protector with the Mohawk; his knife wheeling through the air dying to slice through gargoyle flesh. Her eyes jumped to the other Protector lying in the grass. His body twitched slightly as his eyes flipped open. He quickly got his bearings and located the gun in his periphery. He pushed himself onto his feet and grabbed the weapon. With a heavy breath he lifted it and aimed the pistol at Junior across the clearing.

  “No!” Awilda screamed as her legs ran as fast as they could. She reached the Protector and grabbed onto his arm, yanking against it to ruin his aim.

  Chase let go of the gun with his right hand and whipped it through the air, slapping the girl in the face and forcing her to fall to the ground with a pitiful cry. He watched her grab onto the side of her face in pain; his eyes darting upward just in time to see a fist fly through the air and clock him in the jaw. He took a step backward from the blow as Dr. Simon Crispin came at him again; his fists flying and his gray eyes menacing. Chase raised his arm to protect his face from Crispin’s onslaught. He raised his gun over his head and brought it barreling downward, thrusting the handle of the weapon into Crispin’s face. The force stunned the doctor for only a moment, allowing Chase the opportunity to capitalize. He aimed his gun and tightened his finger around the trigger just as a sudden weight jumped onto his back, causing his aim to shift and the bullet to embed into a tree. Chase looked over his shoulder in terror as an anorexic gargoyle with decrepit wings dug its long, sharp nails into his skin. It hissed and bared its tiny brown fangs before it bit into the side of his neck. Chase screamed and wheeled his body around, losing his grip on his pistol and throwing it to the ground. He backed up frantically until he ran into a tree; sandwiching the Limrid between him and the trunk. The Limrid’s grip released at the impact and he ran forward, feeling the weight of the creature fall off of him.

  Crispin was ready for him again with his fist cocked and ready to fly through the air. Chase ducked the blow and retrieved the taser from his belt. He whipped it through the air and stabbed it into Crispin’s neck, sending thousands of bolts into the doctor.

  Simon Crispin convulsed and seized under the electrical current. Chase finally let go of his trigger and watched as Crispin fell to the ground unconscious.

  Chase heard the Limrid behind him move. He reached down and grabbed his gun, turned, aimed, and shot the creature in the leg.

  Limmy hissed in pain as he tried to crawl away, his thigh leaving a trail of blood in the grass.

  Chase slowly stalked the creature, knowing he had the control now. He reached the Limrid and laughed under his breath. Its pitiful attempt to escape amused him. His face twisted with mercilessness as he stepped on its leg; driving the heel of his combat boot into the open wound. A smile stretched across his face as he listened to the creature whimper at his feet. He lifted his gun just as the weak little girl ran to him and latched onto his arm again.

  “Stop it!” She demanded. She clenched her fists and began pounding against his shoulder; a mere annoyance compared to the attack he had just victoriously conquered. He turned around to face her and furrowed his brow; his calm and calculated eyes sizing her up. “You are the civilian.” He said darkly.

  Awilda stopped her feeble attempts at kicking the Protector’s ass and caught her breath. “What?” She whispered.

  Chase didn’t understand why, but the gargoyles hadn’t hurt the girl they’d abducted. No, here she was, completely unharmed and fighting for them. He narrowed his eyes, “They wanted you; what do you mean to them?” He asked rhetorically. Truth was, at the moment he really didn’t care.

  Awilda’s eyes widened in fear for what ideas played behind the Protector’s soulless eyes. She quickly turned to run away but instantly felt a tight grip on her arm. The Protector yanked her into him just as the other Protector screamed in pain from across the clearing.

  Chase lifted the gun and pressed the barrel into the girl’s temple. “Hey!” He shouted at the massive gargoyle that had Wade pinned to a tree with his own knife.

  Junior looked over his shoulder, his red eyes suddenly flashing to blue at the sight of Awilda held by the Protector; his gun to her head. His chest deflated and his knees wanted to collapse under his weight, but he forced himself to stand strong. He willed his legs to carry him forward.

  Chase tensed and dug his fingers tighter into the girl’s arm. She winced in pain and fear as he pressed
the gun further into the side of her head. “That’s close enough!” He demanded.

  Junior stopped moving, wanting nothing more than to slaughter the Protector for even thinking about pointing a gun at Awilda; but then again, it was he who had a blade to her throat only moments ago. He was no better than the man before him. But this was his chance to repent; the greatest apology ever rendered. He would save Awilda’s life, even if it meant ending his own in the process.

  Junior’s lips peeled back as he bared his fangs. His eyes burned red as his fists clenched by his sides, “Let her go.” He growled.

  “I don’t think so.” Chase gave a crooked smile.

  Junior surveyed his surroundings through his periphery. The Finder sat against a tree, barely lucid with a busted face. Kingsley lay unconscious wrapped in a net. The Limrid was bleeding out in the grass and Blondie was out cold. It was just him and the Protector; one-on-one. “If you let her go,” Junior continued through gritted teeth, “I won’t kill you.”

  Chase pretended to think for a moment, “Hmm,” he returned his stare to the gargoyle, “I think I’ll take my chances.”

  A silent bullet seared into Junior’s spine. He dropped to his knees and roared in pain. He looked over his shoulder to see the second Protector holding a semi-automatic with his one good hand. The other hung loosely at his side, the knife wound prominent just underneath his collarbone. He was dirty and sweaty with his Mohawk deflated and matted to the side of his face. He pointed his gun at Junior as he began maneuvering around him toward Awilda and his partner.