The Great Gate

by J R Dahl

  “Yes, it worked,” he shouted into his com link as he began to pack up his tools.

  Suddenly a shadow arose from behind him. He was unaware and continued to pack his equipment. The shadow drew closer as demon wings extended from the side. In an instant the demon jumped from the shadow, grabbed him, and threw him to the walkways below.

  In the command center Lonan was still being held in the air by his throat. Devakin looked out the window to see that the racks had stopped while at the same time the computer systems said, “System malfunction. System malfunction.”

  “What have you little maggots done?” grunted Devakin as he pulled a key from under his chest plate. He placed the key in the computer console and turned it. Seconds later the hydraulic drop system located high in the ceiling activated and began slowly lowering all the racks.

  Lonan kicked Devakin in the face several times, but it did nothing. He only laughed as a single drop of black blood ran down his lip.

  Then Devakin threw Lonan across the room. His back hit a large glass window and shattered it instantly. As Lonan fell backward helplessly, his mind went into slow motion. He could see thousands of shards of glass as he slowly flipped backward headfirst toward the open lava pit below, with nothing to stop him.

  As he fell he passed by one of the slave racks. The slaves were hanging upside down; he was looking at them face to face. The nearest slave was a young woman. She tried to reach out to help him. He reached for her hand, but they were just centimeters from each other; he could not reach her.

  Then in a split second his mind went back to the slave compound where his wife and brother had been held captive some weeks earlier. In his mind’s eye he could see himself silently creeping along the outside of the slave execution chamber. As he passed one of the racks, a little girl looked over at him. Her eyes were glazed over with a milky-white haze. She reached out her hand for help as he passed. When their eyes locked, Lonan felt every muscle in his body freeze. He stopped and stared in horror at the sight of her in bondage.

  Suddenly he was ripped back to reality as he continued to fall headfirst toward the lava. The little girl’s face changed to the woman that now hung in the racks reaching out to him. He strained every muscle and reached as far as he could, but the distance was too great to reach the woman’s hand. He continued to fall with nothing but lava beneath him.

  Back at the great gate Satan and his demons had begun to push the angels back as they crept toward the portal to heaven. Tekel and Satan continued in sword battle. Satan seemed to have a speed advantage as the red pulsated in his eyes. Tekel, however, remained calm and focused.

  Then suddenly one of the stone angels roared out in frustration as he was swarmed by fifty demons half his size. Tekel looked over to find him swinging his massive stone arms and his blade wreathed in lighting. He was trying desperately to hit one of his attackers. The demons were so fast and powerful, though half his size, they were able to land some painful blows. Then the stone angel was able to catch two underfoot, only to have them replaced by two more.

  “You see brother?” sneered Satan. “It’s only a matter of time until we enter through that gate. You’ve failed your precious God and his foul little humans.”

  While he and Satan each caught their breath, Tekel looked off into the night sky with heavy heart and mind as he peered at one particularly bright star.

  Back at the slave compound Lonan continued to fall through the air while reaching out for the hand of the young woman in the slave racks when suddenly he slipped into a vision. Time seemed to stop, and instantly he was transported to the planet where his parents were killed. He looked around in confusion as he stood in the field of angel and demon armor. The sky was a strange orange and red and the clouds flew across the landscape at an unusually fast pace. He stood in complete silence, which he felt was strange considering how fast the clouds were moving.

  Suddenly Lonan heard a clear voice: “You need to know that it was not my fault that your parents died. I never intended for this evil and death.”

  Lonan spun around, searching for the person talking. He found no one around but for some reason was not surprised. “Why? Everywhere I look, all I see is suffering, death, and destruction. Why do you let this happen?”

  “Aren’t you exaggerating? I believe you see more than death and destruction. You see life, love, and hope.”

  Images of Averine, Sevran, and Telgrin flashed in Lonan’s mind.

