by E R Landron
“'Akhbarnaa.”, Drake says to the ninja.
He shakes his head. He looks at me and back at him.
“It won't matter anymore. Help me move the sarcophagus.”, Drake says.
They get the hydraulic fork stacker to move the sarcophagus. I use my strength to speak. I start murmuring some things that I can’t even understand. My hands tremble. They move rather fast and different. Shadows keep popping. Knives, spikes, saws, swords of shadows came out of my hands, and my cloth is a mess. They start to mount the sarcophagus. I gather all his strength to get up. Again I try to speak, but it is a little difficult. My voice sounds dual as if he have reverb.
“Drake! What... did …you do... to... me?”, I say with difficulty.
Drake sighs and walks towards me and helps me get up. I’m still shaking, and drool is still coming from my mouth. I feel like if I have R.E.M. Drake is starting to fix my collar. I’m disgusted by his presence.
“I made you a god. That's what you wanted. To be a god.”, Drake says.
“The sarcophagus... we didn't... open it.”, I say.
“That's not of your concern. Think all that is happening to you as another puberty.”
Drake smiles as he continued fixing my suit.
“My best advice for you is... stop here. I know humans are a plague. However, we can be on top of the food chain without eliminating all the treaties. Every time we have tried the world punishes us. It is written. Learn from it. For every epidemic we created we have been hit by "natural disasters" like the flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, Pompeii all because we tried to reach further. If you want us to be on top, just watch what I'm going to do and wait.”, he says.
“Am I dying?”, I ask.
Drake started to fix a little bit my hair.
“It won't kill you. Again, you are becoming the god you wanted. More power, speed, strength. You will be able to do things with your shadows that you could not do before. I can't kill you. My powers don't work against you because of the blood oath and because of it, I am grateful, I will not have Laim kill you either.”
My muscles tense up. What did he say? Drake showed his crooked teeth.
“You thought the other was Laim? A decoy, he will be up for recruitment later. Like I said I'm grateful for what you did. Moreover, I am aboard, on the whole, let our kind rule the earth. It is just not going to be you, Ripa. Don't get me wrong, you will be a god... just not the God. Since you rescued me when the whole of America versus middle east war started, that blood oath bounded us. Moreover, I saw a man with so much vision and smarts, that it was difficult for me to resolve this... this shackles. What's going to happen now? The others will be here soon, and you will test your new powers with them. Also, you are going to leave us alone. Don't let this gesture obscure your vision on whom you are dealing with. Blood oath or not, I'm more powerful than you Ripa. Vile drink or not I am older and can make ways to eliminate your resources. I did it with one man… Laim. Also, he brought four men just in case. Imagine what I can do with more?”, Drake says.
Drake steps away still staring at me. I want to kill this cunt — however, all my muscles still tense and especially my face. I feel veins popping. I am using so much force, but my body is in slow motion. Drake smiles again.
MIEKE
The elevator opens we come out with Kokolite dangling from Ezequiel's shoulder. Instead of a floor, the elevator opens up to a huge luxurious receiver with leather couches, expensive paintings on the wall who have some holes all over. What the hell happened here? A secretary hid behind the desk. She trembles. Is she human? Why is a human this guy's secretary? She grabs a gun and points at us. Everyone holds still and Ezequiel was trying to get in front.
“We won't harm you.”, Kokolite says.
Everybody looks surprised at Kokolite that was getting up. He lets a colossal yawn.
“Lay down, and we'll say we hit you unconscious.”, he continues.
The secretary nods in terror and lays the gun down. She raises her hands exposing two holes in her wrist as she lays down to the floor. Bite marks? "Ripa gave them to her", Kokolite says mentally.
“I feel a bit dizzy still. Can you all stop thinking, please? I cannot concentrate on something.”, Kokolite, says.
“We need to hurry.”, Ezequiel says.
