by Greg Dragon
He took the arm with the watch and grabbed his own collar like he always did whenever he used it as a flashlight. His right hand gripped the sword that had once been Koko’s and he held it backwards, ready for anything as he stepped over fallen logs and pushed through the brush.
A stench hit him, the wind bringing the full force of it through the trees and it was so ripe and powerful in its warm, foul odor that he was reduced to fits of coughing as his lungs begged him to find better air.
He had only walked for a minute before he came upon what could only be described as a shrine. Well, it was a shrine from the worst horror stories since it looked to be a mountain of naked, rotted corpses.
James Knight removed his watch and clipped it to his chest so that he could hold the sword with two hands. The mountain was an abomination, and he found that despite its horrible makeup, he could not look away. He examined the bodies and noticed that they were not merely thrown on top of one another to form the mountain. Instead, their limbs were interlocked, legs bending in ways they shouldn’t, and arms hooked into other arms to create an object that seemed to be as solid as it was offensive. He looked closer at it and began to recognize some of the clothing. These were innocents pulled from the bunker and murdered to create whatever this was.
His eyes climbed up to the top, where a woman was tied to a black obelisk with strange glyphs dancing on its surface. James shook his head and climbed the smooth slant of the corpse mountain, wincing internally as flesh broke away easily beneath his weight, and the texture of the foundation beneath his steps keeping it evident that he was stepping on dead people.
When he reached the obelisk he almost fell down. The appalling structure had outdone itself with an even more appalling symbol. Chained to the obelisk, Angelica, the woman he had known as Maria’s mother, had been kept alive somehow. Her eyes revealed the type of ferocity one might see in a rabid animal, wracked with disease. Her dress, the jewelry, and the presence read Angelica, but what was in front of him was a deadly ghoul.
He tried to make sense of it. If that was indeed Maria down there, commanding demons and killing her friends, this could be her mother. Maybe the young girl had lost her mind and was being controlled by her mother’s vengeful spirit … yeah, if this was a comic book, he thought to himself, then flashed his light around to get more clues.
At the base of the mountain he saw the naked, emaciated body of Koko. He jumped down, his landing producing the gooey snapping of what he assumed were bones, and ran over to her to see if she was truly dead. Her eyes were black, completely black, like bulbs that had been burned out. He felt for a pulse, touched her skin, but Koko was gone and it brought him a deep sadness.
He lifted her up and was about to walk out when he saw Jaime. They had started to intertwine his limbs into the base of the mountain but had stopped prematurely, leaving half of his body clothed and hanging out.
The big man flashed the light around to see what else was in the small clearing. From what he saw, there were only trees and whatever evil feared his light. So he made a decision that he knew would not be wise, but he could not allow the desecration to be left the way it was. He sheathed the sword and began the chore of finding dry branches and leaves.
He didn’t care if it took him all night, because something inside of him knew that the mountain and the ghoul would need to be removed before he went after Maria.
~ * ~ * ~
Tracy McLeay walked out of the barracks dressed as if she were about to go to war. She had the large rifle that James coveted in her arms, and an assortment of smaller weapons strapped to her legs and arms. She saw Jasmine near the line of the woods, staring into its blackness. The whole situation gave her pause, but when James set out and hadn’t returned for several hours, she knew he was either hurt or worse.
“Everything okay out here, Jasmine?” she asked, and the tall girl threw up her hand quickly to tell her to be quiet.
“Go back into the house, Tracy. Please go back quickly. It’s about to be bad,” she rambled, her hand on her sword and her legs locked into a stance of preparation.
“The hell I will,” Tracy announced, and slipped to the side of the barracks where she had the wall for cover and could still see Jasmine. She lay on her side and flipped the stand on the rifle. If anything came out of those woods to attack the girl, she would be ready for them in an instant.
Maria slipped through the crack of the woods to face Jasmine, and fired a single round at the young girl’s face. Tracy fired back with a few shots of her own, but she noticed that Jasmine had somehow moved before the demon could fire her gun.
