by Josh Webb
"Yeah yeah I get it. Sheesh no rest for the weary." Kendal complained, exiting the Mayor's office. Once he was gone, Mayor David Watkins let out a weary sigh. If Kendal wasn't so good at what he did, there could be no way he would be Midas City's sheriff right now. Fortunately for the denim-wearing cowboy, his pros outweighed his cons.
**********
Vice-Sheriff Janine Garlow could see that her team was tired. They had just spent the last couple of days pillaging the ruins west of Midas City for food, water, and some scraps of metal and lumber for building materials. They were now lugging their cargo back home. The vice-sheriff had to admit she was looking forward to getting home and lying down on her nice soft bed. Perhaps if she was really lucky, Kendal wouldn't be napping and could spend some time with her. Knowing him though, he was probably at the bar or sleeping, his two favorite hobbies.
Janine took a moment to stretch out her limbs. She was a young woman in her twenties with chin-length brown hair and a slender build. A red eye patch covered her left eye and despite the heat she wore a lot of black. A short sleeved black shirt with a long sleeved white shirt underneath. Black leather pants, and black steel-toed boots completed her outfit.
She was currently in charge of three men and one woman, all of them carrying huge backpacks. They were stuffed with as much supplies as possible from their mission of scavenging, the sight of Midas City's west gate brightened their expressions.
"Almost there boys and girls, just hang on. We'll be home before you know it." Janine told her team. They nodded and voiced their assent. As they came up to the west gate though, they were intercepted by the guards there.
"Vice-Sheriff Garlow." The first guard said curtly, nodding towards her as she stood in front of him. "I apologize, but the southern scouting team has not checked in, Mayor Watkins wants your team to investigate ASAP." He informed her, Janine heard a collective groan from her team members behind her.
"What happened?" The vice-sheriff inquired, the second guard chimed in.
"The southern scouting team was supposed to be back in the city by noon. It is now heading towards the evening and still nothing. The Mayor fears they may have run into trouble or worse." The second guard informed her, Janine nodded at the new information, something worse meant a feral magi or necromancer.
"Got it." She told the guard. The slender vice-sheriff turned to address her team. "All of you head to HQ and get another team together to join me. I'll go on ahead." She ordered, one of her men stepped forward.
"Are you sure vice-sheriff? You're probably just as tired as the rest of us. And there's no way we'll have a team prepped and ready to head out until tomorrow morning." He said with a concerned tone, Janine shook her head.
"I won't be able to rest anyway until I know there isn't a definite threat to the city. Go on, get to HQ." She reiterated her order. Producing a deck of cards, Janine pulled one out of its pack and threw it on the ground. If this was indeed the work of sorcery then Midas City would need to be prepared. Scouts disappearing was never a good sign. She only hoped that it was something trivial like they got lost or something. Deep down however, she felt it was more than that.
The card magically grew until it was roughly the size of a human being, a glowing red glyph appeared in the center of the card. She stepped onto the glyph and disappeared. The giant card turned to ash soon after and the grey powder drifted off into the air.
**********
Benjamin Carmichael had finally tracked his target down. He had failed in the past, but this time he was sure he'd get the kill. The person he was looking for was currently hiding in an abandoned house located in the West Coast Ruins.
If there ever was a grave reminder of what civilization before The Great Purge was like, the West Coast Ruins was it. Along its shores were countless destroyed buildings, homes, vehicles, and other things from centuries ago. When the Great Purge happened, the ground around the ruins became unstable and the ocean tore it apart. What remained was only a fraction of the dry land that was once there.
Judging from the ruins, the western coast used to be an area where the wealthy resided. One could pick up quite a number of valuables there. Dangerous groups of bandits also liked to call the ruins their home for this reason.
But a bandit was not who Benjamin was looking for. He stepped into the abandoned house, which was quite small compared to some of the other houses that could be found among the ruins. Those houses tended to be magnets for attention, something that Benjamin's target did not want. Currently he was in what was once the living room. There was a three-seat couch along the east wall that had a cushion missing and had obviously seen better days. And a strange device in the southwesteren corner. It was big, about fifty inches, flat and covered in dust. A number of black cords were inserted into the back of it. Benjamin's grandfather had said that people before the Great Purge once watched moving pictures on devices like those.
