Beyond Tomorrow

by Leigh Vernon

  And true to her words, the rest were all out there with puffy eyes and hushed tones, discussing what had happened to the Doctor.

  "Ladies, gentlemen," he greeted as he joined them. "What is this I'm hearing?"

  It was the Governor who spoke for the rest. "It was terrible, I tell you. Even the Ice Men couldn't put the fire out until it had done quite the damage."

  Sam held a hand to his chest. "My God! That must have been some fire!"

  The others nodded solemnly. The Governor took him to one side.

  "The men say there's a noise coming from where the crypt lies, and some of them are having strange dreams when they sleep at night. Are you sure all of this is worth it?"

  Sam gave the man a dry smile. "Do you doubt me now?"

  "No," he answered quickly. "It's just strange that these things started happening after we dug out the crypt, and all that."

  "Listen, to achieve great things, sacrifices are going to have to be made. It doesn't matter how they happen but things like this are always bound to occur. They show that we're moving in the right direction, that our cause is not a lost one," Sam told him with emphasis. "Now, if you want to back out, I understand that..."

  "Back out?" The Governor retorted. "Why would I want to?"

  Sam drew closer to him. "Then, why are you doing this?"

  "What?"

  Sam made sure they were out of plain sight before he grabbed him roughly by the neck. "If you ever call me on the phone to rant about how scared you are, or if you accuse me right in front of the others, I'll have your head."

  The look on his face showed Sam that the Governor understood what he was trying to tell him.

  "Good," he said when the man didn’t say anything back. "I believe we're on the same page now."

  He smoothened the Governor's suit and helped him straighten his tie.

  "Tell the men to continue to guard that place even if it costs them their lives."

  He left the man glued to a spot and went back to join the others.

  ---

  Justin stared at the girl as she devoured her meal. Ever since she got back, he had been scared about what she had told them all. He used to believe they were after one enemy only, the one they all said was going to destroy the world if he ever came back. Her mentioning another darkness scared him as much as admitting that he wasn't prepared for anything that was happening.

  "Are you okay?" Sarah asked him as she walked up to where he was standing. Father Albert sat with Gem as she ate.

  "I should be asking you that," he said back to her. "Still angry?"

  She shook her head. "There's nothing I can do to bring her back, and Rachael was always the type who would give her life for anyone. I just didn't think it would come down to that."

  "I'm sorry," he said softly.

  She gave him a queer look. "What are you sorry about?"

  He looked back at Gem before answering. She caught his eye as soon as she turned and waved towards him. He waved back and felt a little awkward.

  "She seems to be quite the energetic one," he said to Sarah.

  She turned. "She sure is, never letting anything get through to her." Then she realized why he was sorry. "Does this have anything to do with what happened at the motel?"

  He nodded. "I don't know how, but something kept pushing me to do what I did. Something dark and evil."

  Sarah snorted. "Typical of you to blame it on the devil."

  "No," he argued. "I have been a lot of things in my life, but I have never been that angry. I felt this power, this urge to pay them back for what they did."

  "That's you being emotional. It's not anything new."

  Justin didn't answer her anymore. He wanted to let her know how things were with him now. How he felt totally different from how he used to be, how his new power was getting to him every now and then, how he was hearing his voice calling slowly, asking him to come nearer.

  I feel it too.

  "You sure as hell do."

  Sarah turned. "Did you say something to me?"

  He shook his head. "What's the next thing to do?" He asked her.

  Father Albert answered his question. "We wait."

  They both turned towards the man at the same time.

  "What do you mean, wait?" Justin asked.

  Father Albert came to join the two of them. "He knows how strong you are now, and he has something within his reach that could be the end of us all."

  "That's why we should be attacking him right away," Justin said.

  "Do you know how to get into a secured location with men who had had years of military training to take out the greatest villain the world has ever known?" Father Albert asked.

  Justin was a little out of words. "We will have a plan, surely."

