Damage Control

by Eric Alan Williams

  "Can vampires do that?"

  Abanoub smirked. "You were bitten by a bat, right? At least that is what I remember reading about you before agreeing to take you on."

  Xairin nodded.

  Abanoub laughed. "What can bats already do? You vampires have wings, you can fly as high as your wings can carry. We are still subject to how far we can radiate our energy fields to keep us up. But yes, some vampires can. Hell, I have even seen a few thropes learn to do it to some degree. Some powers come easier for others."

  "Why is that exactly?"

  Abanoub shrugged. "Why is what?"

  "What you just said, some powers coming easier for others."

  Abanoub leered. "The animal DNA that makes you Immortium, either removes certain abilities, dampens them, or enhances certain abilities. For example, while I have seen a werewolf able to hover, I have only ever seen one werewolf able to fly as an Aeonian can and that my friend is Anubis. I have heard rumors of others, but he is the only one I have personally seen do it, and even then, it taxes his ability to do so more than it does us. He can stay airborne for maybe a few minutes, whereas an Aeonian like myself, an hour or so. Something about canine DNA, I suppose. As for vampires, bats can fly already, so that gene remains fully at your disposal."

  "But humans can't fly, so why do Aeonians get that ability?" Xairin asked while crossing his arms and returning a glare.

  "I didn't write the Aeon Strain's Genetic code Xairin. It specifically seeks out humanoid DNA to enhance it. Certain animal genes either enhance, dilute, or delete certain powers, simple as that."

  Since they were on the subject of powers, Xairin was curious about something. He thought back to when Ezra was hurt and recalled the red energy he saw. "I saw this red energy being used to heal a human once. It was coming from an Aeonian. What was that?"

  Abanoub smirked. "Okay, well, you know when you vibrate your cells to shimmer?"

  Xairin nodded.

  Aeonians, Gorgons, and Gargoyles have it easier when performing that ability. We can vibrate our cells to the point that we produce a type of radiation. Not harmful radiation, but one that specifically targets a gene in most living things. Sometime in the 2020s, they discovered a master gene called EGR, which stands for Early Growth Response. It is the gene that allows reptiles to grow new legs, worms to regenerate, and so on. Humans and other animals have this gene also, but in humans, the gene is not as potent. The radiation we can produce throws that gene into hyperdrive and can regenerate most living things that have it. Simple as that. Part of why people again thought we were gods when we healed the sick or cured the blind, all we were doing was radiating this type of radiation from our cells to force their EGR gene into overdrive to facilitate the healing."

  "Do vampires have that ability?"

  He nodded. "All immortals can do it, but as I said earlier, some immortals have a harder time learning to develop some powers in comparison to others. Aeonians can do it, because, well, the Aeon Strain wants to infect a human first. Gargoyles, Naga, and Gorgons are reptiles, so they already have an active form of that gene, so it is natural to them, same with some Mer. But yeah, all immortals can, it just depends on years of study I guess."

  Xairin looked curious. "What the hell is a Naga?"

  Abanoub smirked. "A type of gorgon basically. They are snakes. Serpentine people. They usually lack legs and have a serpent body. Usually, they have other powers that gorgons lack."

  "Like what?" Xairin inquired.

  Abanoub looked at his armband and noticed the time. "We can talk about powers another time. We need to get a move on, we still have more to go, and I still have to run this course on my own."

  With his preceptor hovering above him, Xairin began leaping from pillar to pillar. Oddly Xairin found this part mostly easy. The bat within him had no innate fear of heights, which was a dominant trait that Xairin was thankful for right now.

  Xairin's landing needed a little work. He felt like he was in the circus walking the tightrope, there was literally only a foot worth of space on each landing. He made it to his forty-second pillar. A spike shot up from the center of the post, going right through his right foot. Xairin fell, ripping bone and flesh. His wings instinctively erupted.

  "YOU CAN'T FLY HERE!"

  Xairin was screeching. His foot was pouring blood. Abanoub Amari floated down and helped him hold on to a pillar. "I told you about those spikes. You have to keep your balance. They will retract after two seconds.

  "IT WENT THROUGH MY FOOT!" Xairin's wings were holding onto the pillar, as his left hand was applying pressure. "FUCkASHIT, THAT HURTS!"

  "Calm your tits man, I told you." Abanoub giggled.

  "JEEZ!" Xairin said. "MMMMMMMMMMMHUUUGH!" He whimpered loudly.

  "Well, I damn sure know not to step on that one again." He said while catching his breath.

  "Oh, Xairin, it won't work that way. The pillar spikes are random. You never know when or which ones will be active each day. I tried that when the course was created."

  With his right hand and the claws on his wings wrapped around the pillar tightly, he looked at Abanoub. "Of course not, why would any of this be easy… Right?" Xairin's voice was naturally sarcastic.

  "Two seconds, the spike will retract, you have to learn to deal with that pain and keep going. Simple as that. You're not allowed to fly above those pillars. But you can use them to catch yourself here."

  They waited a few more seconds until Xairin's foot started to regenerate. Xairin growled.