A noise brought Tracy around as the door to the bunker flew open, and all of the horrors that had sealed themselves away for who knows how long were pouring out to join the fun. She hoped that Jasmine would be enough to hold Maria and spun around to focus her fire on the demons that were hobbling out of the bunker. She got up after they stopped coming for a time and ran into the barracks, locking doors, securing windows and piling up more guns near a window.
Once she was sure that it was secure enough to prevent any nasty surprises, Tracy sat on a chair, secured her elbow, and began firing again on the demons coming out.
“Not my baby,” she mumbled as she shot round after round into them. They were only coming out one at a time so it was easy to pick them off, but after a time she risked a glance to where Jasmine was fighting to make sure she was okay. The tall girl never seemed extremely graceful, but Maria was now fighting her with her own sword, and Jasmine was dodging and attacking in a way that made her seem like a natural dancer.
“Fight, Jazzy, fight!” Tracy screamed, and kept on dropping the demons that were meaning to take advantage of them.
Jasmine parried strokes, moved around in circles, and darted in and out like a seasoned Tomcat that had seen over a hundred battles. It was impressive, especially since she seemed like the weakest of their group, at least to Tracy.
There was more noise from the surrounding forest as two kreples broke through and threw themselves at Maria and Jasmine. The two women answered with quick cuts, killing the creatures instantly, but even more broke through, along with demons, and they were forced to put their battle to the side.
“What the hell is this?” Maria screamed, keeping her sword pointed at Jasmine as she directed the questions to the approaching demons. They all stopped within their tracks and bowed to her as more came through beneath the moonlight, forming a crowd of red and black bodies that knelt to bow as soon as they were close enough.
Tracy had managed to overheat her rifle, but as she looked out, she saw that there were too many for her to realistically deal with. Jasmine and Maria were in the only patch of green free of demons, and they were bowing to her as if she was some sort of newly crowned queen.
Maria was smiling, and she held her other arm out as if to embrace the power. Some of the demons began howling and turning into black dust, the dust blew in towards Maria, who absorbed it while laughing as it took to her easily.
Somewhere off to the side, a pair of demons had managed to grab Jasmine. They held her still while Maria underwent the transformation, and without thinking much about the repercussions, Tracy aimed the now-cool rifle at Maria’s head and fired a single round. Almost simultaneously, an explosion went off, and a tall fire appeared in the woods.
Maria spun to look up at the flames, despite the shadows that were whipping everywhere, and screamed loudly out of frustration and pain. The bullet hadn’t killed her, and it would heal in time, but the fire was what did damage to her now that she saw it.
James Knight, burst through the trees with a shout, carrying Koko’s corpse. He began to fire round after round into the suppressed demons as he moved towards the barracks with much intent. Tracy ran over to the door and let him in, and then locked it behind him as he lay Koko down on the ground.
“I think this is it,” Tracy said to him sadly, trying to keep her tears at bay as she thought of the life her baby would
never see, and the pain and the loss that would be for nothing now that their friends were all dead.
“I didn’t see Isobel when I ran back through to try and catch you before that demon did,” he said, bringing her in to hug her and kiss her forehead. “I’m tired, my limbs hurt, and I’ve been burned pretty badly. But I’m not stopping tonight until Alysia finishes whatever it is she has to do.”
“What do you mean you didn’t see Isobel? What if she’s dead like Koko, or just run off?” Tracy said as she got back to the window and grabbed the rifle.
“You see Jasmine running? No! You ever see Isobel act disloyal to CeeCee? No! Those girls are fighters, and if she’s missing, it means we need to buy her some time to go and find CeeCee!”
He burst through the door with a shotgun in his hands and Koko’s sword at his hips. The demons began to rise and rush to him to protect Maria. It became a struggle of strength and determination as the two of them fought back against the horde.
