Descent Into Madness

by Daniel Peyton

  “Ladies and gentlemen, the UCH has arrived! I repeat, the UCH has arrived!” All around the room, people were cheering.

  “I don’t want to watch anymore,” Bark said crassly.

  Toshi switched off the monitor in the back room of the dojo. She had brought Bark here to comfort him and try and get his mind off of his troubles. “It's hard to watch your friends go into battle, especially when you cannot join them.”

  Bark frowned. “I don’t understand why I can’t go. I'm still able to fight. Believe me, no one hates that damned body more than I do.”

  Toshi smiled. “You know, hate is a bad thing to hold onto.”

  Bark snarled and did not respond.

  “You need to focus on good things: love, hope, friendship, your training. Hate should be let go of.” Toshi calmly poured some tea.

  “I only know of the hate. What that thing did to me has left me inhuman. I want revenge. I want satisfaction.” Bark got up and walked out of the small room.

  Toshi quietly set down the teapot, took something off of a shelf, and followed her student out. “Perhaps you do need some satisfaction, but not through hate or revenge.”

  Bark stopped in the middle of the dojo. “What?”

  Toshi caught up to him and pulled up his hand. She carefully placed a small box in it. “Consider your choices, Inu-chan. Even the smallest choices affect your entire life. Choose to focus on what is good and not what angers you.” After that, she left him.

  Bark opened up his hand and looked at the box. In it was the ring he had bought to propose to Snow. He opened it, saw the ring and the hatred in his heart began to melt. He imagined that moment: asking her the question, putting the ring on her finger, embracing her in gratitude and love. For a moment, a brief moment, he forgot about his troubles. The universe seemed a better place.

  He closed his eyes and thought about how he might go about asking her this question. He wanted it to be special. He did not have any fear that she would turn him down, but he wanted to show her how much she meant to him by the amount of effort he put into the moment. Then, the moment moved from that question all the way to the wedding. He thought about standing before everyone and making vows to the love of his life, and having her make the same vows to him. He would put a ring on her finger and she would put one on his.

  Bark opened his eyes, his left hand held out like she was placing the ring on his hand. The smile and elation faded in him. He wasn’t looking at a strong man’s hand, but a paw with claws and fur. It was hideous. It was a monster’s hand. His fingers formed into a fist, and he wanted to hit something. Hatred again surged through his body.

  He looked away from his hand and walked over to the floor-length mirror Toshi used to properly dress in her kimonos. He looked at himself, at his whole body. In a way, he started to feel better; he didn’t look any different. In his mind, he felt like he had changed on the outside, but he hadn’t. Then, he started to see the reflection of the monster from his dreams. The thing that killed Snow was standing in front of him. He slammed his fist through the glass and shattered the mirror. Shards were cutting his hand, but he didn’t even feel it. He was angry, he was beyond angry. There was no logic left in his mind, only loathing.

  Yet, through all of this, a tear fell from his eye. Not from the pain of his glass-scraped knuckles, but the knowledge that Snow would never love a monster like him. He was no longer good enough for her. He would become a danger to her and everyone else.

  “Bark, is everything alright,” Toshi called from the other room after hearing the glass shatter.

  He opened his uninjured hand and let the ring box tumble out of it onto the floor.

  “Everything is fine. I am going back to my quarters to rest.”

  Toshi responded, “Good, rest will help. I'll come and find you if anything changes with the mission.”

  “Thank you, Sensei.” He said this with real meaning behind it, for he expected never to see her again. Without looking back, Bark left the dojo, leaving Snow’s ring and his life behind.

  ***

  Coach Thrasher stood in the middle of a usually busy street, with all four arms carrying a broken down old jeep. He waited and waited. Suddenly Rocket came through, with Ichabod right behind him. Thrasher launched the vehicle into the air, smashing it against Ichabod.

  “HA, GOTCHA,” Thrasher yelled out.