  “Don’t you see humanity’s responsibility and involvement in the state of your worlds? All of you have the power to resist the enemy. I gave you the freedom to choose. I want to help you, but you need to trust me. Together we can help this world.”

  Lonan hung his head and then fell to his knees. “This is too much. I have to take care of my family. I have to protect Averine and Sevran. But I can’t. I can’t even take care of myself.” Lonan buried his head in his hands. “I can’t do this myself. I need your help.”

  Instantaneously the wind swirled around his body as he knelt there in the middle to the ancient battlefield. He looked up to see the planet he was on gradually disappearing. Then, in an instant, he was back in the slave compound falling through the air, staring in the eye of the young girl in the slave rack. Suddenly his eyes filled with an intense white light and he received a jolt of power throughout his body. At this point he was falling past the metal-suspended walkway behind him. He reached backward with all of his strength to try to grab hold of one of the supports. His reach was short by just a few centimeters.

  On the other side of the slave chamber Balim was still fighting an enormous demon that had him held in a head lock. As Balim struggled to breathe, his eyes suddenly blazed with white light. He received a boost of power that allowed him to flip the demon off his back. Balim then thrust his hand in Lonan’s direction, which sent a shockwave across the chamber. When it reached Lonan, it gave him the small nudge he needed to finally reach the metal support bar.

  Lonan dangled by one hand as he collected himself and looked around. Just ten meters below lay the pool of lava. He pulled himself up and wrapped his legs around other supports. His eyes still blazed with white light as he looked over to see Balim catching his breath. The angel made eye contact and nodded to Lonan in approval.

  With his sword raised high, the demon attacked Balim from behind. Without looking Balim pulled his blade and blocked the demon’s sword. The demon was confused by such a well-placed defense while looking in the other direction.

  Lonan was also confused because he could see the demon. Not perfectly, but he could at least see his shadowed outline in a haze. Lonan pulled himself up and crawled to the top of the walkway. As the slave racks continued to slowly lower toward the lava he looked around the slave chamber to find that his vision had changed. He was able to see one of the Seberians fighting an enormous demon in sword battle. They moved at a speed that was beyond human, but Lonan was able to see it all. He looked farther up in ceiling and found another demon flying through the air and heading toward some of his men.

  Lonan whispered to himself, “I can see them.”

  Chapter 14

  In the command tower of the slave compound on planet Crule, Devakin was tearing apart the workstations and consoles trying to get Telgrin and one of the remaining soldiers of Helion. Telgrin had crawled deep into the wall and duct work of the command tower and worked frantically to hack the system from his handheld computer.

  “Get out here, you little maggots. You’ve lost,” growled Devakin as he pulled apart the workstations.

  As he did, the lone Heliender tried to lay down cover fire while Telgrin worked. He too was taking cover under the workstations. He popped up from hiding and shot a handful of rounds at Devakin, who quickly dodged all of them. The Leviathan commander ran to him and grabbed his rifle and destroyed it in his hands. He then grabbed the Heliender and threw him to the far side of the command center where he hit the wall to the right of the elevator.

  Just then the el
evator door opened. Devakin turned from digging for Telgrin to find Lonan standing in the elevator with his rifle aimed at him. Lonan’s eyes still were ablaze with white-hot light. Devakin ran at superhuman speed around the center console. While he did he pulled his rifle and took aim at Lonan.

  As Devakin rounded the corner Lonan could see him at a slower than normal speed even though he was running at a supernatural rate. Lonan took his time and fired three hounds at Devakin. The rounds flew through the air and hit the Leviathan commander in the upper right part of his chest. They punctured his armor, went through is lower shoulder, and exited through the back of his body armor. The impact of these rounds was tremendous and it sent Devakin flying backward and onto the floor. He lay on the command room floor writhing in pain.

  “Stop the execution now!” demanded Lonan as he walked forward, his rifle still fixed on Devakin as he lay there examining the holes in his armor.

  Devakin quickly pulled his hand gun and fired three rounds at Lonan.