Kokolite holds the desk to gain a little composure, the others open the door to the office. The huge room is a mess with furniture cramped up to the sides, wholes on the walls. On the middle of the room, a man on a tunic with skeletons dangling. He is near to whom I assume is Ripa. He signals the ninja to hurry. He moves sarcophagus that looks very heavy, and the ninja is taking longer to get to the elevator behind the wall. The man with the tunic clinches his fist addresses Ripa, "I'll give you a little more time, take it as a re-payment for what you did to me." Drake stands in front of Ripa. Ezequiel is in disbelief when the man turns around.
“Drake? You?”, Ezequiel yells.
“Ezequiel.”, Answers the man.
Hannah and I looked confused. So if these two know each other, they must be equally strong, and there's whom I assume is Ripa almost petrified. What is going on here? Why is the other ninja moving a sarcophagus? Kokolite enters the room.
“Thank God those two are old, but the one in the middle is giving me a headache. Oh shit! That's Ripa!”, Kokolite jumps.
Kokolite's face changes to a concern one and Hannah was shaking a little bit. She has never gone as far to meet the man all the clans warned her off.
“It started! The ceremony started already!”, Ezequiel says.
“Nice crew Ezequiel. Seelisch, Ahket, human. At least one still works for us.”, Drake says.
Everyone looks confused as we all stare at Hannah who shakes her head repeatedly. “Is not me, I swear.”, she says. We keep giving each other looks until Oliver grabs me and put his gun on the back of my head. Oliver, what the hell? He thrusts the gun so hard I cringe.
“Oliver? What the fuck are you doing?”, I yell.
Oliver's head starts to perspire fast. Kokolite points to Oliver.
“So it was you I was trying to concentrate on? Geez, it sounded more like a chant: "A little more before they find out." On and on and on and on. Talk about guilty conscious!”
Oliver forces me to move closer to Drake.
“Stay back, all of you stay back. Or I'll pull the trigger.”, Oliver yells.
Everyone stands attentively at the situation while Oliver keeps forcing me to move.
“Drop the guns Mieke.”, he screams.
I feel my whole body burning. I press my lips hard, and so my teeth trying not to lose control over the situation. What now? I throw my guns and batons to the floor and lift my hands.
“You truly are the same as your old man. You should learn when to drop stuff.”, Oliver says.
“What are you talking about?”, I ask still with rage.
“It ain't pretty Mieke.”, Kokolite says.
“Shut up Koko... whatever. Shut the fuck up!”, screams Oliver.
“He has been on Ripa's payroll for a while.”, Kokolite says.
“How the hell... how the hell you know?”, Oliver screams.
Kokolite connects Oliver and me. He speaks in our minds: "I can read minds biotch!" Oliver freaks out and shoots Kokolite in the in his arm. The shot made my eardrums hear a long-lasting beat. It will go away. I twist my body and quickly elbow Oliver in the stomach, but it didn't do much as he aims his gun at me. His breath is deeper than before, but he shakes it off. I start to sweat as the barrel of the gun closes to my nose. Kokolite grabs his arm. "I just woke up, and you shoot me? Geez!", he screams. A faded "shut up freak!", came from Oliver. Drake smiles and addressed Ripa, “I told you I'd give you more time… I’ll give you one more chance to recuperate.” He starts to do a chant and moving his hands, below him, some weird turquoise symbols glow on the floor. The floor trembles and everyone become confused. Drake finishes.
“Take care
of it.”, Drake says.
“What about Ripa, what's happening to him?”, Oliver asks.
Drake did not say a thing and continued to walk to the elevator. Kokolite grunts still holding his arm.
“We'll see you later Laim.”, he says.
The ninja frowns and takes a small knife out of his waist and throws it very fast. Kokolite barely sees the blade as it almost ended in his eyes, but it stops by Ezequiel's hand. The knife is incrusted — few blood splatters on Kokolite's face. Ezequiel takes it out and throws it back at an already closing elevator door, and it just got stuck there. Some of the bodies that look decayed start moaning and get up. I hold my breath. Zombies, they do exist. They freaking exist! Oh shit.
“They are not zombies Mieke.”, Kokolite says.
“No!? So what are them?”, I yell.
“I was going to answer living dead... but that's the definition of zombies.”
Ezequiel mutters some words and making some weird gestures with his hands.