  "And that plan is to wait," the man emphasized again.

  "Is there something you know that we don't?" Sarah asked.

  "Let me see," Father Albert said as he went to take a sit. "When soul eaters kill their victims, they make it look like they actually ate up their soul or something. But in the real sense of it, soul eaters aren't really eating up souls; they are just a bunch of killers who like to make a mark wherever they go."

  He paused and the rest stared at him.

  "There," he continued. "I bet the two of you didn't know that."

  Justin looked at Sarah who also stared blankly.

  "He needs to wait for the right time, when the moon is out and the world is at peace. When the people celebrate freedom and there is much to talk about, that's when he will try to bring him back."

  "How's that even possible?" Justin asked. "A full moon, freedom and all. Is there a place where slavery doesn’t exist?"

  "He's using metaphors, Justin," Sarah answered for him. "His words are not literal."

  "There, she gets it," the old man said with a smile on his face.

  "And when will that be?"

  "July fourth," Gem answered from where she was. The others turned towards the girl. "When we were still back at the..." she let the words die on her lips. "Rachael talked about Independence Day and how important it would be to what we were up against."

  "Is this true?" Justin asked Father Albert.

  "To that, I have no answer. But I know a way to stop Sam from ever waking up the Seventh, and stop the Seventh from ever taking over the world if he does wake up."

  "Well then, show me," Justin said. There was eagerness in his voice that made the old man smile.

  Do you think you're ready for this?

  What? You think I'm not?

  There's still a lot you don't know about yourself - there's a lot you don't know about the power that's inside of you. You need to train for the days ahead.

  Justin turned towards Sarah. "How long do we have before Independence Day?"

  She looked a bit lost for a while but answered him nonetheless. "About three weeks, give or take.”

  Do you think I'll be ready in three weeks? Or do we need to change this conversation towards something else?

  Getting no response, he turned to Father Albert. "What's that thing you said could stop them again?"

  "Now, if you all will follow me, there's something I need to show you," the man answered.

  ---

  The men guarding the crypt talked to each other in hushed tones. Every one of them was afraid of what was making the noise they were hearing.

  "Why don't you go and check it out?" One said to the other.

  "Joe, I have kids! Three kids!" The second one replied.

  Joe looked at him funny. "And I have dogs, yeah? I don't have kids?"

  "Look, man," the other one replied. "That's not what I meant. Besides, you're the one with the superpowers and all that stuff."

  "I could give you some if you want."

  "Seriously?"

  "Get a life, Briggs."

  The grinding noise stopped and was replaced by a slow ticking sound.

  "Is that water?" Joe asked.

  Briggs went towards the door
and came back quickly.

  "Yes, man. It's like something is leaking out of there."

  "Call it in," Joe replied. "I'm going to see what's really going on."

  "Hey, man!" Briggs said as he drew his partner back. "Don’t try to be a hero."

  Joe gave him a long look.

  "I'll go check it out. Just make sure you got my back, yeah?"

  Joe nodded. It wasn't like he wanted to go check out anything - he just wanted Briggs to go make the call while he stayed there for a while, pretended to check, and walked back to his partner. As Briggs walked slowly forward, weapon drawn close to his side, Joe stayed back a little. He measured the distance between then both to make sure he could escape quickly if things went south. Briggs had barely made it to the door when something grabbed him from under it. He reached back for Joe, who dropped his own gun and ran out quickly.

  When he got out, Joe placed a call across to the Governor. Help arrived in a few minutes, but it was too late. They opened the door and checked around for Briggs. There was nothing in the room.

  "Are you sure of what you saw?" Gianna asked the frightened Joe as she stepped out of the room.

  Joe nodded. He didn't know what to say, as he was too shaken. The coffee in his hand tasted bland.

  "This wasn't what we signed up for, you know?" He finally managed to say, looking up towards Gianna.

