Benjamin unsheathed a military-style sword with a slightly curved blade and a handle almost identical to one she had seen her grandfather wear in his Marine Corps pictures. The blade gleamed gold in the lamp light and he walked completely upright, every muscle in his body seemingly flexed toward where Lucy was being held. Suddenly the creature that held Lucy screamed a terrible hissing screech and dropped Lucy to the pavement as it stumbled backwards, grabbing at its neck.
Kat noticed the driver exit from the car. He was wearing a similar black jacket to the other, but his had multiple small sheathes on the front and one longer one on the back, each with a black handle sticking out of it. The passenger was charging one of the creatures, spinning a long handled sword. Without any hesitation, he swung and stepped right through the creature, in spite of the giant club-like weapon it wielded, slicing it in two from the top of its left shoulder diagonally to its waist line. The two halves fell to the ground and the man continued onto the next, kicking the fallen pieces into dust.
Benjamin approached the shrieking creature that had let Lucy go. It suddenly stopped, noticing Benjamin’s approach. Reaching behind it, it pulled from a sheath on its back a thick, large weapon that looked like a double wide baseball bat with thin, blade-like pieces of metal jutting out on three sides. It readied itself as Benjamin raised his sword to meet it. With lightning fast action Benjamin stepped into the creature’s space, holding his sword with the handle up and the blade pointing directly at the ground, parrying the creature’s weapon right, then left, as it swung from side to side. When the creature saw it was getting nowhere by swinging, it stepped back and raised its club above its head. Before it could realize its fatal mistake, Benjamin reached up with one hand and held its two hands that gripped the weapon above its head, preventing it from bringing the club down, and ran his sword up to the hilt into the creature’s abdomen. The creature stumbled backward, dropping its weapon behind it, and Benjamin followed, both hands on the handle of his sword. As the creature stopped, Benjamin sliced upward, spinning his body to gain more force, cutting straight through the creature’s torso and bisecting its head.
Kat ran to Lucy’s side and placed her hands on Lucy’s cheeks.
“Lucy, Lucy, are you okay? Lucy, wake up!” She held onto her friend, pulling her into a relaxed position across her lap, cradling her head in her arms. Benjamin ran over to them and grabbed Lucy’s hand.
“She’ll be fine.” He smiled at Kat, not to make her feel better, but as a reaction to his own relief.
Kat looked up as Benjamin ran to join the fight, instantly attacking one of the two remaining creatures. In her lap she felt Lucy begin to move. She was stroking the hair out of her face when from around the corner came the same hair-raising hiss that the creatures emanated as they approached. Turning to look over her shoulder, she saw one of the greasy black monsters approaching her. In the light of the overhang she could see clearly that it actually looked human up close. While its movements defied that assessment, she saw in its black eyes that there had once been a person there. But, deep down she knew that whoever that person was, he had not inhabited that body in a long time, and the creature in front of her was the result.
Panic sprang up inside her and she began to scream. “Help! There’s one right here! Help us!”
As the creature got closer, Kat could smell what could only be described as death; it was the smell of rotting meat and the metallic scent of blood.
Kat felt her body heave, but suppressed the desire to vomit and screamed again, “Help!”
Just as the creature was about to overtake them, she heard a bone crunching crack and thud and the golden point of a blade shot out from between its eyes causing her to jump. The monster stopped with a look of absolute surprise. Its body began to fall forward when a large hand and arm covered in black fabric reached around from behind the monster and pulled it upright. The driver of the car came into view and with one swift motion, pulled a long blade from his back, brought its gleaming gold blade in front of the monster’s throat and completely severed its head.
Kat looked up at her rescuer. His blue eyes practically glowed. For a moment she couldn’t think at all and she and her new friend shared a gaze before he winked at her and walked away back toward the car.
Kat was left staring as he walked away, when Lucy instantly sat up and got to her feet, her hands out to her sides.
“Oh my gosh, Lucy, are you okay?”