  Abanoub helped him upward. Xairin was reluctant to put his foot back down on one of the pillars, after all, he only had room for one foot to land at a time.

  Xairin took a few seconds before he leaped to the next one, then another, and another and WHAM. "FUCKING SPIKES!" Xairin about fell off again but bit down hard on his lips. He breathed out the words. "ONE TWO!" The spike finally retracted. "AHHHHHHHH!"

  He leaped again. "AJHHHAAAKKELFUCK!" He took a deep breath, breathing out the words, "ONE, TWO." He jumped again. "FUCK ME!" A fourth had spike erupted.

  His wings popped again. He didn't fall he didn't fly. He balanced himself while the spike slowly retracted.

  Determined to get the hell through this part of the course Xairin took longer leaps. Two more spikes slowing him down until finally making it to the other side.

  Abanoub gave Xairin five minutes to breathe as he rubbed his feet. Even with the regeneration, his feet still hurt.

  "So what is next, blades shooting across to cut me in half? Jumping over some laser and burning my ass off?" Xairin sarcastically inquired.

  "Just the hurdle challenge. No blades shooting out exactly, or lasers, but…"

  "BUT?"

  "You will see."

  After recovering, Abanoub led him down a hill and back into the jungle. The path started out as just as a sandy road, but the next part of the test was akin to what Xairin had questioned. It was hurdles.

  The hurdles he saw before him were not something a human could do, but only an Immortal. They were twenty feet high, with, as he came close to guessing, blades were indeed involved. Large spikes were affixed to the tops of each of the metal walls he was to leap over. Some of the curved outward, some swerving, others straight up. The cresting points of the walls were covered in them, pointing in all directions.

  "So, I climb these?" Xairin asked with a questioning tone.

  "No, we jump them, there are thirty hurdles in all. Just try not to get stuck on one, otherwise, well…"

  Xairin interrupted him. "Triage, right?"

  Abanoub Amari turned around and nodded. "Precisely."

  The preceptor took off running and made it look easy. He leaped the first one leaving Xairin on the other side.

  His feet started to hurt just thinking about leaping over one of those hurdles. Those spikes hurt like a mother fucking bitch, and now some jagged ass spikes that gave the wall an extra four feet already to their twenty made Xairin cringe.

  This was downright fucking
inhumane…

  He couldn't back out; all he could do was go forward. If he didn't, god only knew what the punishment would be for not attempting it. Hell, he already heard Abanoub talk about being shot in the dick by a level seven taser pistol.

  "It will grow back, right, I mean, if I scrap a foot completely off, I mean, what, a day, few hours, yeah… I can regenerate. I can do this." Xairin was trying his best to psych himself up.

  He went into a run and leaped. “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” He cried out. "FUCKING RIMJOBING DONKEY FUCKER!" He yelled. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH CHRIST ON A FUCKING CRACKER!" He gasped.

  "FUUUUUUUUCCCCCKKKKAAAAAA ME!"

  Xairin was never the type to really cuss all that much, but this was it. His limit was reached, and his buttocks had been breached, literally. A jagged spike had gone straight through the left side of his buttcheck, impaling him on the wall. He was dangling by his ass literally. He could feel his body trying to heal and rip at the same time, keeping him on the wall. The four-foot spike had gone clean through the muscle and protruding right out of his rounded glut. He could feel the spike pricking near his left shoulder blade. He started to hyperventilate.

  Chapter 4.4

  Day two had arrived, and Xairin had recovered in the infirmary from being impaled in a location he would rather not tell anyone but a few of the others had already snickered at calling him "Two holes."

  He had to miss the rest of the days training courses that were to go on after the daily obstacle run. Today, he had to complete it.

  Abanoub Amari and Xairin had made it down the hill, through the vines, past Canyon run, and pillar leap. Now they were back at the hurdle challenge. Xairin had leaped the first three without an issue.

  He was hesitating on the next one. The spikes were longer on this one. "Are you sure I can't use my wings Abanoub?"

  His Arabian friend smiled. "Quite sure Xairin. You can do it. Feel your blood, will it to propel you up and over."

  Xairin huffed. "Man, they are already calling me two holes. I mean that's something a drag queen would cook up, and here I am getting impaled and not the way I wanted."

  "Excuse me?" Abanoub asked.

  "You know... Impaled?"

  Abanoub looked clueless.

  "By someone's dick… You know, impaled???"

  Xairin didn't come across gay most the time, and Abanoub was clueless to what Xairin was getting at until that remark. "OH, you're gay?"

  "That won't disqualify me, will it? I mean, I hear humans used to have some don't ask don't tell bullshit over a hundred years ago or so, then some asshole wouldn't allow trans people in the military. That is if I read my world history right."

  Abanoub shook his head. "No, that won't get you disqualified. But you are gay?"

  Xairin shrugged as he stood there swinging his arms back and forth, getting ready to leap. "Gay as the day is long, why?"

  "You don't act gay is all?" The man asked.

  Xairin turned around, flopped his wrists and flamed it up a bit. "Why? Because I don't talk with a lisp?"

  Xairin reverted back to his usual tone quickly. "How did you think gay people are supposed to act?"