“Zeek? What are you doing man?”, Hannah asks.
He did not answer he keeps going at it, while corpses keep rising. Some look gooey others a very old. Ezequiel stops and starts again murmuring some words and making some different hand gestures. Below him, weird yellow Egyptian symbols appear but fade. Hannah is preparing to fight The zombies start to manipulate shadow knives with their hands, exactly as the ones that attacked us on the alley. "Zeek is no time to be religious man! Dead kumori rising!", Hannah screams. The men were walking towards each of us including Oliver who is trembling. He grabs me as a shield and points his gun — fucking coward. They creep on the others slowly. Some of their hands were hanging, and the saws or knives trail through the floor — dragged metal. Dead or not, one hit from those, and we could end up like Tony! Oliver mutters, “Don’t you move!” Kokolite reaches for his staff and extends it, and Hannah raises her fists. All of the sudden the men turn to each other and slice each other to pieces with their shadow knives. Slice and dice until they completely stop moving. Ezequiel did another chant, and the moaning stops. Everyone stood silent for a while, seeing if the dead were to come back again.
“What the hell?”, Hannah asks.
“I am a necromancer too. Drake's first spell was too powerful to break on time, so I just gave them a new direction.”, Ezequiel says.
"It's just you, bub!" Kokolite says in a deep voice to Oliver. Everyone's eyes are fixed on Oliver now.
“Hannah and I will go out and get Drake. You stay here Kokolite.”, Ezequiel says.
“If you guys move, I will kill her.”, Oliver yells.
As soon as Oliver's words finish Ezequiel's demeanor change to an outraged one that intimidates me.
“If you do. You are dead. I will kill you slowly, and I will kill each part of your organs one by one, so you feel so much pain, you will beg me to kill you in an instant. You saw what I just did? I will keep you alive and revive you each time you decide to go away and keep torturing you until my revenge satisfies my thirst.”
Oliver swallows deeply. Ezequiel nods and continues with Hannah to the elevator on the wall. After a few steps, they are blocked by a huge shadow that covers the area. They took a step back and faced Ripa. He struggles to move and to talk.
“Isn't she… your case… Oliver?”, he says.
Oliver looks confused and starts to tremble. I feel him holding his breath. He stutters.
“I thought you said never to speak of it?”, he asks.
Everyone looks at Oliver and Ripa confused.
“Mieke, you should cover your ears.”, Kokolite says.
“What? Why? Why should I...?”, I ask.
“Speak human! Speak, or I will make you!”, yells Ripa.
Oliver battles on what to say. He blinks fast and continuously. Oliver takes a deep breath and begins speaking as sweat drop fall to the floor.
“You were my assignment Mieke. I was on Ripa's payroll since before becoming a director. I did fall for you Mieke. It was not supposed to happen. However, you were a mission none the less.”, he says.
“Mission of what?”, I ask.
“You were my hostage. You were the prize. Remember your dad?”
“My dad? What about my dad? What he has to do with anything of this?”
“He asked for some help. Some old boyfriend... remember? He asked somebody to make him disappear without tracing back to him. He hired the best. That person was Ripa. Not directly though.”
“What?”
“He was working for us. When he was trying to finish with us, we kept him on the leash for a little longer. I followed you, took you out. Decided to do the whole theatrics of being lovers. Also, for those years we were together, he was our puppet. Leave us and she is dead. So he stayed.
“Mieke?”, Kokolite asks.
I tear up. Everybody is listening to concern. I feel embarrassed. My body tenses up and I am fighting a knot in my throat.
“No... no.... no...”, I keep shaking my head.
“He had some huge pull with the docks, that helped us immensely with our operation.”, Oliver continues.
“What happened?”
Oliver continues talking about the operation and how dad helped them, but the words just fade for a moment. A nauseating feeling takes control. My world is spinning. I keep clenching my fists and is starting to hurt. I press my teeth. I push hard the floor. I’m doing my best to control myself not to jump the man still aiming the gun. My breaths get deeper and deeper but millions of thoughts are rushing through my head. The time we shared, the time's dad was so busy even to answer his phone. It makes sense now!