Lucy looked around and then at Kat. She relaxed, her satin dress flapping in the coastal wind. She immediately embraced Kat. She didn’t say anything and Kat held on tight to her friend.
It took a moment before Lucy let go and returned the inquiry. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. What was that, Lucy?” Kat was shaking now. Her constitution was finally giving out.
Lucy looked rapidly around, searching for Benjamin. She spotted him across the quad walking toward her, his sword in hand swinging at his side. From around the parking lot, Lucy and Kat saw small fires erupt one by one as Jack and Peter dropped matches on what was left of the dead creatures.
Just as Lucy’s heart began to slow to a normal pace, she looked at Benjamin, who smiled at her from thirty or more yards away, and then saw him look to the corner of the gym. Instantly, Benjamin was running to her at a dead sprint.
Before she could realize what was going on, she felt a strong force wrap her up. Looking down, she saw veins bulging around the muscles of large, bare arms. Once again, she felt fear and anxiety spread over her, and she tried to get away from the powerful grip. It wasn’t like the other creatures; it felt like a person, strong and muscular, and above everything, it was fast. She could not imagine a person being able to run that fast while holding onto someone. Despair hit her as she realized that there was no way a world-class sprinter could catch them, let alone Benjamin, and then she felt everything begin to go black again. It was different; it felt like her life was being sucked out of her against her will.
As the darkness slowly took over, she felt them stop abruptly, the smell of gasoline exhaust filled her nose and she was thrown onto a soft surface; in her delirium she recognized it as the seat of a car and, as she closed her eyes, hopelessness engulfed her while everything was once again black.
***
Kat didn’t know what had happened. All she could see was that Lucy had been carried off and Benjamin was now sprinting after her. Looking around she saw the two other men in likewise motion: one running after Benjamin, and the other already at the black car’s driver door.
Kat caught the driver looking toward her.
“You better come with me,” he said, jerking his head toward the passenger seat.
Without hesitancy, Kat got to her feet and ran to the car. The tall man that had saved her from an approaching monster pointed to the passenger door as he threw himself into the driver’s seat.
As Kat slid into the passenger’s seat, her bare arm brushed against his right hand as it rested on the gear shift. Immediately, she noticed an overwhelming sense of joy and excitement, which surprised her since just a second before she felt nothing but fear and anxiety. All Kat could do was watch as he put the car in gear, sliding the shifter to the first position.
“Hang on, this could get a little exciting.” Again, the man, who was more intriguing to Kat than any person she had ever met, winked at her. While his words were cause for some concern, his face said that he was amused by the whole experience, like a fox sneaking into the chicken coop.
Up ahead, Kat could see that whoever had taken Lucy had stopped at a large, dark-colored sedan that was parked at the end of the school’s long driveway.
“I’m Jack, by the way. I don’t think I caught your name.”
Before she could answer, Kat was thrown back into her seat as Jack let off the clutch and slammed the gas pedal to the floor. She groped around for anything to hold on to. The speed at which they were traveling was something Kat had never experienced. There was constant
acceleration as the engine whined higher and higher. They blew past Benjamin and the other man, who Kat, through the simple addition of names to faces in the Raven family, could only assume was Peter Raven, climbing onto a motorcycle. She saw the bike’s single headlamp light up the second they passed. The driveway was about twenty yards from ending and Jack was still gaining speed. They were headed straight for the dark sedan. Kat saw the person who had grabbed Lucy jump into the rear passenger door of the car. He was big, with muscles protruding from his dark shirt. His head was bald, but seemed to have a tattoo covering his entire scalp.
Kat pressed her feet into the floorboard as Jack raced the car at what seemed like a hundred miles an hour straight at the sedan. All Kat could do was close her eyes and clench every muscle in her body. The sedan peeled out of Jack’s headlight beams and headed east on Ingersoll.
“They’re going for the highway. This ought to be fun.”
Jack’s look of pure amusement was a little unnerving, but he radiated such control that Kat felt more ease, despite the suicidal speed at which they were traveling in such a short distance.
