Beyond Tomorrow

by Leigh Vernon

  "And he died just a few days after selling it to you. Terrible car accident."

  "Mrs. Williams, are you here to tell me about something important or are you here to act on behalf of the police?" Sam asked, irritated. If they were not in this office, he would have snapped her neck already.

  Two of her men are in the mansion right now. What should we do to them?

  Sam looked up at Gianna who had just passed the information to him. He smiled at her and turned his attention back to the woman sitting before him.

  "Mrs. Williams?" He asked her.

  Mrs. Williams sat upright and leaned forward to face him. "I want to be in his office. I don't care who else is supposed to be there."

  Sam leaned back. He studied the woman's face very intensely. She seemed rather serious about what she was saying. He knew it as it was there before him, greed and covetousness. He had always wondered how evil men were towards each other, how they always wanted to get whatever it was they wanted without thinking about the consequences of their actions. He had once tried to understand how it felt too, but he could never place an ideal reason to all the human race ever wanted or did.

  "Mrs. Williams, you do know that there's a deputy governor and he is ready to be sworn in tomorrow?" He asked her.

  "And do I look like I care about who that is?" She responded. "Give me what I want and you can be rest assured that my men won’t release the tapes they found in your house to the police."

  Sam's face clouded. He looked from Mrs. Williams to Gianna and back. "What tapes?" He asked.

  Mrs. Williams opened her suitcase and threw some photos at him. "Gianna, you called her, yes?"

  Sam checked the pictures. They were grey shots, but it was obvious to anyone looking at them that it was Gianna dragging a body towards another car.

  "The registration number on that car's plate is the same one the Governor was driving before he died in an unfortunate car accident," she said as she gave Gianna a menacing look.

  Sam showed the pictures to Gianna. "Is this true?" He asked.

  Mrs. Williams seemed a little confused. "You didn't know about it?" She asked him.

  Sam smiled at her. "Mrs. Williams, I may be the Mayor of this city but you can't expect me to know everything that goes on in it. You know as well as I do that there are instances when I trust my guards to protect me from anything that might constitute, let's say, a threat to me."

  As soon as he had said this, two of his guards moved to the door and shut it. Mrs. Williams' guards were confused as they were outnumbered three to one. Mrs. Williams herself remained seated, too shocked to say anything.

  "Poor woman," Sam remarked. "Did you actually think that I didn't know about this, or that she didn't see your men taking these pictures?"

  One of Mrs. Williams’ guards ran forward with a gun in his hands. He fired at Sam, who had told his own guards to stand down. The bullets went through him and entered the wall behind. Sam walked up to the man.

  "There are instances when you want to show just how brave you are; you want people to see you as a superhero and all that. But you, my friend, chose a very wrong time to do so."

  Sam raised his hand and the man felt a strong grip on him. At first, it felt like it was just an ordinary hug. Then, it got tighter and tighter till he could no longer breathe.

  "You have a strong heart and a pure spirit. But you want to know what else you have?" Sam asked the man whose eyes were filled with terror. "No brains."

  He flicked his hands and the man fell to his feet, crushed from within. His eyes were still open when Sam turned him around. He waited for a while, savoring the kill. Then he opened its mouth and allowed the soul to seep into his mouth. The other guards didn't make any moves. Mrs. Williams whimpered loudly and Sam turned towards her.

  "Oh. I nearly forgot about you, you know?"

  "You can't harm me," she said to him defiantly.

  Gianna chuckled.

  Sam looked a little surprised. "Why's that?" He asked.

  "Because I have all the evidence of what you did," the woman replied.

  Sam turned to Gianna. "She's good, wouldn't you agree?"

  "Considering the situation she's in right now, I'd say she's stupid." Gianna's reply was cold.

  Sam turned back to Mrs. Williams. "She's right, you know."

  "Did you honestly think that I would come to your office without a backup plan?" She scowled back fiercely.

  San nodded. She got a phone from her back and dialed a number. It rang several times, but nobody picked. She tried again and again, fidgeting as she did.

  "Mrs. Williams, or can I call you Wanda? That's your real name, isn't it?" Sam asked her. "It's taken me years to understand that humans are as stupid as they are cunning. I know how this might sound to you, but I already took steps before you could."

  The phone dropped from the woman's hand as Gianna walked up to her and jerked her up instantly.

  "You see, I know how you've always been envious of the Governor and how many times you've tried to unsuccessfully have him killed. The day these photos were taken, your hired guns had been looking for him and were told to go wait at the spot where the pictures were taken. They called you, and you told them to record everything and have it sent to you."

  A gasp escaped from Mrs. Williams' lips.

  "Oh, come on now. For a woman who had the balls to walk in here and decide to blackmail me into giving her what she wants, you seemed rather unprepared," Sam teased. "Or maybe you thought that the man who was bold enough to kill the Governor wouldn’t be able to deal with anyone who crossed his path? You did think about that, didn't you?"

  Mrs. Williams remained silent. The look on Gianna's face made her more scared that usual.

  "Would you look at that? She didn't think things through!" Sam said loudly.

  His phone rang and he picked it up quickly, using a finger to hush the others. After a brief conversation, he pointed to an unseen door in the office.