  Rocket landed near Thrasher and looked at the brutish four-armed hero. “That was certainly creative. I thought The General only ordered the heroes capable of flight to take this thing on.”

  Thrasher pulled out a cigar and started to light it. “I'm in charge of making sure that the students are evacuating. Stopping that stupid headless thing is a part of that.”

  Rocket laughed. “I guess, if you look at it like….WATCH OUT!” He shoved Thrasher over just as that same jeep came tumbling by them, having been re-launched by Ichabod. The only victim was the cigar that hadn’t even been lit yet.

  “THAT DAMNED BODY! THAT WAS A CUBAN!” Thrasher screamed.

  Rocket blasted back into flight and headed right for the body, and Thrasher ran at it. Though his orders were to clear the university, he was mad now. When Thrasher gets really angry, he lets his temper be his guide.

  Rocket met Ichabod in the sky with a fist to its chest. His hand hurt like hell and the body seemed unfazed by the attack. Abruptly, Ichabod turned on Rocket with intent to kill. Rocket wanted to get its attention like this; that way, he could lead it on a chase that would keep it from doing any actual harm. Rocket turned and darted away, leaving a trail of fire and smoke behind him.

  Ichabod followed, flying at incredible speeds. Rocket jockeyed between buildings, under bridges, and high into the sky. He was having fun, and Ichabod seemed too far behind to do any actual harm.

  Without warning, Rocket’s feet were caught by two hands. Ichabod had caught up with him and was now gripping him. With a mighty throw, Ichabod caused Rocket to lose control and slam right through the front windows of the art building.

  Rocket sat up, holding his head. “Ow.” He found himself dangling amongst the unusual arms of a sculpted piece of modern art.

  “You stupid heroes think you're anything compared to me,” Ichabod announced from outside the broken window. He held up a hand and shot Rocket, slamming him through the sculpture and into a cement block wall.

  Rocket fell to the ground and hardly had enough strength to lift his head. He looked up in time to see Ichabod readying another shot to finish him off. Just as the blast was about to be released, a park bench hit Ichabod in the side and knocked him down. The green energy blast deflected harmlessly into the sky.

  Thrasher came stomping through, his teeth bared and all four fists clenched. “You arrogant jerk!”

  Ichabod got to his feet and dashed at Thrasher. He wasn’t going to blast him, as Thrasher was famous for being resistant to energy weapons. Just as Ichabod’s fist was about to make contact with Thrasher’s face, he was met with an equal fist. Both people fell back from the shockwave of the contact.

  “Let’s see you fly,” Ichabod announced and went to take off, not willing to go fist on fist again with Thrasher.

  “HA!” Thrasher ran with more speed than a musclebound brute normally displays. He caught Ichabod by the ankles and slammed him to the ground. Kneeling forward and holding the armored body with his lower arms, he used his upper arms to repeatedly punch the armor over and over, hoping to break it. “LET’S SEE HOW STRONG YOU REALLY ARE WITHOUT THIS DAMNED ARMOR!” Thrasher was really mad now.

  “Hey, look. Isn’t that Thrasher?” A pair of students came upon them. They had decided to take the opportunity to advance their student reporting class by getting real footage of today’s battle. One held a camera while the other directed and talked.

  Unfortunately, this distracted Thrasher for a moment. Just when he was going to yell at the students for not evacuating, he was blasted away with an energy beam.

 
Ichabod got back to his feet. His armor was dented in several places. The worst place was on his shoulder, which was cracking. The body looked at Thrasher, seemingly amused by how dazed his opponent was by the energy blast. He smugly said, “Well, I guess the mighty Thrasher is indeed harmed by energy weapons.” He held out a hand and shot Thrasher again, tumbling the four-armed hero across the ground.

  “Oh, my God,” the reporter yelled out before backing away.

  Ichabod turned to them and said, “Remember this day, the day that the University of Tennessee was destroyed by me, Ichabod, the mightiest creation of Dr. William Ogle. In five minutes, I'll start with Ayers Hall. Be sure to get plenty of footage, I would hate for anyone to miss this.” With that, he blasted off, out of sight.

