by T. E. Joshua
Natalie kept her distance from me, fearing that I was some type of sorcerer. I remained immoveable while she collected her thoughts. I could only imagine what she thought about me now. It would come as a shock to anyone who has never seen such raw abilities from a human being.
She then turned back around and vented, “That is impossible. You don’t see stuff like that except in fantasy movies or comic books.”
I chuckled darkly for a second and uttered, “I never said I was some type of superhero. I’m much more sinister than what you may have come to know.”
Then Natalie asked, “Then why do you and your kind have such power?”
“It is used to help the people of Naiche kill and blast away our enemies without being seen. That is why we are never caught. We kill from a distance, but some of us like to kill up close, depending on the class of warriors.”
She walked away. I watched her walk back to the fence, not near the flies or beetles but underneath an oak tree just a few yards away. She then sat upon a small, flat rock with her legs clenched together, her face in her lap, and her arms covering her head. The sun died over the horizon. The smoke from the blast started to vanish.
I walked over to Natalie and sat on the rock beside her. “How can this be?” she questioned.
I quickly grabbed Natalie and placed my arm around her shoulder for comfort. I saw the frustration in her blue and green eyes. She realized that I was the monster to be feared at night—the boy who had entered her room and tried to kill her as she lay, ignorant of my abilities. “Are you still afraid?”
“No, just a little flustered,” she uttered.
“Don’t be.”
“So how long have you been like this?”
“All of my life. I was born this way,” I answered as the memories of my murderous past started to flood my mind. Then I pressed on. “I can’t help myself sometimes. My mind wanders off and I vision all the innocent lives that I have taken. There were hundreds of them, those poor bastards. They didn’t deserve what I gave them.”
“You’ve killed hundreds? I don’t know what to say to that.”
I looked into her angelic like eyes and muttered, “Yes.”
A few more minutes passed before she spoke another word. I assumed she had to soak in the hundreds of Reborns who had died by my hand. To a few, that number didn’t compare. More powerful warriors beyond my single-digit rankings had killed thousands in their lifetime.
“So how does one become like you?”
“You have to be born into the Covenant; however, we don’t acquire our gifts till the age of thirteen, because the power is much too radical to control for young minds. Once we are of age, our training begins. We are put to the test with learning to control our dark energy, wield our weapon, and manipulate the dark and demon energy from the dark spirits, often referred to as dema. The medicine men, also called Spirit Whispers, bless certain newborn babies like me to become elite fighters. Others are labeled as third, second, and first class—weaker warriors than me but still highly dangerous.”
“Wow, so this dark and demon energy—what’s the difference?” she asked with high interest.
“Dark energy is the paranormal energy given to each warrior by the Covenant. Dema, which is demon energy, goes beyond that. It’s direct power from a demon. With each unleashing, a warrior gives up a little of his humanity to acquire more power. We are taught the Five Pillars of Awakening. It’s what every warrior is warned about—not pushing your dema too far unless you want to awaken into one of them. There is no reverting back if one chooses to awaken.”
“The five pillars of awakening? That sounds insane, Tristan. Deadly.”
“Yes, but the concept is simple. First, at 10 percent of power, our eyes shift into a snakelike state—they turn bloody and sometimes a yellowish color. Second, at 25 to 30 percent of power, our skin begins to burn, often producing smoke from the pores. Third, at about 50 percent, our veins appear through the skin, our muscle mass increases, and our teeth sharpen, often becoming pointy. The fourth pillar, roughly 70 to 80 percent of power, our body’s shape-shift. Spouting more limbs and growing in height. This is a very dangerous level to be using. The Spirit Whispers describe it as a fatal phrase of no turning back, when the warrior appears as a deformed, demonic human hybrid. Fifth, at more than 90 percent of power …” I stopped and pondered.
“What? Tell me,” she begged.
“At the fifth pillar there’s no turning back. It’s irrevocable. The warrior awakens into a demon. Some call it possession. The human mind is lost and the demon has permanently taken over the body. Some say the warrior dies, while I have heard that the soul of the host is joined with the new host, and they become one entity.”
“So if one of you awakens, then …”
“We are sent to kill them. The warrior has entered into oblivion and has become an outcast to the Covenant. Having an Awakened Warrior roaming the world goes against the oral laws of the Covenant. We can’t have that kind of media attention. Only elite fighters are sent to kill them. Some of us specialize in it.”
“Did it almost happen to you last night?”
“Yes, I believe I involuntarily reached the third pillar. Today I nearly broke into the fourth level. I never want to do that again.
“It was prophesied that a Promised Child would be born from the Naiche bloodline.”
“You’re him? In my dreams, I saw a warrior who resembled you. The Spirit of God referred to him as a promised one—the one sent to kill me.”
“I am that child. My great-grandfather was the first warrior to forge a Covenant with Lucian, our lord god. Soon others followed him. His name was Naiche. I am in the tenth generation of his offspring.”
“So Naiche was the first?” Natalie asked.
“Yes.”