  "Yeah. I know," she replied. She looked around to make sure no one was looking before she held him closer.

  "Now, tell me what you saw," she whispered against his face.

  In an instant, his eyes changed from their blue shade to black. She was able to see what had happened to his partner in the seconds that this happened. Feeling that someone was coming closer, she let go of him quickly.

  "What just happened?" He asked, spilling the coffee he held.

  Gianna turned to the man who had come up to them. "Anything?"

  "Nothing," the man replied. "They were either drunk, or Briggs ran off and he's covering."

  Joe looked up. "I saw it happen with my very own eyes!" He blurted out. "That thing grabbed Briggs like he was paper. Poor man, he had kids…three of them."

  "Joseph Browman, that's your full name, yes?" Gianna asked him.

  He nodded.

  "We'll take care of Briggs' children. You need to go home now."

  "You're right," he answered, spilling more of the coffee on himself. "I should probably tell my wife. She would believe me."

  Gianna gestured to the other man who walked away slowly. She held Joe by the shoulder.

  "You've been a great help, Joe. Thanks a lot."

  He nodded and walked off into the woods nearby. There was a lake down the path and he walked right into it, still holding the coffee mug.

  ---

  "Are you sure about this?" Justin asked, flipping the sword in his hand. "It feels kind of light."

  "When the war was raging on back then, the others relied on the magic of an old sorcerer to end the reign of the Seventh. But if he failed, what would be their lot?" Father Albert asked, turning to the little group before him.

  "So, they made this tiny sword for a thing that huge?” Justin added, raising his brow.

  Father Albert ignored the question and went to another part of the room. He picked up a scalpel and walked back to where Justin was still admiring the sword.

  "Hey. There's some writing on it," Justin was saying before Father Albert cut him with the scalpel. "What the…What was that for?"

  Still ignoring him, the man grabbed his bleeding hand and placed it over the sword. The blood dropped on it and the sword glowed brightly.

  "They made a sword that none of them knew was so powerful. What they didn't know was that only a descendant of the Seventh could wield this sword."

  As soon as he was done, Father Albert let go of the hand. The blood dropped and the wound clotted immediately. The glow on the sword also disappeared.

  "Wow!" Justin cried out.

  Sarah and Gem also shifted back a little.

  "I've known you were a pure breed for long, I just wasn't sure about it. Now, when you told me about what had happened with the beast, it gave me an idea as to the kind of person you are," Father Albert revealed, sitting down on a stool.

  "I don't understand," Sarah said to the old man. "You mean he is a direct descendant of the Seventh himself?"

  The man nodded. "Right now, our fate lies in his hands."

  Justin still held the sword up. "It has the same markings that are on the compass."

  "Where is it?" Sarah asked him. "Where's the compass?"

  Justin reached into his pocket and brought it out.

  "It looks like we won't be waiting for long. We have the three things he needs to make the ritual complete," Father Albert said.

  "I have the compass and the sword, but what's the third thing?" Justin asked.

  "You," the man replied. "He'll be coming for you."

  ---

  Do you feel it too? Gianna asked Sam, who sat between two dignitaries.

  Moments ago, she had felt a jolt and another marking burnt itself into her skin. Since they were out in the open, it was going to be hard to check what the wordings were.

  Be patient. I need the money these fools are offering.

  One of the waiters passed by with a tray of drinks. Gianna reached into it and grabbed a glass of red wine. She sipped it slowly, occasionally stealing glances towards where Sam sat. Tonight, she wasn't his bodyguard; instead, he had attended the party with her as his escort. The others had welcomed her warmly, smiles and cameras jostling to get through to her as she stepped in with the Mayor of the city.

  "I must say," a round man with a soft face said to her as he walked over, "you look astonishing."

  Gianna managed to appear like she was blushing. Deep down, she was searching through the man's soul.

  "Thank you," she told him quickly, when she noticed he was staring at her with his mouth wide open.

  "Would you care to dance with me?" He asked.

