The Awakening

by Ryan Sova

  Once Nephal had regained his composure, he observed his surroundings. King Noah stood in front of him, just as he had before the teleportation journey started a few seconds ago. The room that Nephal was now in was massive and beautiful. Based on its mere size, it was more of a chamber rather than a room. Paintings, fine crafted woodworks, and precious metals adorned every corner of this chamber. There were massive pillars of marble that lined the left and right sides of the chamber. At the far end of the chamber were a set of steps that were carved into the marble floor leading to an elevated part of the chamber. At the center of the elevated part of the chamber was a single throne that was adorned with gold and all manner of precious metals. Behind the throne were two doors exiting the throne room on the left and right sides. The left and right sides of the throne room had massive windows with fine silk curtains. A bright red carpet spanned the center of the chamber leading to the throne and stopping just short of the stairs carved into the floor. The carpeted center of the room was large enough by itself to hold an entire army of men, consisting of thirty rows with more than five-hundred men per row. Behind Nephal was a massive double door from which the general public, having business with the king, would enter and exit the throne room.

  Hovering near the ceiling of the throne room were several balls of light which were similar in appearance to the ball of light that Atonick conjured. There were only six magical lights in total which were spread out throughout the ceiling of the large chamber. The light that they provided to the chamber was dim but sufficient for one to be able to see clearly.

  As Nephal was gazing around the throne room, he spotted Eliak standing a short distance from Nephal and King Noah. Eliak had arrived moments after Nephal had and had followed in Nephal’s example of throwing himself into Talmadge’s arms. Eliak, however, had also left Talmadge with a small token of affection after landing in his arms. Feeling queasy from his journey, Eliak vomited into Talmadge’s robes the moment that Talmadge took him into his arms. Talmadge cursed and then forcefully separated himself from Eliak. Eliak fell to the floor. After a few moments, Eliak tried to stand up again, however, in doing so felt queasy again, dropping to his knees and vomiting a second time, decorating the red carpeting beneath him.

  After his second episode, Eliak stayed on his knees not daring to try and get up again. Talmadge promptly walked off to exit the room, looking both angry and exhausted at the same time. Eliak stayed where he was breathing heavily. Nephal and King Noah approached Eliak.

  “Can we help?” Nephal asked.

  Eliak responded, “No, it’s starting to pass on its own, just give me a few more minutes please.”

  As Talmadge exited the room out of the left door behind the throne, four guards walked into the empty throne room chamber through the same door.

  King Noah called out to the guards, directing them towards Eliak. “Stay with him and show him into the council chamber once he gets feeling better. And get this mess cleaned up.”

  King Noah then turned to Nephal, “You want answers? Come with me.”

  CHAPTER 11

  Garry woke up feeling slightly confused. He was standing at his register at work. Garry still remembered all too well turning off his phone and falling asleep at the motel. How did I get here, he wondered?

  Garry quietly observed the store. It was fairly busy at the moment. All of the open lanes had customers in them, with the exception, that is, for the lane at Garry’s register. This lane was completely empty. That’s odd, Garry noted.

  Garry’s thoughts were interrupted when someone came into view that he knew all too well. It was Detective Klaben. She didn’t have a grocery cart, nor was she carrying any store items with her. She was walking past all of the checkout lanes scanning them with her eyes as she went. As she was walking past, her eyes glazed over where Garry was standing. There didn’t seem to be any recognition in her eyes as she looked directly at Garry. Garry fixed his attention on Detective Klaben as she was walking past his lane. He noted that she had an angry/irritated look on her face. He also noticed just as Detective Klaben was almost out of view that there was no horror feeling which should have accompanied her.

  Garry stood where he was, still feeling very puzzled. Detective Klaben was now out of view from where he was standing. He glanced over at the checkout monitor that was right next to him. He noticed that no one had logged into this register. Garry then looked up at the light for his lane (the light that indicates which lanes are open), this light was off.

  Garry’s hand instinctively reached out towards the keyboard for his monitor. His hand glided effortlessly through the keyboard. Then Garry remembered. He looked down at his body, there was nothing there.

  “I am a ghost again,” Garry said out loud, although no sound escaped his lips.

  Garry wasted no time. Quickly, he darted through his register in pursuit of Detective Klaben. Something is going on here, something big, and she is the key to it all, Garry realized as he pursued after Detective Klaben.

  It didn’t take Garry very long to find Detective Klaben. After all, she had not made it very far after passing by Garry’s lane. She was on the phone when Garry spotted her. Garry broke into a sprint, hoping to be able to catch what was being said before she ended the call. Garry’s ghost form passed effortlessly through several customers as he raced towards Detective Klaben. By the time that he had reached her, it was too late though. Detective Klaben had ended her phone call moments before Garry came within earshot of what was being said.

  Garry waited close by Detective Klaben. She walked a short distance into one of the aisles and then waited. Garry watched her from a close distance. She was not looking for anything to buy, he noticed, but she was keeping a disturbingly close eye on the store entrance. Then Detective Klaben started backing away further into the aisle and out of sight of the front entrance. She then carefully looked around her, seeing if anyone else was nearby her. At the moment she was alone in her aisle, Garry noted. She then lifted her pant leg reviling a concealed pistol that was strapped to her leg. She undid the snap fastener holding the gun in its holster and waited with her hand still on the pistol.

