Trouble's Always Watching Volume 1: Volume 1 (The Trouble Series)

by Courtney Smith

  “You seem very unsympathetic toward him, considering he was a tiger like yourself.”

  “Again, every tiger that exists does not necessarily know the thoughts of other similar animals or get along with other creatures simply because they are the same, physically. I did not like him, and he did not like me. He saw you in my cage the other night, and he teased me about not being a real tiger because I was not eating you. However, it was obvious he was jealous because he wanted to be the tiger you were given to. I do not like the destruction of my kind, but I did not care too much for him, specifically. Personally, I’m glad the mother—.”

  A sharp crack thundered throughout the enclosure. The two conversationalists turned around to see smoke wafting from the rifle Kyle Rogers held. He and a group of the remaining men from the trainers immediately invaded the tent that Trouble and the tiger were occupying with their rifles drawn. They saw the two of them sitting together on the ground:

  “Trouble, we need you to move away from the tiger, immediately!” commanded Kyle Rogers. He recognized the man with the pearl skin and jet black hair. The tiger was forcefully yet unthreateningly nudging his friend out of the way of the men with the rifles. He held his ground and refused to move. Suddenly, the adolescent's eyes became crimson, and his stomach turned slightly with his muscles contracting at the sight of Hutchins. The man approached him, leaned toward him, and began whispering.

  “Don’t you think that you have caused enough trouble and death around the area without trying to defend the source of this destruction?” Trouble slowly glanced up at the red-haired man to see a rifle aimed in his direction. I just need a quick dash to rip his throat out: just one.... The tiger ran through Trouble, pushing him out of the way before his body was saturated with bullets.

  The tiger lowered its head in a pool of its blood as it stared at the smoking rifles of the men in beige uniforms. The group slowly turned around and left. The concerned teenager immediately rushed toward the dying animal and began to look into its eyes as it was passing.

  “This hurts, but not nearly as much as the pain that I have been experiencing while I was living here. I am finally going to get my wish. I cannot live in this world any longer. I am finally free, Trouble. I appreciate the fact that you wanted to protect me, but I could not bear another second of this life. For what it is worth, you are the best friend that I have ever had. Farewell, Trouble.”

  Tears filled the juvenile’s eyes upon slowly watching the tiger's lungs fighting to draw in a final breath. The young man leaned over his dying friend’s body. How do I tell a flesh-eating carnivore it was one of the best friends I ever had? He eased his fingertips along the mammal's spine. A small, white spark began to glimmer from his hands.

  Trouble pressed his hands into the tiger's body. Bullets slowly rose from the animal's torn skin and matted fur before falling off, altogether. The feline's wounds rapidly closed and sealed. He did not know why this was happening until he realized this must have been one of the provisions Medius mentioned, previously. The unknowing healer glanced down to see the previously dying animal’s eyes were opening. The tiger rose to its feet, jumped backward, and looked at his savior.

  “You have no respect for me whatsoever do you?! I thought we were friends! Why didn’t you let me pass?”

  “I honestly don’t know how I saved your life, but I’m glad you are here.”

  “That makes one of us! I do not want to see you ever, again!”

  The young man walked toward the healed cat with open, extended arms, but the animal roared angrily in his direction. Trouble jumped backward and instinctively responded by reaching for his sword.

  “A little late for that! I don’t need you to tease me, anymore!” responded the furious tiger. He ran through the opening of the tent into the dark night. The young man rose to his feet and sprinted after him before bright, amber flames formed around him. The flames reminded him of his time in Hell, and his eyes turned crimson.

  “There is no need for that,” informed a familiar voice from the middle of the flames as they subsided to reveal a bright, golden glow. Trouble's mouth dropped open upon seeing the source of the light. The familiar, golden angel with flames surrounding his body stood before him. Trouble smiled upon seeing his angelic friend Fornax.