  Gianna was tempted to accept the invitation, using that as a means to probably get to find out more about him and his purse. After all, men liked to brag about how much they had in their accounts all the time. But she was here to catch a bigger fish, and that fish just stepped into the hall.

  "Excuse me, Mister...?" She asked Round-Face quickly.

  "Martins. That's the name," he replied with a smile. Despite his seemingly odd appearance, he had perfect dentition.

  "I'd like to go see someone over there now," she added quickly, disappearing before he could utter one more word.

  "Where did the Mayor get that kind of a girl?" Martins asked the man next to him. "She's too hot for him, unlike that bodyguard of his who's always uptight. Good thing he dumped her for this beauty."

  The man rolled his eyes and walked away from Martins. Everyone knew he was a loud mouth and to that effect, he never disappointed.

  Gianna caught up with her target before he could reach the group of gentlemen gathered round a table. She dragged him towards herself quickly, smiling as she did.

  "George!" She called him brightly. Her smile melted his heart instantly.

  "I'm sorry, but I don't think we've met before," the man replied.

  "We just did," she replied. She took off her eyeglasses and stared at him. "Come with me."

  He nodded and followed, drawn by her spell more than anything else. She dragged him to a room at the far end of the large house and pushed him in roughly.

  "Where is it?" She asked him loudly.

  "Where is what?" He replied, confused by the turn of events.

  "The Black Jade sword."

  The man looked at her funny for a moment. When he couldn’t hide it anymore, he broke into laughter.

  "What's so funny?" She asked him.

  "You don't know, do you?" He asked.

  "Know what?"

  Chapter 16

  Gianna related what she had learnt to Sam on the way back to the house. He n
odded solemnly, keeping his hands clasped together tightly. The car wasn't speeding, but his heart was. He had been taking things too easy and like Gianna had always told him, the chances of succeeding at such careless pace were going to be very slim. Maybe it was time to take things into his own hands and stop sending other people to do his dirty work.

  He got out of the car before it stopped fully, walking faster than the rest of the group. As soon as he was in the crypt, he touched it slightly, muttering a few words of prayer. Then, he opened it and stepped in. This time, he was more committed than he had been the previous times; he was going to get this right no matter what.

  Gianna watched him from where she stood. She understood how he must be feeling - she had once felt that way before, when she couldn't read the inscriptions scattered all over her body. It has also taken her years to figure out who she really was. From the beginning, she knew she wasn't part of anything that this world had to offer, that she was meant for greater things. She knew this and she embraced it. Maybe it was time he discovered himself. As these thoughts ran through her mind, it suddenly struck her that she wanted to check the new writing on her body. She left the guards by the door and walked to another part of the house. There, she undressed and stood before the mirror in one of the toilets. The scars were more pronounced now, like they were alive; some of them actually were, moving slightly as she ran a hand over them. She found the new one and touched it.

  Her eyes changed immediately, and she found herself floating out of her body, moving at an incredulous speed. She passed over many streets and houses till she was at the outskirts of the city. Then, time began to fade slowly. She saw how the city was built. Then, she saw the cities that had been built before it. The images were suddenly stripped away until the land was but a large heap of sand. As she stood there, the days changed slowly until it was something between dawn and dusk. A man burst out of a mountain she had not seen before, riding so hard she thought he was going to run her over. Instead, he rode right through her, hitting the horse so it would run faster. Gianna found herself floating after him till he stopped by a river.

  He whistled quietly and three others came out of the woods. He passed a wrapped bundle into the hands of one of the others who nodded and gave it to the next one. Gianna made sure she continued to follow the bundle as they all rode out into the rising sun. When they got to a cave, the men stood round and placed the bundle in the middle. They began to chant loudly, each of them drowning her in pools of ancient words she had never heard before. She walked into their midst and tried to grab the bundle quickly. It burned her and she gasped. In that moment, she returned to her body.