Maria, who had received the gift to become stronger, spread new leather wings and took to the air to hover above them. She focused on the fire and flew towards it, leaving the demons to destroy James Knight, the woman who carried his child, and the last of Alysia’s Bloody Garot.
~ * ~ * ~
Yalem, I’m back in Yalem, Alysia thought when she realized she was back within the food hall that belonged to Chaos. Numerous young warriors stared at her as she stood with Isobel in the center. She looked down at her tiny friend, who seemed healthy and ready as she always did. Alysia wondered how long she had been out from the bullet, and whether or not she had really died and crossed the realms in order to fulfill the promise she had once made.
“Alysia Knight,” a deep voice boomed from the front of the hall. “My greatest warrior and ultimately my greatest disappointment.” It was the lord, Chaos, as he approached them, and in his hand was the familiar shape of the Twilight Sword.
“I see you recognize it, the gift that you allowed a filthy Ert to destroy,” he said. “Have you wondered, dear Alysia, which one of these swords will ultimately save your family, and your world?”
“Can’t say I have,” Alysia replied. She drew out Euphoria and looked it over as Chaos stood in front of her. “Did you bring me here to punish me? To cut me down in front of your Garot and show them that nobody can cross the mighty Chaos, lord?”
“Everything I did for you, I did to help us both, Alysia Knight. I cannot interfere with your world once the lost have taken it; I told you the truth. I trained you to destroy the six champions of the lost, and I told you that it would force them into a state of retreat. That too was true. Yet you listened to an Ert, a champion of Yalem’s oppressive elite, one of the reasons why the lost are the lost!” he snapped, then closed his eyes to compose himself. “You took everything that we taught you, everything that we warned you about, and you threw it away all because a man claiming to be your father told you that I am the bad one.”
Alysia listened to his words and felt ashamed because it was true. She weighed the pros and cons of the Twilight Sword and the help that Chaos had given her. She had become stronger with the Twilight Sword, and Chaos had saved her family with the foods he had given her. Since her alliance with the Ert, she had become even stronger, but she had seen her friends killed, become gravely wounded, and she lost the feeling, the hunter’s sense to track down the lost.
What if Chaos was right and she had allowed herself to fall into a trap planted by the enemy? She thought on how Euphoria had healed the Chinese soldier, the way it healed her when she cut into the lost, and the way it armored her body when faced with too much danger.
“Isobel, I don’t know what to do,” she whispered to the girl, who in turn looked up at her, wide-eyed and helpless with her mouth slightly agape. But Alysia saw a slight shifting of her pupils moving left to right and that was all the indication that she needed however.
“Chaos, enough games. The last major demon is revealed and you grabbed me right before I was about kill it. You have helped but you helped to push your own agenda, to help yourself and your war. You care nothing about my world, my family, or me. You also pretended that I was the sole wielder of the Twilight Sword, that it was some sort of special heirloom, one that would drive the lost back to Yalem.” She laughed and threw her head back in frustration. “The truth is, there are plenty of magical weapons that can make humans like me into something much more, aren’t there?”
Chaos didn’t respond but gave her a slight smile that reminded her of a child being caught doing something naughty.
“You captured these poor kids, gave them a test they could never pass, and you lie to them that they are your chosen, your special corps that will do the greatest good in your home world. Answer me this, Lord. If the home world was so terrible, how is it that your wife lives so luxuriously there while you travel to other realms playing warrior? Shouldn’t she be seeing some sort of desperate situation for you to rectify through this recruitment?
“Don’t answer that; I know. Yalem is actually a peaceful, happy place. You’re probably some secondary prince who thinks he’s owed a throne, and in order to usurp it, you need an army. But of course your army cannot come from Yalem because your brother, cousin, or whomever holds the throne will know what you’re doing and crush you before you have a chance to start your glorious coup!”