  In his mind Lonan was able to see the rounds coming in slow motion and was able to just barely jump to the side and avoid the first two. The third round grazed his shoulder, deep enough to draw blood but not enough to stop him. As he jumped to the side he rolled on the floor and came up in a kneeling position. He fired three more rounds and hit Devakin in the side.

  “Stop the execution now!” shouted Lonan.

  “Lonan,” yelled Telgrin from deep under the control console. “I can’t find a shut off in the system.”

  “And you never will,” said Devakin as he stood up and tried to collect himself, grinning through the pain. “Just give up. Soon your planet and your people will belong to him. You’ve failed.”

  Out in the main chamber the slaves continued closer and closer toward the lava below. Many came halfway out of their slumber and cried out for help.

  Devakin took a deep breath and inhaled the red mist. The red amulet in his chest plate pulsated and grew in intensity. After taking a deep breath he let out a painful cough. A little black blood came from the corner of his mouth. “Did you think that your little plan could really defeat our massive army?” sneered Devakin.

  Lonan kept his rifle fixed on the enemy as he slowly walked toward him. His mind raced as he tried to think of a way to stop the execution.

  Outside in the chamber the angel Balim and the demon continued in battle. They stood ten meters apart and circled each other as they tried to collect their breath. Suddenly the demon pulled a smaller blade from behind his back and threw it at Balim, who flipped backward just in time and avoided it by only centimeters. The blade continued on through the air on a direct path toward Lonan’s back.

  Lonan stood in the control room with his rifle still fixed on Devakin and could not see the blade flying toward him. Suddenly his eyes filled with light, and he dove to the floor. The blade flew past his head and missed him by only centimeters.

  Devakin was beginning to raise his rifle when he looked up just in time to see the blade flying through the air. He had no time to react, and the blade went directly through his neck. Devakin gasped for air and fell to his knees. He looked up at Lonan as blood began to pour down the handle of the demon blade that now stuck out from his throat.

  Down in the chamber Balim threw his blade after he flipped backward to avoid the demon’s attack. The sword caught the demon off guard and hit him in the lower abdomen. In a flash of light Balim flew over, grabbed his blade, pulled it out, and in one lightning-fast motion spun around and cut off the demon’s head. Seconds later his body and head hit the lava below and were destroyed in a dense cloud of red mist.

  Lonan ran to Devakin who still knelt taking his last breaths. “I’ll take that,” he said as he grabbed the key from Devakin’s belt. He then quickly placed the key in the terminal and turned off the slave rack system. Immediately they stopped, but only two meters from the lava. The heat being released from the liquid was already scorching the slaves, and they continued to scream as the racks reversed and began to move upward, pulling them away from the deadly heat.

  In the command center Telgrin finally hacked the system. “I’m in!” he yelled to Lonan from under the consoles.

  “Close the pits,” ordered Lonan, looking down at the chamber below. He saw the racks continuing upward and the large metal plates extending out from the sides of the building that locked together and created the floor that covered the lava pits.

  He then turned and walked to Devakin, who still knelt on the floor gasping for air. The flame of the demon’s blade slowly extinguished. Lonan crouched down beside him and looked straight into the man’s eyes.

  “I guess my little planet does have a chance of beating your enormous army.” Lonan smiled and patted him on the shoulder. “Enjoy your time in hell.” He stood up and walked toward the elevator door.

  Seconds later Devakin fell face first to the floor and released his last breath.

  Telgrin crawled his way out of the console and joined Lonan in the elevator. They rode down in silence as Lonan used a rag to wipe some of the blood from his eyes. He had been beaten badly and was very sore and bloody. Telgrin watched, still clean and unharmed, with his computer in his hand. “Well, that wasn’t so bad.”

  Lonan turned to him and said nothing.

  Telgrin grinned.

  Lonan threw the bloody rag at him and smiled back.

  Telgrin winced in disgust.