  Garry was intently watching Detective Klaben when the sound of gunshots from the store entrance followed by terrified screams echoing through the store caught his attention. Garry ran to see what was happening. Two men wearing black leather jackets with hoods had just entered the store. They were both wearing white ski masks and were both armed with what appeared to be some kind of assault rifle. The men were walking towards the checkout registers spraying bullets into the crowds.

  Suddenly Detective Klaben passed through Garry’s ghost form. She now had her pistol drawn and immediately opened fire at the two masked killers. The men ran to one of the store aisles continuing to fire into the crowds as they went. Garry watched from right behind Detective Klaben as she fired six rounds at the two masked men who were not only both out in the open (not under cover of any kind), but had also taken the time to continue firing at the crowds of civilians even though they were being shot at. Garry knew that it was no coincidence that none of Detective Klaben’s rounds had managed to hit either of the masked murderers.

  Once the masked men had both darted into one of the store aisles, Detective Klaben screamed to the survivors, “EVERYONE, MAKE FOR THE ENTRANCE, NOW!!!”

  Detective Klaben pursued after both of the masked murderers firing several more rounds at them as they fled down the aisle. Then she darted between the aisles and reloaded her pistol, replacing her almost expended clip with a fresh clip.

  Garry watched the survivors as they exited the store. He noticed as he watched them that while many of them had received gunshot wounds, some of which looked to be severe, no one had died. It was as if the gunmen had intentionally missed the vital organs of every person that they shot when they riddled the store with bullets.

  The last of the crowd of survivors escaped out the entrance as Detective Klaben was reloading her pistol. Moments after Detect
ive Klaben had finished reloading, a woman ran from a nearby aisle where she had been hiding at and stopped a short distance from Detective Klaben. The woman followed Detective Klaben’s example and stationed herself between the aisles. She was noticeably terrified and visibly shaking. When she spoke to Detective Klaben, it was in a voice only slightly louder than a whisper, “Is it still safe to make a run for the exit?”

  Detective Klaben responded, “Not for you it isn’t,” and without warning, Detective Klaben shot the woman in the forehead.

  Detective Klaben then called out in a loud voice, “OK, THE LAST OF THE SURVIVORS IS OUT. ANY STRAGGLERS YOU FIND THAT ARE STILL HERE MUST DIE, WE LEAVE NO WITNESSES. GOT IT.

  NOW WHERE IS THE STORE MANAGER? PLEASE DON’T TELL ME THAT YOU LET HIM ESCAPE!”

  One of the masked men responded from across the store, “I SHOT HIS LEGS OUT AS HE WAS RUNNING FOR THE EXIT. HE SHOULD BE HIDING BY ONE OF THE CHECKOUT LANES, SECOND CLOSEST FROM THE EXIT IF I AM NOT MISTAKEN.”

  Detective Klaben quickly made her way following the instructions that one of the masked killers gave her. From across the store, Garry heard more screams followed by gunfire. Garry knew that these people were not going to be as lucky as the ones who had escaped when the carnage began.

  Detective Klaben arrived at the register lane where the masked killer told her that she would find the store manager. Joe Flichard, the store manager was right where the masked killer said he would be. Garry immediately recognized him the moment that he saw him. He still vividly remembered back to a little more than two months ago when Joe had scolded him for having a total meltdown with a little twelve-year-old girl that had approached his register. Garry felt sorry for him now. As horrible as he might have been to Garry back then, he most certainly didn’t deserve this.

  Joe Flichard was suffering from two gunshot wounds, one to each of his legs. Judging from the trail of blood, Joe had apparently dragged himself between the checkout registers in an attempt to hide from the shooters.

  As Detective Klaben approached him, Joe called out to her, “Please don’t hurt me. Please, I’ll do anything. PLEASE!!!”

  Detective Klaben shot him in the forehead just as she had with the woman moments earlier. She then waited by Joe’s dead body. While waiting, Garry could hear more gunshots echoing from the back of the store. Within moments, the gunshot wounds on Joe’s body started rapidly healing. Joe then rose to his feet. He looked to be strangely calm now, especially seeing that he had just been gunned down moments ago.

  “Where the fuck is Garry!” Detective Klaben said, anger rising in her voice.

  More gunshots echoed from the back of the store.

  Joe responded, “Garry…”

  Joe was interrupted by a yell from the back of the store, “WE GOT US SOME RUNNERS.”

  “Hold that thought,” Detective Klaben said to Joe in an irritated voice.

  Three terrified civilians suddenly came into view from the back of the store. Of the runners, there were two men and one woman. They seemed to be in their early to mid-twenties with the exception of one of the men, who appeared to be in his late forties. The woman had a gunshot wound to the shoulder. The two men appeared to be unharmed. Neither of the gunmen were in view from where Garry was standing. He assumed that they were still at the back of the store somewhere.