  Abanoub could only shrug. "I guess I expected, well… You're just not, effeminate is all."

  Xairin snickered. "You should have seen me when I was mortal after a few drinks." He leaped, clearing the hurdle. Upon landing, Xairin went on a little soapbox. "You're a thousand years old right?"

  His preceptor nodded.

  "In all that time you never once encountered someone that was strictly dickly?"

  Abanoub shrugged. "Well, yes."

  Abanoub felt the need to address his sexuality. He did so in such a manner that it was overly obvious, "My wife can't wait for me to finish this tour." He put emphasis on the wife bit.

  Xairin rolled his eyes and played it up. "Oh darn, I was hoping a sexy Arabian stud like yourself might bend me over after completing this course."

  Abanoub stopped floating and fell. "Excuse me?"

  Xairin laughed. "Broke your concentration, did I?"

  "You want me to what?"

  Xairin grinned slyly. "It's my turn to joke Abanoub. Relax, dude, not every gay man wants in your pants."

  Abanoub wasn't sure how to react to that. The only thing he could come up with was, "Wait for a second, are you saying I am not attractive enough?"

  Xairin blurted out as he cleared the next hurdle. "First you lose your concentration of hovering because I made that comment of bending me over, now you're questioning whether or not I actually want you to bend me over?"

  Abanoub wasn't sure what to say. "I thought…"

  "What, that every gay man wants to bend you over instead?" Xairin laughed. "Trust me, when it comes to the gay world, eighty percent of us are bottoms and want someone to bend us over. Going to a gay bar is like going to a meat market, and when the bottoms in the club hear who the tops are, it's like someone threw blood in the ocean to chum in sharks. Honestly, I feel sorry for most tops. And yeah, not every gay guy wants in your pants bro."

  Xairin smiled. "Besides, I knew you were straight. You don't have to be a mind reader to know that. We call it gaydar, and mine never clicked once when we started out on this course from hell yesterday."

  Abanoub raised his eyebrows. "Okay. I guess."

  Xairin leaped the next six hurdles before answering the question. "And yeah, if my gaydar went off, I might hit on you. You're a good-looking guy. But I don't want things to be awkward, and two, as I said, I can tell you're straight. So, emphasizing the wife bit was highly unnecessary."

  Xairin leaped two more hurdles. "But hey, since you brought it up, are you really married?"

  Abanoub was hovering again, he heard the vampire’s inquiry and nodded. "Yes, to a mortal."

  Xairin stopped and looked dead at him. "Really? How's that working out?" His voice inflection was curiously genuine.

  "We met several years ago. I enthralled Alisha of course, back then it was required. We get along great. Always have. Ever since I met Alisha, I knew she was the one for me. We married a few years back. We're expecting our first child in three months. A boy."

  Xairin leaped four more hurdles. "How did your family take it, you know, being with a mortal and all?"

  Abanoub was smiling at that question. His family was quite accepting of the union and the upcoming birth. Even if his son wouldn't be able to be enthralled to live as long as a full-blooded Aeonian could. He still was happy about being a father, and his mother was delighted to be a grandmother, even if it was only for a hundred years or so. To Isis, she had raised her family to appreciate mortal life, part of the reason she was eager to join an establishment that valued it. Those lessons were instilled in Abanoub too. "My family is quite happy."

  Xairin leaped another easily. "That's really great to hear man. I'm glad to hear it because I've heard about some immortals frowning on you guys producing halfbreeds."

  Abanoub hated that phrase. "Do not call my son a halfbreed. To me, he is and will always be, my son."

  Leaping another Xairin landed, turning his head and looking up. "Sorry mate, I didn't mean to insult you."

  Abanoub could tell Xairin genuinely meant that. "I'm sorry. So many years of dealing with Aeonian bullshit, frowning on mortal mingling, I guess it makes me sour every time I hear that phrase, halfbreed."

  Xairin completed the last hurdle. He felt the wind of the spikes close to his leg, and upon landing, realized he had a scratch, but nothing a few seconds of regeneration couldn't cure. "So, what's next now that I've made it past this part of the course?"

  "The Mountain."

  Two miles later after running a winding stretch of leaping over logs, rocks, hidden spikes, Xairin and Abanoub arrived at the base of a mountain cave. His preceptor stopped him before he could enter. "The mountain challenge leads directly into the Labyrinth. But before we get there, you need to know that there are other feats to overcome."

  "Like?"

  "Laser blasts like t
he canyon run, swinging metal bars and hammer-shaped swings coming down from the roof at random, pits to leap over, along with your favorite… Random spikes."

  Xairin rolled his eyes. "Wonderful, great to hear. So how many more challenges after this?"

  Abanoub Amari shrugged. "Another pillar run, and landing perfectly across a canyon, that's it."

  "That's all, great," Xairin said.

  They entered the mountain trail. It was dark, poorly lit by faint blue orbs placed every fifty feet, one on each side that faced the other. Xairin saw what Abanoub was talking about when it came to the bars. A metal hammer came down like a swinging pendulum. It wouldn't crush you to the side, but it sure as hell would knock you back.