Kat felt her stomach lurch as Jack hit the clutch and brake simultaneously, spinning the car to follow the assailants. The force at which the black Camaro turned threw Kat into Jack and she steadied herself on his arm. The fabric of the jacket he wore felt rugged, like a hunting jacket, but there was something almost metallic about it. As the car straightened itself, she noticed on the sleeve, in dark gold, the imprint of a bird. The image was only about five or six inches in height and it reflected gold from certain angles.
Ahead of them, Kat saw the taillights of Lucy’s captors. They were traveling incredibly fast. Looking at the dash board, Kat couldn’t see the speed, but she knew that traveling as fast as they were in the dark wasn’t a good idea.
Behind them, in the side mirror, she could see the single headlight of Benjamin’s motorcycle. He was riding it very close to the back bumper of the Camaro when it burst around them. As it passed she saw that Benjamin was actually on the back of the bike and Peter was driving.
The dotted lines of the road seemed almost solid as they weaved in and out of turns on the coastal highway. Cars coming the opposite direction honked as they passed, noticing the reckless driving of the three vehicles.
On a straightaway, all vehicles gained speed. Being thrown once again into Jack’s arm as they rounded a sharper turn, Kat got a glimpse of the red needle in the speedometer, and it was falling just below the 100 mph line. She pulled her seatbelt as tight as it would go, closed her eyes, and held on as firmly as possible to the door handle.
Taking three deep breaths, she opened her eyes as the car accelerated and decelerated at every turn. Ahead, she saw that Benjamin had drawn his sword as he hung onto the back of the motorcycle. The next few moments were unbelievable to Kat. She watched in stunned silence as the motorcycle shot into the oncoming lane and pulled right alongside the assailant’s car. In one fluid movement, Benjamin leapt from the motorcycle with his sword in one hand and drew out the long, Japanese-looking sword from where Peter had it strapped to his back with his other hand. Flying through the air for a split second, Benjamin raised back with both swords and plunged them into the roof of the sedan. The motorcycle drifted back behind the Camaro.
Jack had gone silent and his face was total concentration as he steered. All Kat could think about was how Benjamin was able to do what he had just done, and how he would most definitely die if he fell off.
Hanging on with both hands to the swords, Benjamin was tossed around like a rag doll as the car swerved back and forth in an apparent effort to shake him off. Fortunately for Benjamin, there wasn’t a lot of room to maneuver on the narrow road; so he was able to get steadied on the roof, though traveling at insane speeds. He pulled himself up so that he was on his elbows, with both hands gripping tightly to the swords.
Having hoisted himself up, Benjamin leaned to his right. He began to pull up on the longer handled sword when the roof of the car exploded beneath him. A jagged hole was left where an apparent gunshot had been fired through the metal, barely missing Benjamin.
“Oh, great,” Jack exclaimed sarcastically through gritted teeth.
Kat didn’t want to break his concentration, so she didn’t say anything. Rolling down his window, Jack motioned to the motorcycle driver behind them to pull up. As the bike came alongside, Jack grabbed two knives from his jacket and handed them out the window. Taking them, Peter pulled the motorcycle up next to the captor’s vehicle. Kat watched as white blasts shot out through the front window of the car just as the motorcycle swerved out of the way.
In a matter of seconds, the motorcycle was back alongside the sedan. Kat watched as Peter raised his hand, holding one of the large, golden knives by the blade. With laser-like precision, he threw it at the front tire of the car. The sedan immediately jerked to the left as the tire exploded in a burst of shredded rubber. The car slowed considerably and Benjamin took the opportunity.
Getting to his feet while holding onto the sword handles, he pulled the swords from the roof and leapt forward landing on the hood. From where Kat sat, all she could see was Benjamin’s head above the roof of the car and before the driver could respond to his obstruction, Benjamin raised the swords and sliced straight into the engine compartment causing an explosion of fire and smoke from the tailpipe that made Kat scream.