  ***

  Toshi had found the broken mirror and the ring box in the middle of the dojo and decided to bring it to Bark. She wasn’t stupid; she knew he felt he could no longer ask the love of his life to marry him. Now, it was a mother’s time to play. She would convince him he did not need to give up, that he was being foolish. And if he decided to back out of this, he would not only face the disappointment of Snow, but the wrath of Mom.

  She reached his room and pressed the door buzzer. Since Bark saved the station, he was promoted to a single for more privacy. This meant there would be no one else here right now and she could go in without worry of bothering a roommate. So, when he did not answer, she went on in.

  “Inu-chan, we need to talk.” She came into the small, dorm-style room to find it empty. “Inu-chan? Where are you?” She wanted to be certain he wasn’t sleeping on the floor again or sitting against a wall. But, he wasn’t here. Before she left, she glanced at his desk and found a letter with her name written on it.

  There was a sinking, cold feeling in her as she opened the letter. It was short and direct. It read,

  Dear Toshi Sensei, thank you for believing in me when I did not. But, I know that I cannot go on like this. I cannot leave Snow, so I will do the next best thing. Please give her the ring when you feel it is right. Bark.

  Toshi grabbed the letter and ran like mad. She was on her way to the shuttle bay.

  ***

  Bastion waited patiently in the shuttle bay for the possibility of having to organize the rest of the station for a second wave attack. He didn’t mind waiting, but he hated sitting around while the others fought. Though he wasn’t a spry young man anymore, he could still hold his own in battle –despite a little arthritis, and a bad knee, and there was that stomach issue.

  Just then, Bark walked through the shuttle bay. He seemed fixated on something. Bastion looked at him. “Good afternoon, Mr. Bark. Can I help you?”

  Bark looked at him and shook his head. “Just out for a walk.”

  “It’s always nice to stretch your legs. Of course, that is when your bursitis isn’t acting up, and…” He was used to students walking away when he started talking about health. So, he let this go and got back to watching the little view screen with the news reports going.

  Not two minutes later, Toshi came in looking around frantically. “Bark,” she yelled out.

  “Toshi Sensei. What are you doing here? I thought that all the other instructors were ordered down to the planet.” Bastion was surprised.

  Toshi frowned at him. “The General does not order me around. Besides, I was asked to look after Bark. Have you seen him?”

  “As a matter of fact I….what the hell?” Just then, a shuttle lifted off from the platform and headed for the force field. “WHAT IS HE DOING?!” Bastion got up and ran for the shuttle.

  It was too late. The shuttle buzzed through the force field and left the station. “Oh, Inu-chan, don’t do this,” Toshi lamented as she watched the shuttle head for earth.

  Bastion looked at her with a worried expression. “Should I contact The General?”

  Toshi nodded. “Yes, we must find a way to stop him. I can’t lose him like I lost my first son.”

  Chapter 13: Looking for Vengeance

  The General navigated his way through the crowds of escaping people. The Knoxville Police, Knox County Sheriff department, and the UCH Student Corps worked to make sure that everyone was getting out safely without too much hysteria. Of course, there was always a level of panic, but that was understandable.

  “Red, status report.”

  In his usual gruff, loud tone, Red Fury responded, “Interstate 40 is out of commission. The hospital, media, and tour helicopters are lifting the wounded out of the danger zone. We have five more helicopters coming from Pidgeon Forge tours, said they can help. I have the students escorting as many people to the buses as they can. I'm going to have our two strongest telekinetics lift the buses out with the helicopters. The two available UCH shuttles are going in to check for anyone still behind. You make sure that that stupid Ichabod doesn’t come over and make this mess worse!”

  The General nodded. “We’re doing our best.”

  “General! We have a call from HQ!” Spark ran over with his communicator open.

  The General took it and said, “What do you have?”