Benjamin continued on, grey eyes carefully scanning his surroundings for any sudden dangers. For a teenager, he was solidly built. He looked more like a professional fighter than a kid, his face the only thing betraying his age. His hair was short, red and spiky. The clothes he wore consisted of a black bandana around his neck, a sleeveless grey shirt, bandaged hands, baggy denim jeans and black steel-toed boots. He was of average height and his crimson eyebrows seemed to have a permanent scowl upon his tanned face.
Most likely his quarry would be in the basement. It would suit him, the bastard. After checking the other rooms and the second floor to make sure there were no unwanted surprises, Benjamin stealthily took a few steps down the stairs leading to the basement.
The basement walls looked like someone just grabbed whatever rocks they could find on the shore and just mashed them together in a mix of mortar. They were all painted a dark blue color. It was a decent sized basement, not too large or small. At the center part of the western wall, with his back turned, was his target. His name was Ebrim Thraves and today Benjamin was going to take his life.
Benjamin mentally reached for his sorcery. He felt all the stones in the basement wall, the rocks outside near the shoreline and finally the boulders that rested far below the very basement he was occupying. Benjamin was a geomancer-type magi, anything near him that was made of stone was his to command, mold and manipulate.
It was the boulder far below the basement that interested the red-haired magi the most. Using his sorcery, he began bringing the boulder up so that it was right below the basement floor. Right below Ebrim to be exact. He did it slowly, cautiously, too fast and he would alert his prey. The boulder was just one meter below the basement floor, Benjamin's eyes furrowed in concentration. Just a little bit more and he'd be ready to make his move.
As the young geomancer moved the boulder another half a meter, his concentration slipped, causing him to move the boulder slightly faster than intended. While he swiftly corrected his mistake, the boulder moved fast enough that it disrupted the dirt below the basement floor just enough so that a small cloud of dust blew forth between the cracks in the stone bricks. Ebrim saw this and immediately tensed, Benjamin cursed, the necromancer knew he was here.
Quickly the young magi manipulated the boulder with his powers and caused it to reform and jut through the basement floor where Ebrim was standing in a vicious two meter tall spike of stone. The spike narrowly missed the necromancer as he leapt backwards to avoid it. The rock managed to rip his blue scarf off of his neck. Ebrim landed on his feet on bent knees, once he straightened them out he let out a sigh of relief and smiled.
"I was wondering when you'd get here Benjamin." The dark-haired necromancer said with a grin. Benjamin growled and used his power to jut another stone spike out from the wall that was behind his target's head. Ebrim was more prepared this time though and easily ducked to avoid it. He turned to finally face his would-be killer. "Almost, if you weren't so impatient with your first attack you might have got me, but now it's too late." He told the red-haired teenager in a mocking ton
e.
"Damn you to Hell Ebrim!" Benjamin cursed, the necromancer gestured with his left hand and a glyph of dark violet magic energy appeared on the ground in front of him. From the glyph, a giant skeletal hand burst forth, with surprising speed, it slid through the ground towards the young geomancer. The hand was moving through the stone floor like it was made of water, something Benjamin hadn't seen before. The red-haired youth cursed and did a quick backwards somersault up the stairs before the skeletal hand could grab him. The bony hand relentlessly followed him up the stairs. Both the floor and stairs the hand had moved through looked completely untouched.
As he was descending from his backwards somersault, Benjamin brought his feet down on the wall behind him and used it to leap to his left just as the skeletal hand crashed into said wall half a second later. He was racing towards the doorway that would lead to the living room when Ebrim's mocking voice spoke up from behind him.
"Running away already? You'll never kill me doing that." The necromancer told him, casually walking up the stairs to join the red-haired magi in the same room. Another dark violet glyph appeared on the ground in front of Ebrim. This time, a giant skull the size of an average human person appeared and opened its bony jaw wide, a blast of dark violet energy burst forth from its mouth. Benjamin brought up a wall of stone to absorb the blast. Magic energy and rock collided in a fierce explosion, shooting dust everywhere. Small pieces of the stonewall the size of a coin were also thrown about the room.