It only took the car about one hundred yards to finally stop and Jack slid the Camaro right up next to it. Gunshots rang through the air and Kat curled up in her seat. Jumping out, Jack leapt over the hood of his car.
Benjamin had slid off the hood of the sedan to avoid the gunfire that was raining down on him from the passenger seat. Kat closed her eyes and covered her ears in an attempt to block whatever sound she could. Every part of her was cringing in fear when everything suddenly fell silent.
Slowly, she uncovered her ears and heard voices outside. She recognized Jack’s voice right outside her door, so she looked up and saw him standing with his back to her window. He seemed to be struggling with something. He swayed back and forth then his back slammed into the Camaro. One more jerking movement and Kat heard what sounded like a bag of potatoes hit the ground. Jack turned to where Benjamin was standing near the back door of the sedan. She couldn’t see Peter anywhere, but the motorcycle was lying down in front of the two cars. The next thing she saw was Benjamin disappear as the rear door of the sedan slammed shut with him and Lucy inside. Kat prayed that Lucy was alright.
Jack turned to face Kat in the Camaro. He bent down and dragged something—most likely the body of the sedan’s driver—away from the other vehicles. A small column of smoke appeared from behind the cars and Kat could only guess that Jack had lit the creature on fire as he had the others at the school.
When her door opened, she jumped a little, but seeing it was Jack helped to relax her. For the first time she took a good look at Jack and noticed that he was probably in his early twenties with a wave of light brown hair falling in front of his face. Other than the black jacket he wore, she saw he had on only a t-shirt underneath, accompanied by cargo shorts and flip flops.
Looking him quickly up and down, Kat said, “Aren’t you cold?” Though there was a lot going on, it was the only thing that she could think to say.
Jack just smiled at her. “I’m never cold, but you look like you could use something.”
He took off his jacket, which to Kat seemed like it could never warm her up because of the cold metallic feel of the outside. But, to her surprise, the inside was made of a thin liner that was warm and dry.
Kat wrapped herself up in the enormity of the coat and thanked Jack. Hunkering down into the jacket, Kat noticed that it had a unique aroma. It was probably Jack’s smell, but it was a warm and comfortable smell, like a mild cologne mixed with the fibers of whatever made up the jacket. She felt like she was wrapped in a cloud and wanted nothing more than to just close her eyes and fall asleep.
Stand
ing up Jack said softly to her, “I still never got your name.”
Kat looked up into his dazzling blue eyes. “It’s Kat; Kat Caldwell.”
“Ah, so you’re Kat Caldwell. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
Jack’s smile was comforting to Kat.
“Are you going to be alright?” he said, noticing her shaking hands.
Kat looked down and covered them up. “No, yeah, I mean I’ll be okay.” She tried to fake a smile.
Jack looked at her with a skeptical grin. “Okay. I’ll be back after I talk to Peter.”
He stood up and prepared to walk away when Kat grabbed his wrist.
“Is Lucy okay?”
He looked down at her. “She’s going to be,” he said and winked. Kat inhaled the deepest breath she’d taken in some time, and curled up in the seat as the door softly clicked behind her.
***
Lucy lay in the sand, out of breath. Her head was pounding and she felt completely disoriented. Everything seemed the same: the surf, the beach, the sunset, but she felt tired, like she had just run a marathon. She tried to get to her feet, but she was too weak. Looking to her right, she saw her log chair. All she wanted to do was get to it, but her body wouldn’t do it. Whatever was happening to her on the outside, it was tearing her up inside the haven.
The sound of the ocean echoed in her ears. She felt a sudden wave of despair come over her and she wanted to cry. Grabbing handfuls of sand, she struggled with all her might to get up, but she just couldn’t.
Whatever it was that had her had removed her ability to struggle. Hitting the back seat of the car was the last thing she could recall with any amount of detail; it was then that she used her last iota of strength the get to her haven.
Immortal Light: Wide Awake Page 23