  The three runners were forced to run directly by Detective Klaben as she was nearby the entrance of the store. As the three runners came into view, Detective Klaben took aim with her pistol and fired five rounds at them. Unlike when she had opened fire at masked gunmen, her aim this time was deadly accurate. The three runners dropped instantly to the floor. Two of them had received two gunshot wounds each to the chest while the third received a gunshot wound to the neck. All of the wounds that the runners had received were severe.

  Blood started pooling around where the three runners where. The three victims started moving slightly and Garry could tell that they were still alive. The woman turned on her side gasping for air. She then started coughing, bringing up bright red blood with every cough.

  One of the men was also gasping for air, making a loud wheezing sound with every breath. He held his neck with one hand and started dragging himself forward with the other hand. The last runner had grabbed ahold of a shelf nearby him and was trying to lift himself back to his feet.

  Detective Klaben paid the victims no heed once she had dropped them all to the floor. She turned her attention back to Joe and continued in the same irritated tone, “You were saying?”

  Joe responded, pointing to the ceiling as he spoke, “You realize that we have cameras here right?”

  Detective Klaben responded, “No need to worry about that. We had help on the inside. The cameras won’t be a problem. Now back to Garry. Where the fuck is he!!!”

  As the conversation between Detective Klaben and Joe continued, the two masked men came into view for Garry. They both walked towards the runners. As they approached the three runners, one of the masked men drew a pistol. From what Garry could see, this pistol was the same make and model as the pistol Detective Klaben used. By the time that the masked men reached the three runners, the man who had been previously trying to get up was now on his feet. The other two victims were still on the floor.

  Joe responded to Detective Klaben’s question, “I don’t know. He didn’t show for work today. He also didn’t call to let us know that he wasn’t coming in today, nor did he answer when I tried to call him.”

  One of the masked men shot the runner who was now standing again in the back of the head with his drawn pistol. He then walked up to the two victims who were still on the floor and proceeded to shoot both of them in the back of the head as well.

  After all three of the runners were dead, he announced, “That should be the last of them.”

  Detective Klaben turned and responded, “Good.”

  She then turned back to Joe and continued, “So, Garry wants to play hard to get, does he. Well, we’ll see how long he can hide for, especially after we get a warrant.”

  One of the masked men responded, “How are you going to get a warrant for Garry? He wasn’t even here?”

  Detective Klaben answered with a smile, “Quite right! He wasn’t here! One day after he calls my colleague, Detective Grant, ranting and raving about zombies that have infiltrated his store, and on the precise day of the shooting no less. Now, in addition to that, he also called you (she was referring to one of the masked killers) just minutes before you arrived at the store to murder everyone.”

  The masked man she was referring to paused slightly confused, “But it was you that called me, unless….You spoofed the call, didn’t you?”

  Detective Klaben answered, “Yes. It is his phone number that will show on your caller ID. After tonight, he will look as guilty as sin. Now, run for the entrance, and stay dead when I shoot you. Don’t heal, got it.”

  The masked man nodded, then followed Detective Klaben’s instructions. Detective Klaben fired several rounds hitting the man multiple times in the back and also in the head. He fell seemingly dead a short distance from the store entrance.

  Detective Klaben then turned to the other masked man, “You’re going to escape, now get out of here before the police arrive.”

  The masked man followed Detective Klaben’s instructions and ran out the front door into the parking lot. A car pulled up as he ran outside. The man jumped into the car just before the car sped away.

  Police sirens could now be heard faintly from where Garry was. After watching the car speed away, Joe turned to Detective Klaben and said, “You know, your little trick won’t work for very long. Once you guys double check Garry’s call log with the phone company, everyone will know that your spoofed call was a fake unless you’re planning on somehow tampering with those records as well.”

  Detective Klaben responded, “No, I am not going to need to tamper with anything. You know what the nice thing about being us is? We have friends everywhere! Those phone records
will say precisely what we want them to say.”

  ****

  Garry woke up. A wave of terror passed over him. I am about to become a fugitive, he realized. All he wanted to do was stay and think about all that he had just witnessed, but he realized that there was no time. By this time tomorrow, every police officer in the state will be looking for me.

  Garry was now in a panic. What do I do, he continued to wonder? Garry was annoyed to realize that he was still back where he had started a little more than twenty-four hours ago when he first learned that his life was in danger. All this time that he had to think about his situation and he still didn’t have a clue as to what he was going to do next.

  Garry rose to his feet and paced back and forth in his motel room trying desperately to think. His mind was in a complete panic, though, and raced on endlessly. Garry’s mind quickly carried him from scene to scene, showing him all the many ways in which Detective Klaben might end his life after she inevitably caches him. In his mind, every possible outcome that he could face ended with Detective Klaben finding him and killing him. A feeling of complete hopelessness came over Garry. No matter what I do, she will find me. She has all the resources of the Virginia Police Department at her disposal. She can even go public now with her efforts to hunt me down and enlist the help of the community. What can I do against that?

  The more Garry thought about it, the more he felt like he wanted to have a ten-year plan already made up in his head and ready to go. While in reality, Garry could not even figure out what he was going to do once he had walked out of this motel room, or if he should even leave the motel room at all. Maybe I’m safer if I just continue to hide here, Garry’s terrified mind wondered?