Ebrim had his left forearm just above his eyebrows as he tried to keep the dust and pebbles from getting into his eyes. As he was squinting to try and locate the red-haired youth his vision was suddenly filled with a very large boulder coming at him very fast. Ebrim was caught completely by surprise and had to have his skeletal hand grab the boulder. Although the bony hand kept him from getting hit, the dark-haired necromancer saw that the hand had some cracks in it. It wouldn't be able to take much more abuse. He smiled, the kid was getting deadlier.
Using the damaged skeletal hand, Ebrim shattered the boulder that was meant for him. However, this is precisely what Benjamin was waiting for. Although the boulder was shattered, the pieces were still the size of a human head. The red-haired youth manipulated those pieces with his sorcery so that they surrounded the older man. He then magically reshaped them into spikes. Seeing Ebrim's surprised look was priceless for Benjamin.
"Got you." The youth said to himself, closing his right hand into a fist. The spikes surrounding Ebrim closed the distance. There was a bright flash as it looked like the black-haired bastard tried to counter the spikes with a spell of his own, but he was too slow. Benjamin heard them strike something solid and smiled, he had finally done it. He had finally killed the son of a bitch!
Before Benjamin could enjoy his victory he noticed something odd. There was no blood. Ebrim should be bleeding all over the place after that, but there wasn't a single drop. The young magi took a closer look at the necromancer and when he did, his heart sank.
His aim was true, but Ebrim's spellcasting had been faster after all. The older man was surrounded by a giant ribcage. It had taken the hits from all the spikes he had sent at him and looked like it didn't have a scratch on it. Ebrim was grinning from ear to ear inside the ribcage, his head slightly lowered so that Benjamin couldn't see his eyes. That grin, god damn he hated that grin.
"Impressive Benjamin." Ebrim complimented. "Had you been just a tad faster you might have been able to kill me with those stones of yours." Benjamin howled in rage and dashed toward the smiling necromancer. He summoned his magic energy and formed a massive oversized gauntlet made of stone on his right hand. He closed his right hand into a fist, preparing to strike.
"I'm going to kill you Ebrim!!" Benjamin shouted at the top of his lungs. The older man responded by reaching into his pouch with his left hand and pulling out a red gem. It glowed dully. The red-haired youth saw the gem and his face paled, He immediately stopped his charge.
The gem was a bloodstone, a magical object that was able to absorb a person's soul. This particular gem was about the size of Ebrim's palm, it glowed a dull red color as it rested in his hand. Once a person's soul was sealed in a bloodstone their body entered a type of coma and remained in it until the soul was restored. However, if the bloodstone is somehow destroyed while a soul resides within it, then the soul would be lost, with no chance of getting it back.
"Maybe you will, but not today." Ebrim responded to Benjamin's verbal threat. "I've enjoyed our little skirmish Benjamin, but now it's time I got back to my work." The necromancer announced, gripping the red gem tightly. "Unless, of course, you wish to continue? I really have no problem with that. Just let me crush this pesky bloodstone real quick..." He trailed off as he added pressure to his left hand.
"Don't." Benjamin quickly said, hating himself for how weak his voice sounded. The bloodstone in Ebrim's hand was holding his sister's soul. If it was destroyed, her soul would be lost and she'd be stuck in her coma, between life and death, forever. Benjamin could not bear that thought. More than ever he wanted to kill Ebrim, but as long as he held that bloodstone, he had to do whatever the older man said. So far he had done a lot of things, things that haunted his dreams and plagued him with guilt. The red-haired youth's hands balled into fists, one day Ebrim would get sloppy and when he did, Benjamin would make him suffer.
"I'll stop, just leave it alone." The young geomancer added, referring to the bloodstone. The damned necromancer would pay for everything he had done to him and his family, but for now, Benjamin had to do what the bastard said and bide his time. Ebrim grinned evilly and placed the bloodstone back in its pouch.