  “I am glad to be in your presence, but this is not a friendly visit. You will be having another visitor: They will not be nice or friendly at all. You will probably be putting all of your training from your great grandfather and us to use very soon. Anyway, be vigilant and armed. I am not here to say you will survive because it is not very likely. Do not worry about the tiger; he will get over his disappointment. You need to worry about yourself and prepare for battle. It could be the one determining whether or not you will survive to fulfill your task.”

  “Who is it?"

  “One of the enemies you have been charged with vanquishing since you left Heaven. It is my duty to inform you since you are my charge.”

  “Are you telling me you have been assigned as my guardian angel?”

  “Yes,” replied the divine messenger with a smile. “I have access to information that will help you during the hardest of trials. I will also be present to assist you, but you will need to listen to my advice and obey my instructions. This is why I know you need to be prepared for battle very soon.”

  Trouble closed his eyes and inhaled, deeply. The warm sensation upon his skin faded with coolness grazing him. Bugs and rustling leaves flew where his friend stood seconds ago, and shadows slithered along the ground and everywhere light did not penetrate. They slowly converged and moved toward him. This must be it. The shadows moved in circles until they formed military lines.

  They rose and swarmed throughout the awning like hornets from a disturbed nest. A large billow of black smoke emerged and twisted like a tornado. Trouble shot a couple of glances at the tent's exit and himself. A humming noise filled Trouble’s ears to the extent his eardrums pounded before he saw incandescent-red-eyed hornets forming a cloud around him. Lions and tigers with similar eyes leapt out of the swirling, black mist.

  The ground trembled and pounded until elephants, water buffalo, and a rhinoceros charged toward him with their horns and tusks extended in his direction. The warrior braced the ground in a crouched position and clenched his sword tighter than a clam. There is something different between these animals and real ones: these animals have red, glowing eyes, and they are more threatening. This does not look good…at all. Trouble raised his blade gripped the hilt with both hands. That does not mean I can’t make them taste their own spleens!!

  The echoing buzzes of bees and wasps throbbed and saturated Trouble’s ears with pain. The juvenile felt a paw grazing him on the side of the arm. Blood spouted from his arm like a fountain. He leapt away from the swarming insects and nearly landed into a group of tawny paws. The lions lunged with their claws ahead of their bodies, but their paws and teeth just penetrated soil. He struck some animals with the blade bouncing off of their skin like rubber, and it passed through others as though they were smoke.

  How am I supposed to fight something I cannot touch?

  The swarming cloud of insects surrounded him, again. I hit one and thousands of stingers will flood my body like rain, but I do not have another plan! Some lions shrieked and flinched at the bloody sword's slightest movement; however, the insects pelted him before he could even think. He leapt at blinding speeds to avoid the animals while tearing his shirt to wrap around his injured arm. Crackling sounds pierced the air with Trouble crushing numerous insects, like a rolling boulder. The warrior remembered snatching wasps out of the air and crushing them without regard for their stabbing pains.

  He snatched one and gripped it with every ounce of his strength. However, his arm became limp with sensations of a thousand, incandescent, piercing needles. The insect fell to the ground like a fired bullet after Trouble swatted it. Any other human being would have been dead long ago, but the tenacious fighter managed to maintain h
is distance from the voracious animals. Tawny paws surrounded him before his eye's corner revealed a flaming insect set ablaze from an exposed light bulb's fuse.

  Trouble leapt backward with his bow igniting the wasps, bees, eagles, and hawks. They flew around the room like fireworks until they landed in piles of smoldering ash. Tigers, lions, rhinoceros, elephants, water buffalos charged through the flames like sprinters tearing banners. Flames erupted on all sides of the tent without destroying it. A rhinoceros' horn grazed his arm, lion's teeth ripped through his shirt, and elephants' tusks ripped through his pants before he could think. A water buffalo's horns scooped him into the air and sent him through the tent's wall in one deft motion.

  Any other human's bones, lungs, intestines, and muscles would have been reduced to liquid; however, Trouble resembled tumbleweed rolling through the dirt.