“What happened to him? You owe me that, at least that!”, I ask.
Oliver was sweating even more. He looks down then back at me with a more serious face.
“He blocked our last shipment... A new route was done with haste. Later on, that turned out to be the one that crashed in the harbor... that one. That was why it crashed, it was improvised and did not end well.”
Oliver forces a smile.
“You cannot do deals with powerful people and expect to be all chill afterward. You know that. How many cases we did of these same situations?”, he continues.
“Did you kill him?”, I ask.
“Powerful drug lords, kingpins even politicians. You know how this works! You don't do deals like this ever!”
“Did you kill him?”, I yell.
“I did fell in love with you... you know... you are a workaholic. You're stubborn. You pushed me away... I loved you and you pushed me away! You left me!”
“Did you kill him?!”, I scream.
“I was doing all you asked for, I was getting higher in the food chain as a man, as an FBI, as in a human in this ... with these vampires.”
“Answer me!”
“I was asking for your hand when I got the call.”
Oliver tears up.
“Your dad... he is a smart man you know.”, he says.
“Don’t talk about him like you know him…”, I say.
“He knew someone was the lookout. He didn't know it was me. So I took him to the roof as I was telling him about my deal with you, the phone rang. He was going to say something, I made him wait… before he could answer anything, I told him. That I was sorry. I didn't mean to fall for you. But I must carry the mission.”
A silence stood for a moment. Everyone kept staring at us.
“I'm sorry Mieke. I'm sorry I did it!”, he says.
I’m sorry I did it! That was the familiar voice I heard when I entered Kokolite’s head. Kokolite connected some parts of us for a brief moment. I lower my head down, still tearing up taking a few breaths. Trying to calm myself. All this time this sorry excuse for a human being played me. I was bait in this pit of hungry crocodiles, this circle of corruption that used my father and me. So he paid the prize. He paid it not to see one of his daughters get hurt. To see one of his daughters, suffer to the blindness of the corru
pt justice system. Also, this asshole thinks because he fell in love and he is sorry I am going to forgive him? You killed my father, you asshole!
“Can you say something?”, Oliver asks.
“What? What is there to be said? That you are forgiven? Because you fell in love? Is this ok? Is that what you want to hear? You are trash. You are an excuse of a man.”, I say.
“Dude, this is like a cheater, that got caught, asking for forgiveness.”, Kokolite says.
“Oh, shut up! Shut up, you, crazy piece of shit!”, Oliver screams.
“He's right... and the only piece of shit here is you, Oliver.”, I say.
I lick my lips still upset trying to get a little moist to them and Oliver changes his demeanor.
I try calling Kokolite with my mind,
"K?"
"Yeah what?", he responds.
"I'm gonna say something; please go berserk, he seems to hate your guts... as soon as he flinches I will attack him."
"Yes, sir! Mam! You!"
I fix my posture and tense my body ready to act. Slowly I raise my head and stare directly to Oliver's eyes.
“Besides... what's to love of a man that can't even please a woman in bed?”
Kokolite widens his eyes and throws his hands to the air and was twisting around and making his hands go up and down continuously and shouts "Ooooooooohhhh!" "You got served biotch!" he covers his mouth to continue with the embarrassing taunts. “He cannot please Mieke, and I bet he must of have a micro peepee and all.” Oliver’s eyes are now red. Veins popping. He aims his gun to Kokolite. He screams: "I told you to shut up mother..." his words got short as I tackle him. Oliver's gun fired to the air. As both fell to the floor, I quickly move my body to the left side and bent my knees as I got control of his right arm. I backhand his nose so that he would concentrate on his face and extended my right knee through his chest. My left foot extends to his neck to catch him in an armbar. I pull without mercy backward and arch my back quickly dislocating his arm. His gun falls to the floor. I'm not taking any chances! Oliver screams while I leave his arm dangle and roll over backward. I stand up quickly and kick him in the face twice. I grab the gun and aim at an in pain Oliver. His face swells up fast and made his eyes black and blue quick and other parts reddish. His nose bled.