"Good boy." The dark-haired man praised, talking to Benjamin like he was talking to an obedient dog. The red-haired magi seethed, but didn't verbally retort. Instead he magically removed the massive stone gauntlet on his right hand, causing it to vanish into thin air. "Now that you are here Benjamin, I got some gifts I would like you to deliver." Ebrim made his way back down to the basement, motioning for Benjamin to follow. The youth reluctantly complied.
"Gifts? That's bullshit, don't sugarcoat this. What am I delivering and where?" Benjamin asked tersely as they walked back down the stairs. Ebrim laughed loudly.
"Apologies Benjamin, I didn't mean to upset you. I really do believe that these are gifts. Sure, the people I'm giving them to won't see it that way, at least not at first." The necromancer explained. Benjamin could see the madness in the older man's eyes, it was unnerving. "But they will in time see that what I am doing is giving them the greatest gift of all. A gift of eternal life, free of pain and hunger." Ebrim stepped aside so Benjamin could get a good look at the central part of the western wall. He quickly wished that he could rip the memory of what stood before him out of his brain and burn it.
He was too busy with his assault to really notice what Ebrim was working on in the basement. Now he had to fight to keep the contents of his stomach down as he saw piles of flesh flow like liquid, forming into the beginnings of what looked like humanoid forms. The stench of necromancy was thick through the air as well as the more physical stench of the dead. Occasionally he'd hear a loud snap as Ebrim's spell forced the mound of flesh to begin forming bones and cartilage. Benjamin turned toward the dark-haired man.
"You really are a monster." He hissed at him accusingly, Ebrim just smiled.
"I had forgotten that you never saw how I made my ghouls. Isn't it beautiful?" The necromancer asked, Benjamin was appalled.
"You sick fucking freak! This is...wrong." The youth managed to say, struggling to find the right words to describe the sickly scene before him. Ebrim moved so that he was standing next to him.
"It's necromancy, what did you expect? This type of sorcery deals with the life energies of living beings and how to manipulate them in your favor. The possibilities with what you can do with that energy are endless, this is merely but one possibility. You will learn more in time my fiery apprentice." Ebrim explained, Benjamin felt his bl
ood run cold at the thought of being the man's apprentice.
"I don't want anything to do with this shit." The red-haired magi stated, Ebrim laughed long and hard.
"It's not like you have a choice my dear Benjamin. As long as you keep your petty attachments to your sister, you will do what I say." Ebrim replied, patting his pouch where his sister's bloodstone rested for emphasis. "Now once my creations are ready I need you to take them for a test drive in that nice little city to the east of here, Midas City I believe one of them called it. Is that clear?" Benjamin suppressed a shudder.
"Crystal." The younger man replied, storming back up the stairs of the basement. He had seen enough of the gross display. "Ebrim." He called out, his back to the name of the man he just called. The necromancer turned towards him in response. "Don't ever let your guard down, not even once, not even for a moment. Because when you do, I will be there, and I will be the last thing you will ever see before you go to Hell." Benjamin declared coldly, watching as Ebrim grinned in delight.
"Such hatred, you're already becoming the perfect apprentice Benjamin." The tall dark-whiskered man responded. Benjamin exited the basement, his hands balled tightly into fists and veins popping out of his forearms. Images of Ebrim meeting an untimely end at his hands began dancing through his mind. These images were currently the only thing that kept him from going insane with rage.
Chapter 5
Markus was bored.
After being let into Midas City, Marie and he were immediately ushered into the Headquarters of the city's sheriff's department, a building that was half bricks and half wooden planks it seemed. The deputies stuck them in the basement, where the jail cells were located. The only thing the bare cells had for furniture were a couple of lumpy mattresses. The next day after a cold breakfast they were escorted to an interrogation room which held nothing but a long wooden table, two metal folding chairs, and a mirror. He had really wanted to take a tour of the city, but the deputies forbade it until the sheriff arrived. Markus just wished the slow bastard would get here faster.