“What about the medicine men? I always thought they were the ones with spiritual powers.”
“They are.”
“Wow, it must be awesome to have the power you have,” Natalie ignorantly added. I quickly corrected her.
“You don’t know what you’re saying. This kind of power takes over your life. Morals, ethics, and even logic don’t take part in your decision making when you have a force like ours behind you—especially if one uses too much dema,” I expressed angrily. “The killer instinct drives us, but I just want to be normal. I never have known what it is like.”
“Aren’t you human now?” Natalie asked.
“Yes, I am; however, our power makes us transcend to a different level of being, which heightens our abilities and makes us invincible to normal people … except people like you,” I uttered in a fierce voice.
“An Awakened Reborn. God has told me that I have been chosen for this task.”
“I’ve never killed one before, and I wanted to kill you. But your gift—the black lighter with the white cross—it threw me off, and all these feelings came flooding into my heart. For the first time in my life, I saw the Reborns as people. And I saw you as a … friend. Someone I can trust.”
She smiled and blushed.
“The others, do they have the same powers as you?” Natalie asked curiously.
“Yes, they are all first-class warriors. I am an elite, one of the best of my tribe. I am the number nine warrior.”
“Number nine? You guys are ranked?”
“Yes. There are eight before me who are more powerful in every way, ones I dare not oppose, lest I want to die.”
“What about the others? I’m assuming that they’re lower ranks than you.”
“Yes, but the others and I have the five elements of life under our control.”
“The five elements of life, what do you mean?”
“They are the natural elements of Lucian—fire, water, wind, earth, and … light.”
“Why did you hesitate at light?”
“Well, the element of light can be the worst of all. It’s the ability to control your opponent’s energy and techniques. That kind of power is dangerous.”
“So if you’re the element of fire, then who are the others?”
“One of them you encountered moments ago. His name was James Lakota, my cousin and the element of water. He flipped your car over. He is my eldest friend. The other one was Aaron Lakota, my other cousin, the element of wind. The other two elements are my siblings, but they aren’t present.”
“So your clan was sent to kill me. Will they try to kill you since you stopped them?”
“Maybe, but James knows he can’t defeat me on his own. He’s number twenty. It would take all of them to stop me. We, the Naiche tribe, are the worst of all men.”
“Y’all can die, right? Like normal human beings?”
“Yes, just like anyone else. Again, we are human. We bleed. We cry. But our bodies adapt to the environment if necessary, and we age slower than normal people since we fight longer in our youth. If we are badly damaged in a fight, we heal relatively fast. Our dark energy naturally becomes stronger than before.”
“I wish I aged slower than normal.”
“You say that now, but the power is addicting. Even now, in this moment, I can feel the dark spirits near me. They are taunting me to kill you. Some are even hiding behind the trees over there.” I pointed to a line of trees just across the field. I noticed a shadowy figure lurking. Maybe it was Ravinski, the dark spirit who had granted me my power. Natalie couldn’t see him … or could she?
“Why?”
“The Reborns are the light of the world, a threat to Lucian and the Naiche people’s way of life. Your Awakened Reborn faith makes you untouchable by our dark energy usage and powers. The more you are rooted in your faith, the stronger you are to us, and we can’t stop the local church if they are united in one Spirit. Fortunately only a very small percentage of the Reborns have such potential. The rest are so powerless we openly mock them for their lukewarm faith.”
“I think I understand now. Then what led you to me, besides the fact that you had to hunt me down and behead me?” Natalie asked.
“Perhaps the fragrance you carry—the ancient scent of sweets and spices. It triggered my dema. It nearly caused possession. The dark spirits can’t stand the ancient scent.”
“My scent, I never knew I had one.”
“It’s the scent carried by Awakened Reborns. That is how I tracked you on campus and around Blackfalls.
Zap! I suddenly felt another power. I felt it. The dark energy was near.
“What is it? You seemed disturbed all of a sudden,” she said.
I didn’t recognize the energy signals. There was more than one. It didn’t seem to be my clan. I seriously doubted they would seek to fight me this soon. I figured James needed some time to think about his next move. Alope wouldn’t dare challenge me. She cared too much for our relationship. The poor girl—I shouldn’t have yelled at her.
“We need to move, fast,” I urged.
“Is it them? If they come, I can help. I defended myself against you,” she said. Even though what she said was true, I didn’t recognize the dark energy signals coming from the house of Eis Lakota. The house was about two miles away.
“Don’t be foolish. James, my cousin, wouldn’t challenge me again so soon. But someone is coming this way. Take my hand. I’ll transport us back to the road.”
Natalie obeyed my command as I warped us back. The dark spirits teleported our bodies back to the spot we had left from. Within a few seconds, we landed on the road. The stolen road sign was still there.
“Hurry, let’s find your car.”
“But it’s flipped over! We can’t get it to work!” she cried, as if I didn’t know that.
“I can make it work,” I said. We both ran down the street.
There, just over the hill, rested Natalie’s car. It was unharmed. I didn’t sense my clan around.