  "Take them back. I'm about to have guests," he ordered Gianna, who nodded. Then, he turned to the older woman. "We'll catch up soon. I'm supposed to have a meeting with the new Governor."

  ---

  "Are you sure it's a good idea to go in there?" Denzel asked Justin, who broke into a laughing fit.

  "What? You're scared of rats now?" He replied back.

  "It's not the rats I'm afraid of. It's something else."

  With a powerful surge, Justin pulled back the iron door of the sewer. "What else is there, then?"

  Denzel peeped into the sewer. "Ever heard of the Walkers?"

  Justin scoffed. "Those sick little idiots? Yeah, heard of them."

  Denzel shot him a look. "And you're not afraid of them?"

  Justin climbed into the sewers and asked him to come along. "The only thing they should be scared of is me."

  Denzel stepped in gingerly. He didn't like darkness; it was the only thing that has always scared him, even as a child. His father had done his best to keep him safe, but every time he would wake up in the middle of the night, screaming about the dark.

  "Why are they afraid of you?" He asked Justin as he matched his pace.

  The other man didn't answer as they trudged on, keeping their distance away from the stinking flowing water.

  "How long have you known this friend of yours? The one inside me?" Justin asked suddenly.

  "We grew up together. His father was the principal of the school and my father was the one who was always coming in to hear about my tales of mischief. When they thought they could no longer handle my tantrums, my father asked his father to take me off his hands. That same night, I had the best sleep I’d had since I turned five."

  "What happened to you at five?"

  Denzel sighed deeply before he answered. "It was the darkness, or was it? Mum had left me all alone in the house one night and forgot to leave the lights on. She worked night shifts and dad was a police officer. I woke up suddenly to go take a leak when I saw something staring back at me.
I rubbed my eyes to be sure and there it was – dark, with only two yellow eyes, staring deep into me."

  Justin stopped walking and looked behind them. Denzel followed his gaze, a little frightened.

  "What?" He asked. "What is it?"

  Justin laughed at him. "You really are afraid of the dark!"

  Denzel took deep breaths. "Everyone has a demon they're afraid of, don't you think?"

  "Yeah, right, but everyone is not Justin Lakes."

  Denzel wanted to ask him what he meant, but they were already standing behind some sort of iron door. Justin opened it and they came face to face with a very long ladder.

  "This one leads to the street," he said.

  Denzel studied the ladder. It was a rather long one.

  "Are you sure? It's rather strange that there would be a ladder this long," Denzel observed.

  Justin began to climb slowly, ignoring Denzel's remarks. The other man sighed and followed suit. The climb was a rather long one but eventually, they got to another type of door which Justin swung open. When they got out to the streets, Denzel realized they were standing right opposite her house.

  "That's it," he said. "That's her house."

  Stop. Don't go any further.

  The two men exchanged looks. They decided to sit inside a bar opposite the house and watch. Soon enough, two men walked out holding a woman in between them. The woman kicked one and tried to break herself free, but the other one punched her in the guts. A policeman stopped to see what was going on. Then he drove off.

  "Did you see that?" Justin asked. "Did you see the policeman leave?"

  Denzel nodded. It didn't make any sense to him either. It seemed like the policeman had deliberately decided what was happening was none of his business. After the men had put the woman in a car and driven off, Denzel tapped Justin.

  "Come on, let's go."

  They walked around the house and jumped over the short fence.

  The kitchen door has a code. It's four-three-eight-eight-one.

  Denzel punched in the code, and they were inside.

  "What are we looking for?" Justin asked.

  Black bag. Upstairs. Second room. Hurry up.

  The two men walked up the stairs and got into the room as directed. They found the bag and opened it. When they looked in, there was a knife. Justin picked up the knife and examined it. There were some markings on it and he dropped it instantly.

  "What's the matter? Why'd you drop it?" Denzel asked.

  "This knife, I've seen it before," Justin answered with sharp breaths. "I've seen it before."

  "Where?" Denzel asked.

  Justin got up suddenly. He picked up the knife again.

  "This knife was used to kill my sister," he answered silently. "I was there when it happened. He drove it straight into her right in front of me."

  Denzel collected the knife from him. He checked the markings as well. "When did this happen?" he asked.

  Justin sat on the floor. "I was twelve. Some men had broken into our house that night, and she had tried as hard as she could to keep them out. When she couldn't, she grabbed me and ran all the way to the old church down the street. She stopped an oncoming taxi and paid the man to drive me away. Because he didn't answer in time, the men caught us all there and held my sister down. One of them brought out this knife and stabbed her with it. I must have passed out later, but I remember this vividly like it happened yesterday."

  Denzel stood before him. "Look, I don't know what happened with your sister back then and trust me, I feel really bad about it. But Shay brought us here for a purpose and we need to go."

  Justin looked up. His eyes were red. "Shay, isn't it? It's all about Shay and something neither of us know about. It's about Shay and some idiot out there who wants to end the world, right?"

  Denzel didn't know what else to tell him, so he just stood there, waiting for him to get a grip on things.

  You have to go now. They're going to come back soon.