  When they reached the walkway level down below, the slave racks were still moving up and coming to a stop. The captives all looked scared and confused. They had been drugged for a long time and nearly killed, so their minds needed time to get free of the effects of the drugs.

  Lonan stepped out of the elevator and addressed the crowd. “Everyone relax. We’re here to save you. You’re free.”

  As he said that the racks came to a stop and the metal floors came together and closed beneath them. The haze began to lift from their eyes as the rack system released them and they stepped down onto the floor.

  They began to call to each other. “Free?” “Did you hear that?” “We’re free!”

  Lonan looked around and could now see the red mist, which he could not see before. It was dissolving, and as it did the collection chambers in the ceiling flickered and turned off. The crowd of slaves began to celebrate. As their cheers grew louder their joy sent out shockwaves through the air. As those waves hit the collection chambers they shattered the inner parts of it.

  When the waves hit the Leviathan their movements slowed dramatically and lost all their additional power. The demons, who were still locked in sword battle with the Seberians, also felt the effects and began to writhe in pain as the shockwave hit them. They squirmed and cried out as they flew out of the building to escape the onslaught of joy and hope.

  Up in the ceiling a Leviathan still battled with one of the Seberians. As the fear feeding stopped, the Leviathan slowed. Then as the wave hit him he felt the evil power pour out of him. When this happened he jumped down out of the ceiling onto the suspended walkway, turned, and ran toward the outer doors of the compound.

  Down below the cheers grew louder as all the remaining Leviathan and Nemaron soldiers ran out of the building. As they left the Helienders turned their attention to helping the slaves down out of the racks.

  Back on planet Helion, the Leviathan still dominated the Heliender forces. Sevran lay unconscious as a Leviathan pulled him across the ground, heading for the slave transports. Just then he woke up, struggled to free himself from the grip of the powerful Leviathan. The solider laughed as Sevran squirmed within the grasp of his strong hand.

  Then a shockwave entered the atmosphere and passed across the battlefield. As it reached the Leviathan they all slowed and lost their extra power. They were no longer able to dodge the Helion rounds.

  The Helienders were surprised and got a renewed burst of courage as they saw that they could finally take down their attackers. Leviathan began to fall everywhere as the Helienders hit them with the
electric rounds.

  The Leviathan pulling Sevran suddenly had to struggle with the weight as the shockwave hit him. Sevran noticed it and looked around to see that all the Leviathan had slowed.

  “He did it. He did it,” yelled Sevran as he pulled his foot from the Leviathan’s grip. “It’s about time,” he whispered as he stood up. “What happened to your powers?”

  Before the Leviathan had a chance to say anything, Sevran spin kicked him in the face and knocked him out. “Not so fast now, are you?”

  On the other side of the battlefield a Leviathan was still beating his way into the top of an AUV. He was punching the top and beginning to break through when the shockwave rolled across him. He threw another punch but this time without the fear feeding power. As the punch landed on the metal hull of the AUV, a tremendous crunch sound could be heard by the Helienders on the inside of the AUV as all bones in his arm and hand broke from the impact.

  The Leviathan cried out in pain, and the Helienders winced from the obviously painful blow.

  Inside the Helion command center everyone stood and cheered as they saw the Leviathan slowing and the Helion forces rallying. Kilgron stood and smiled as he whispered to himself, “He did it. Our home is safe.”

  Back on the battlefield all the Helienders who had been taking cover in the AUVs came out and attacked the confused Leviathan soldiers.

  Armon and Cloin where fighting off a group of fifteen Leviathan that had completely surrounded them. They stood back to back as they collected their breath. The Leviathan began to close in as the shockwave passed over them and they returned to human speed.

  Cloin and Armon could feel and see the shockwave. They gave a quick smile to one another. Then turned and took out all fifteen Leviathan in a matter of seconds. After a whirlwind of fists and blades they stood in the center of pile of fallen enemies. They panted and labored to catch their breath as they flopped down to the ground and leaned against each other back to back.