  Ladybug stood in the middle of the command center with a headset on. Five of the best communication droids sat behind her, tracking every last signal in Knoxville. The view screen was covered with the news reports showing the situation. The little windows were open over a satellite image of Knoxville from space.

  She spoke to The General. “We have tracked every signal in and around Knox County, Tennessee. There is one signal that is ten times stronger than all the others. I believe this is what we are looking for.”

  “Are you certain that this is our signal? I don't have time to chase false leads right now,” The General replied.

  Ladybug carefully examined the screen in front of her. “Whoever is creating this signal is doing a good job in making it appear like just another cell phone. But, his mistake is that this signal is not using any cell tower in the area, or even any satellites, for that matter. Wait…” She paused when one of the drones activated a small readout screen on the window with the information she had been looking for. While she read the data, her cute smile got a little bigger, and she muttered to herself, “Gotcha.”

  “What is going on,” The General asked impatiently.

  She answered while still looking at the data. “Sir, that signal is being received by something in motion, and that something is moving fast. Unless there are fighter jets darting around Knoxville airspace right now, this has to be it.”

  The General looked up. “Okay, that must be our signal. Do you have a source?” He listened and nodded. “Good work. Keep monitoring the situation. See if you can disrupt the signal from your location. We'll go in and try to kill it at the source.” He closed the communicator.

  Spark took the communicator and looked at The General. “Well?”

  “We have a destination. Let’s move.” Without giving any other orders, The General walked back over to the shuttle they had landed in.

  ***

  Bark looked out the front window of the shuttle he had stolen. There were tears in his eyes while he tried to focus on his objective.

  He hated his life more than ever right now. So many things were running around his head that he had a hard time concentrating. The idea of mutating into a mindless dog was horrible enough, but then he thought about those soldiers who attacked them in Korea. Would the UCH have to kill him? He was so resistant to weapons that he could be very deadly. Energy weapons would not stop him, bullets would hurt, but he could still keep going with his mind gone like that. But, even Josiah had told him that he could still be frozen. Would Snow have to kill him? He would not put her through that torment. He would end his life how he wanted to end it, as a hero. Not only would he save Knoxville; he would get revenge for what happened to him.

  Was he thinking clearly? No, but sometimes the heart makes choices that are illogical and unreasonable.

  The shuttle bucked as it entered t
he atmosphere. The air currents needed to be accommodated for. Bark was good as a student pilot, but not experienced. He was fighting the controls as much as he was fighting emotions. He typed in a command which told the computer to search for the armored body.

  Suddenly, the city of Knoxville came into view. The river was gleaming with the sunlight shining up into his eyes, there were large plumes of smoke where the interstate had been destroyed, and he could see people massing at the exits in attempts to get to safety.

  The computer indicated that it could not locate the body. But, that was not necessary. Bark looked out to see it flying through the sky. He recognized it immediately. Without any hesitation, he directed the shuttle to land.

  ***

  The General’s shuttle slowly lowered onto the empty parking lot of a shopping center that had been vacant of shops long before anyone called for evacuation. The dirt and leaves of the late winter blew aside as the ship made contact with the pavement.

  The door to the shuttle opened and The General stepped out, followed by Snow and Spark. He looked around to see where their culprit might be.

  “Okay, Ladybug located the signal coming from a shop in this place.”

  Snow frowned and looked around. There was a McDaniel’s hamburger joint that was evacuated, and the only operating business here. Along the strip were several small shops and two larger locations that had been an outdoor garden place and a fabric store. Last was a single old movie theater. “Which one,” she asked.

  The General scanned the shops with his eyes. “I don’t know. She couldn’t pinpoint it that closely. The power signature is coming from the main lines that run this whole place. We really don’t have anything else to go on. We will just have to search.”

  Spark pointed and said, “It’s gotta be the old theater.”

  “Why,” Snow asked.

  The General turned around. “What reason do you have?”

  “It’s creepy, cliché, and obvious. The villain always chooses the old theater.”