  "Come on, man. We have to go," Denzel said to him as he tried to help Justin up.

  The other man brushed his hand aside and got up by himself. He walked out of the room, his footsteps resounding through the house as he went out the front door. Denzel followed him quickly. The same policeman who had driven off the first time was back. He saw both men come out of the house and put his hand up to stop them.

  "Hello, guys. Do you live here?" he asked.

  Justin didn't answer. He kept going towards the officer, his jaw clenched tightly. The officer drew his gun and aimed it at Justin.

  "Stop!" He ordered.

  Justin ignored. The officer fired. The shot missed and Justin swiped his hand angrily. The officer dropped to the ground, dead from the impact. People began to run away in different directions, many of them afraid Justin might kill them next.

  Denzel watched from where he stood as Justin continued to walk through the street, his fists clenched beside him.

  You have to stop him.

  "Oh, you think?!" Denzel answered. "He's very angry at the moment. If I try to stop him, I might find myself devoid of life."

  A man walked up to Justin and held him from behind. He turned around and twisted himself free. He blasted his assailant away, the anger still getting a hold of him.

  "How am I supposed to stop that?" Denzel asked loudly.

  "There's a maniac on the streets of West Michigan! He's killed an officer and two civilians!" The man cried into the phone as soon as someone picked up from the other end. Before he could say anything more, the line went dead. Denzel rested his head against the wall and ran after the angry Justin.

  ---

  Gianna was the first to realize what was happening. She gathered three more guards and was walking with them to the garage when Sam walked up to them.

  "What the hell is going on out there?" He asked.

  "It's the Wolf cub. He's back," Gianna answered.

  "What? How's that even possible? I thought you took care of that ten years ago!"

  Gianna shook her head. "Don't worry. He won't be out there for long."

  Sam tried to contain his anger. "Of course, he won't be out there for long because you're going to fix this, right?"

  Gianna didn't answer. She got into the car and told the driver to speed off.

  ---

  Denzel watched Justin tire out from his fit of anger before he moved close enough. Justin's eyes were still shut but he knew he was standing there.

  "What do you want?" He asked.

  "When will you stop being angry?" Denzel asked. "You've given us away and now the police are going to be after us."

  Justin was breathing rapidly. "Let them come," he said.

  Denzel moved a little closer. "Look, I understand your grief and all, but we have something else to do. Something more important than your dead sister. No offense," he added quickly when he saw the way the other man looked at him.

  "They killed her," Justin started again. "They drove a knife inside her, right before my very eyes."

  "Yes, they did," Denzel answered. "But don't you think it's a good thing you're alive because of that?"

  Justin raised his head up to stare at the man for a while before he dropped it again.

  Denzel brought out the knife. "Look, we have to go. I don't care what it was that happened to you back then, but this is not the time to get all worked up over it."

  "Nobody's going anywhere!" Someone answered from behind Denzel.

  The two of them turned towards the sound and Denzel got a bullet to his head. His body jerked back as he dropped the knife. Justin got up quickly as the shooter aimed for him. He was faster, and his right hand sent out a blast as he moved. The blast caught the man off guard and he fell to his death. Justin walked towards where the man was and took a long look at him. He took a detour and got to where Denzel lay. He was already dead. A shot rang past him, then another caught him in the shoulder. He ducked quickly, picking up the man's gun as he looked for cover.

  A car s
topped a few inches from where he was as he watched as three men got out instantly. One of them had a SMG and he opened fire as soon as he was out of the car. The two others followed suit, shooting wildly as they moved forward. The pain in his hand made it difficult for him to use his powers, so he had to rely on the gun instead. He picked up a pebble and threw it to the other side. Gunshots followed immediately.

  "Darn it!" He said to himself.

  He looked behind him and realized he was in an alley. If the men decided to come for him, they were sure to box him in. He needed to find another way out. He checked to see where they were when the car opened and a woman stepped out. She wore a black leather dress, and Justin could tell she was their leader or something along those lines.

  Run!

  ---

  Gianna heard him. She stood rooted for a minute to be sure she had heard it right but it was definitely him. She walked up to the three men who had come out of the car before her.

  "How many of them?" She asked.

  "Two," one answered. "One is hiding and the other one is dead over there." He pointed to the lifeless body of Denzel.

  Gianna walked up to the body quickly. She touched it and realized the soul was gone.

  "He's dead," She muttered. "Find the other one. I want him alive!"

  ---

  Justin jumped over the low fence and landed in a large yard. He didn't have time to check what was going on around him as he kept running. He passed through another house, this time frightening a family seated out in the yard. He ran blindly into a kitchen and came out through the front door of a restaurant. All the while, only one thing kept ringing in his ears. Run!

  When he was sure that he had put a considerable distance between himself and those that were after him, he stopped to catch his breath.

  There's a train leaving West Michigan soon. Hurry down the train station to catch it. Hurry! She can hear me.

  "Isn't that just great?" Justin asked with perspiration. "You're the only one who can give me directions and she can hear you?"

  He didn't get an answer, so he got up and began to run towards the train station. If he was going to die, he might as well give his murderers something to worry about.