  "This is not going to work!" muttered the adolescent as soil fell from his mouth. A flurry of hooves, claws, and paws ran toward his head. He barely avoided being trampled as he stared up at a water buffalo's hoof missing his head by half an inch.

  Images of the crimson lake flooded his mind as he dodged teeth, horns, and paws. He opened the vial and smeared its contents all over his sword. A flurry of beasts charged him before their screeches reverberated throughout the atmosphere. Trouble's blade ripped through them like a hot knife through butter. The entities returned to shapeless, shadowy figures before disappearing. Vengeance is God's, but I am going borrow it, today! He ripped through the demonic felines too quickly for sight until their bodies were replaced by heaps of smoking dust.

  Trouble's eye changed from white to red with a blink before his movements resembling a lightning bolt. The powerful warrior chopped down the evil, dark entities like a lawn mower. Elephants, water buffalo, and rhinoceros turned around and ran before their bodies blended with the surrounding soil. I never did test my ability to jump! The supernatural warrior crouched upon the ground to accumulate energy with small, white sparks shooting from his legs until a bright, white light flickered, repeatedly. He resembled a missile tearing through the dark sky upon releasing the confined energy.

  The city’s lights gleamed in his eyes before he stopped moving through the air. Police cars had the appearance of flashing ants moving through a close the vicinity from miles away. There is not much to see up here! A side glance revealed a familiar pair of angry, beryl eyes enclosed by a feline silhouette, watching the chaos from a distance. Gravity grasped the teenager's attention as fireworks exploding across the sky. I forgot I don't know how to land! He plunged downward.

  I guess this is the end! His feet sunk into the ground like meteors before he could close his eyes! He opened his eyes and found himself standing in the center of a knee-high crater. Trouble smiled wryly and nodded his head, rapidly. This is convenient! A pungent smell suddenly made him glanced down to see burnt, melted plastic smoking on his feet. I'm going to need a new pair of shoes.

  Images of red paws and beryl eyes flooded his brown retinas with crimson hues. Hooves thundered across the ground with rugged horns aimed at him. Multiple swings of his blade would have eviscerated normal water buffalo, but smoking ash is what remained of them. The soil shook with numerous, grey feet pounding the ground as an earthquake. However, they could not touch him.

  The demonic pachyderms surrounded him and charged the center, but multiple, blinding slashes erected dusty clouds with the trampling herd meeting its end at the tip of the deadly saber. The smoke cleared with a thin boy kneeling upon one knee, brandishing his saber, and wearing a wry smile. A monstrous echo bellowed from the tent's interior with Trouble following it. The tent's fiery walls reflected in his irises with complete stillness; however, he gripped his sword tighter and stepped as quietly as a feline. I cannot believe I am going back in there!

  His blade reflected shadows slithering along the ground behind him. He leapt out of the way until he noticed they were not attacking him. They slowly moved in a military formation as if displaying reverence to a king. A quick glance revealed his arm had healed. Clouds of tumultuous smoke twisted like a tornado. Trouble dashed near the tent's opening to avoid an ambush.

  The smoke cleared with a shapely, feminine, alabaster leg stepping out of the cloud. The leg was followed by pronounced hips, thin waist, a flat stomach with sunny-blonde hair and crystal-blue eyes. Sensations of pleasure permeated his senses before images of screaming people surrounded by intense flames returned the young man to reality. This woman is beautiful, but something tells me I should not think about playing with her. Trouble's left palm closed around the handle of a crystal-clear ax. The feminine figure sauntered toward him as he bent his legs and poised his left arm for battle.

  “Is that any way to treat a lady!” bellowed the woman as she batted her eyes, flirtatiously.

  “I would not know: I never intended to be a gentleman!”

  “No wonder you went to Hell!” Trouble gripped his ax and sword before saying, “I will--!”

  Trouble attempted to raise his sword before he suddenly became completely still. Every effort to move was completely vain. The blonde woman ran her fingernails enticingly along his throat as he swallowed, roughly. She sauntered around him, cackled loudly, and gently eased her fingertips along his chest. I know I am not supposed to enjoy this, but my body craves her! Damn! I just got out of Hell! She is going to send me right back! She gently eased her fingernails through his abdomen.