“Stop it! Shut up!” he yelled at her, and then drew the Twilight Sword and held it at her threateningly. “You don’t know what you’re talking about, and I don’t need you corrupting the Garot anymore than you have done to Isobel!”
The room made a rumbling as the warriors began to discuss what was going on between their lord and Alysia. Some had drawn their weapons and inched close, but as they did this Isobel leapt forward with her own sword out, disarming the closest boy and bounced back in a defensive stance, daring him to come forward.
Alysia focused on Chaos. She thought about what he was capable of, and as she drew Euphoria, the silver armor ran the length of her limbs, all the way up to her face. The warriors saw the armor and backed off quickly. Some scurried out of the room and some hid under the table.
“Ert! You’ve become a bloody Ert!” Chaos screamed at her, dismayed at her appearance and Euphoria, which pulsed brightly as its point neared the Twilight Sword. “I thought there was time to save you and have you rejoin our cause, but you have betrayed us, Alysia Knight. You’ve taken three of my warriors, indoctrinated them with the lies of the Erts, and now you stand before me, armored in their uniform, and savage!”
He pulled back his sword and sheathed it, then waved his hand to clear the room. The young warriors rushed out, and before long, the place was empty except for Chaos and the armed women who faced him.
“You’re not completely off with the assertion that I started a coup,” Chaos said.
He paced the hallway, picking up fallen cups, fruits and plates that his warriors had knocked over as they beat a hasty retreat.
“Yalem may seem peaceful and quiet, and yes my wife does live a life of luxury there. But resources there are sparse. Millions of people are starving and made to live off the land, and I know I can give them these things if I was able to take the throne.”
He spun on his heels and faced Alysia. “You have to believe me that no matter what choice you make today, I intend to continue with my plans. Yes, it involves going into worlds and pulling out their greatest warriors, and yes, it involves telling half-truths whenever I need to. There are things at play here that are much bigger than you and I, Alysia Knight. But you will always make it about you, your parents, and your stupid friends, won’t you? Consider the fact that these so-called major demons that you’ve been killing were once very much like you: warriors, chosen, but transformed into something stronger, something that would be able to lead others in a much bigger war. You are here, challenging me now because you are the strongest, despite having an Ert blade and wearing an Ert costume.”
“Izzy,” Alysia said suddenly,
as if she wasn’t listening to him. The small girl looked at her and nodded. “Could you go back to my world and protect my family? Jasmine is all by herself against that thing, and while I sit here discussing things with Chaos, I fear they are getting closer and closer to their doom.”
Isobel looked doubtful, as if her place was there with Alysia, facing down the lord of Chaos. But she knew Alysia needed her to help keep her family alive more than she needed her to play bodyguard, so she nodded, sheathed her sword, and touched her hands together to leave the realm.
“Thank you,” Chaos said suddenly, and then motioned Alysia over to sit with him at one of the bigger tables.
She wondered why she should trust him. He could snatch her life with two quick moves, but she wondered about their rules. Maybe Chaos is disallowed from hurting us while we are in this limbo. It could be why he kept a Dibolosa-type around, to do the dirty work for him, she thought. She sat across from him and looked down at her hands. The constant fighting, climbing, and shooting had turned her hands into unsightly shadows of their former selves. She had always kept a manicure, moisturized her hands, and kept them presentable, yet now they looked as if she did construction, or constant yard work without any gloves.
She retracted the armor that covered her face, but left it just below her chin in case the lord chanced a swing at her exposed neck.
“I have a serious question for you, and I want you to answer it candidly, Chaos,” she said suddenly, biting into a plum and ignoring its delicious taste to keep her eyes looking forward. “If you lie to me, I will stay with the Erts and will force you into kumite right here and now. From the way you’ve been acting since I pulled on this armor, you don’t want that, and I can undo many hundred years of work for you and your kind. Am I right?”
“What is your question?” Chaos asked.
“Oh, well, it’s like this,” she began. “You robbed us of thirty years—”