“What are you doing to do?” she asked.
I approached the side and pushed the car over using the vast majority of my dark energy. The car landed back on its four wheels, and the glass in the back street shattered once the tires hit the ground. I opened the driver side door and popped open the hood by pushing the latch. I ran over to the engine and placed my hands on the manifold. Natalie rushed behind me.
“Watch out.”
I transferred some of my power to the engine. The energy sparked. I ordered Natalie to turn on the car. She ran over, closed the door, and ignited the engine. Immediately the car worked.
“Good, it worked.” I had doubted myself. That was the first time I had tried that trick.
“But how?” she asked.
“Simple, I just gave your car a boost of energy. You should be able to make it home fine.”
“What if they track me back to my house?”
“They won’t. Not tonight, anyways. I’ll talk with them. Hopefully things won’t turn ugly. Use this time to get out of town. Get as far away from here as you can.”
“No, I don’t know where to go.…” Then she stopped and thought for a moment and said, “Come with me. I can’t do this without you, Tristan.” There was some hint of desperation within her voice.
“Not now, I have to talk with them. Maybe I can get them to stop. I’ll figure it out.”
Natalie then tried to see if everything else worked. She even turned on the radio. The station was set on a local talk show here in Blackfalls.
“Everything is working. Great.”
The station was static, but in the background I could the voice of a male announcer. His words murmured and were low. I heard him say, “More bodies were found today.”
“What? Adjust the knob. It’s kind of static,” I demanded. Natalie did as I said.
The announcer gave a detailed story about another murder that had taken place this morning near campus.
The announcer said, “… a body found. A short while ago, a local female student of Blackfalls University was found dead in a nearby creek within the city limits. She had been beaten to death. The reason is still unknown, and the Blackfalls police have no new information about the attacker or attackers. The only link the police have is the connection with three other murders that have been taken place in the last week. All four victims’ heads were severed from the body.”
A dark chill ran down my neck, as I had an idea of who the killers were. The announcer continued with other stories, but Natalie turned down the volume to a minimum.
Natalie Schultz glared at me with her mouth slightly open. She then frantically asked, “Do you know who is killing my sorority sisters? This is too much! I’m scared!”
I didn’t respond.
She continued, “I knew three of the four girls that were murdered. Possibly the fourth one is a Kappa Omega as well. One of them was my close friend, Sheridan McCullough.”
At that moment, I knew whoever had killed those poor girls was after Natalie. She was marked for death. My clan wasn’t responsible—well, not to my knowledge. James and I had had our suspicion about Aaron killing random Reborns associated with Natalie. No. It couldn’t be him. Something wasn’t adding up.
I hesitated and answered, “Maybe …” I paused. “I have an idea on who they might be.”
“Who are they?” Natalie demanded. She was frightened. “Another girl is dead because of me! It was supposed to be me!”
“Listen, I doubt the killers were from my clan.”
“It has to be one of your own! Who else would it be?” She began to panic.
“I don’t know for sure.” There wasn’t any time. I ran around the car and jumped into the passenger seat and closed the door. “Drive to your place. Pack only necessary items. We are leaving Blackfalls before nightfall. You can’t tell your parents or sisters about what has taken place. If they have any knowledge about the Naiche tribe or the events that have taken place here, they will die. If they don’t know anything then my people will leave them alone.”
“Please, my family has nothing to do with—”
I interrupted her. “They won’t perish. I promise.”
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br /> 14
Arrival of the Nomads
TIME WAS AGAINST US. THE Awakened Reborn smashed her foot against the gas pedal as we came upon Cobblestone Manor. She slowed down to be let inside the front gate. The security guard glared at us, especially me. Suspecting that she was driving against her will, he asked her if everything was okay. Considering the damaged vehicle we were driving, I couldn’t blame him for being suspicious.
“Just a little accident, Marvin,” Natalie said softly.
“Okay, Natalie. I had to ask. Your father just came home; I’ll inform him of your arrival.”
“No!” she exclaimed. Marvin took a step back. “That’s okay. He is expecting me and my friend. You don’t have to inform him.”
“Okay, Ms. Schultz. Have a good day,” Marvin said. As we drove past the golden gate, he continued to glare at us with honest suspicion. I assumed he was going to inform her father anyway.
“Step on it. Your father can’t know that I am here. We have to move quickly,” I urged.
“Right, stay in the car while I pack a bag or two.”
Soon, she disappeared through the front door, leaving the car running on low fuel. “Come on, Bodaway. Think,” I said to myself. We would have to ditch her car and take mine. Natalie’s scent would be easily tracked by the others. For the moment, I scanned through my mind for a few safe places to hide out. One was in Nebraska, a farm in the boondocks. There, my clan had murdered an elderly man named Fred. I didn’t remember the reasoning of his death, not that it was important.
Then there was an old shack in the southeast part of Arizona. I vaguely recalled the place being void of human contact. I could hide her for a few days and try to figure things out. There was a small fresh food market not too far from the shack. We could get fresh food daily while I devised a plan of action.