  The captive felt breathe escaping his lungs with the light sensation of tickling moving down his spine. She gently rubbed her cheek against his. Come on, Trouble! Don't fight this! The helpless captive began to think of his various provisions, but he immediately stopped when he remembered his opponent probably read thoughts like angels. Trouble closed his eyes. She grasped his throat and lifted him up. He fought for each breath as though breathing through a straw.

  Am I really going to die like this, again?! A metallic flash sent the woman's right arm flying into a corner like a Frisbee with a crimson trail flying behind it. Feminine screams nearly split the eardrums of every creature in the area. The woman's blue retinas burned into an orange haze, Furrowed eyebrows and clenched teeth replaced the smiling face initially greeting the teenager. Trouble stared at the bleeding socket where an arm once existed. I think I am in serious trouble!

  The woman blinked and another arm stretched from the same wound the other was removed. Where did she learn that?! A fifteen-foot blade spun above her fully-raised, right arm.

  “I figure since you cut this arm off, earlier; this is the one I will use to kill you!”

  The blade propelled toward him like a bullet. A quick dash allowed him to simply lose part of the plastic on his melted sandals. Soil flew like water out of a geyser as the blade plowed through the dirt. The weapon returned like a boomerang before a clear saber shielded Trouble from the spinning object while losing his grip upon his weapon.

  Trouble felt a grasp upon his throat with his feet dangled like tassels. His weapons slid out of his hands until he heard the thuds.

  “You must believe in fairy tales! That is the only way you could have possibly won this fight!” smiled the woman. “I was around long before civilization was even conceived.” He swung his feet into her chest and leapt into a summersault, sending her flying through the tent's wall like a rocket. He crouched and coughed upon landing before inhaling, deeply.

  “That explains your breath: have you heard of mouthwash or toothbrushes?!” sassed Trouble. He inhaled deeply and smiled at the hole. Suddenly, his body went limp despite being conscious. I lost control of my body, again! What is going on?!! The boy involuntarily lowered himself to a seated position on the ground. A sharp pain in the back of the head preceded his fading awareness.

  * * *

  Blurred vision and disembodiment greeted him with his returning consciousness. Several glances in numerous directions worried him: Where are my arms, legs, body, and head?! A crimson sky with dark layers of emerald green, lavender, and black clouds
filled his vision before a large, gray, scaly, and flat foot obstructed his sight. The scaly leg moved to reveal three other limbs supporting a bulb-shaped body with a small, reptilian head and long neck stretching until leaves and branches rained from its mouth. Another extension was followed by blood exploding from its throat.

  The green reptile screamed as the razor-sharp, arrow-shaped teeth of another scaly, brown reptile tore through the flesh of the first lizard. Its whole body thrashed and writhed in the creature's jaws before being completely limp. The environment shifted past Trouble's perception mimicking sirens before darkness and moisture pressed against his awareness. How can I feel wetness without a body? The bewildered observer suddenly heard a feminine, echoic voice:

  “This is what the world was like before man’s presence. These were among the very first beings whose souls were reaped in this world,” informed the wicked voice. Many slithering lizards fell instantly, as a large, shapeless, shadowy figure hovered over the inanimate creatures. Suddenly, he saw clear images of the same reptiles rising from their solid counterparts; however, the shadowy figure hovered over them like a blanket and absorbed them. Some of the creatures bit, scratched, and clawed as fiery tunnels emerged and absorbed them. The tunnel closed before Trouble's sight went black.

  * * *

  A large, sandy coliseum surrounding an area equal to two football fields appeared as Trouble's vision cleared. Shouts echoed throughout the arena from thousands of multicolored, robed spectators. Screams pierced the audience's ears as a woman leapt from the arena toward the barrier; however, a spear tore her chest open before she landed. Arms covered the spectators' faces as blood splashed upon them. The corpse flew through the air and landed on dismembered, crimson bodies.