Beyond Tomorrow

by Leigh Vernon

  Sarah was confused. She walked round the room, trying to see if there was a door and she has found nothing. She stood in the middle of looked round again. The walls were all the same; there were no apparent marks anywhere to show where the door was. In a fit of rage, she kicked at a vase of flowers placed carefully in a corner of the room. Something whirred slowly as the vase opened in half rather than breaking. A panel moved to her left and she watched as a door opened to another room.

  "At least I'm leaving this one alive," she said to herself.

  She moved closer to the door to be sure there was no one in the room she was about to enter. When she was convinced it was safe to proceed, she walked into the room cautiously. The door shut behind her as soon as she was inside.

  She began to search the room hurriedly. There was female clothing in the closet and everything appeared normal in the bathroom too. She found a first aid kit and went through it, finding some methylated spirits and a couple of bandages. Whoever used this must have avoided stitches. She opened the bottle of spirit and poured some on her wounds, biting down on a piece of clothing to stop herself from screaming as the liquid stung her fiercely. When the sting was gone, she wrapped her hands tightly in bandages from her wrist to her elbow after cleaning her wounds with some cotton wool. That should hold for a while till she was out of wherever they had brought her, and if she needed to fight her way out, she'd do it with everything she had.

  She found the door and was about to open it when she heard footsteps hurrying along the hallway. It looked like something was happening and she could feel the excitement in the steps she counted. There were four men, at least. They stopped for a while before they continued to walk on. Sarah waited till the footsteps faded before she opened the door and came out. The hallway was long and kept lit by a couple of fancy lights having above. She debated whether to go left or right for a while, then opted for right and moved cautiously along the hallway.

  ---

  Something was wrong - Sam felt it deep within himself. Despite having come close a couple of times, he couldn't find the energy to summon the Seventh like he thought he would. The others were also tired of having their eyes shut, but they had little or no choice; it was either that or death. Sam looked towards where Gianna was also standing, completely immersed in what was going on. She could feel every single bit of his perspiration as he held the compass around, trying to get the actual point he wanted. If he failed, he would lose the power he held over those in the room with them. There wasn't a thing to fear about holding on to power, but this was going to be a disaster if something didn't happen anytime soon.

  Suddenly, Gianna remembered something - the beast was supposed to play a role in all of this. Why else had they gotten it if they were just going to keep it locked away? She signaled for Sam to hold on while she ran to her room to get the key for dungeon they had locked the beast in. She was going to have difficulties getting it to follow her to where the crypt was, but that was something she could work out quickly. She got to her room and realized something quickly; someone had been inside. She grabbed the keg she wanted first before she began to look around. She looked into the secret room and found their prisoner had escaped.

  "Damn it!" She said under her breath.

  She was now caught between going back to help Sam or looking for the escaped prisoner. She didn't need to think twice about it - she called two of the guards and told them to find the girl while she ran to the dungeon. The beast wasn't as quiet as she thought it would be. Its large sword was raised, and it was trying to cut the iron bars down.

  Poor thing, she thought. It probably didn't know how times had changed. She wanted to rush forward and let it out, but common sense told her to play it cool instead. Although she could be raised from the dead, she didn't know how long that would take, since Sam was preoccupied with more important things. It would make no sense to be cut to pieces by the very thing she needed to help him.

  "Easy now," she said to the now angry beast. It was confused as to why the door refused to break down, despite hacking it with its sword continually.

  "Easy," Gianna tried again.

  It seemed to hear her this time around, momentarily letting the sword down by its side. Gianna approached silently, cautious to maintain a safe distance since the beast wouldn't move back a few paces. She got to the door and inserted the key into the lock. The beast watched her slowly, growling softly as she swung the iron gate back and waited for it to come out. When it realized it was free, the beast growled loudly and squeezed its way out, taking the hinges of the iron gate with it.

  "Why didn't you think of that earlier?" Gianna asked sarcastically as she made way for it to go through.

  It stopped a few feet from her and looked back like it had something to tell her. Then, it growled loudly and began to make its way towards the mansion.

  "That didn't turn out so bad," Gianna said to herself. "Now, let's go find that fool."

  ---

  Duncan drummed his finger along to the song on the radio as they sat around the fireplace. Justin was angry they were still sitting around discussing the possible way to enter the mansion, when they could always storm the place with force. He looked towards Shay who was thinking hard while scratching his beard. He had downed two bottles of beer and was on his third. He seemed to be the only one who was in a hurry to get out of where they were. Duncan drummed louder as the music reached a crescendo. This infuriated Justin even more.

  "Well?" He screamed at both men. "Do either of you have a good suggestion yet? I'm tired of this awful silence."

  The music stopped and Duncan walked to the radio. He switched it off and took a long swig from the bottle of beer he had in his hands. He looked towards Shay before he spoke.

  "You know this is not what I really want to do, right?" He asked.

  The other man nodded and put the beer to his mouth again. Justin snickered.

  "Alright. I'll try to take out as many of their guards as I can so you guys can have an entry point. But remember, no one except me gets to kill that scum."

  "Ugh. You're not the one with the sword," Justin argued.

  "I'm talking about the witch he keeps around; I have no business in your fight with him."

  Justin looked away from the man. "Yeah, right."

  "Let's go!" Shay said suddenly, grabbing the bag of ammo and getting to his feet immediately.

  "About time," Justin added, as he also grabbed the sword. He raised the magnums to his lips and said a silent prayer before he got to his feet.

  "No one can help you now," Duncan told him. "You're on your own."

  Justin ignored the man. He was a strange fellow.

  Chapter 23

  Sarah counted the guards who turned away from her. There were three, but it appeared there was another one who had gone to fetch something from the house. She could take out two as quickly as possible, but the third was a far cry since she was badly injured. The bandages she had tied round her arms had already been stained with blood and she thought she might need to find something else to keep the hands from bleeding soon. But first, she had to take care of the immediate threats. She was about to head towards them when a voice stopped her. It looked like Gianna was also going towards them to address the guards.

  "And what is this you all are doing?" She asked loudly as she got to where they all say round the table. "You're celebrating, yes?"

  One of the guards stood up quickly and kicked the others, who joined him on their feet immediately.

  Gianna scoffed. "I can’t believe we hired fools like you. You, what can you do?" She asked one of them.

  "Ugh... I, I think I can..."

  The man's response irritated her and she slapped him heavily. He staggered backwards and stood at a safe distance so he wouldn't be hit again.

  "You're all useless!" Gianna screamed at them. "Where were you all when she escaped? Where?”

  The men exchanged confused looks. They had no idea about what she was talking about.
>
  "We haven't left this place," one of them answered. "We stayed here like you told us to."

  Gianna laughed at him grimly. She walked towards him and wanted to hit him hard but thought against it. Instead, she patted his cheeks.

  "The prisoner is loose. Find her," she commanded them, and walked away.

  "Alright!" The fourth guard shouted as he approached the silent lot. "I got the booze. Where's that card at?"

  The others ignored him, watching silently as he shook the bottle of rum in their faces. The one who had been hit hissed loudly. The man was confused.

  "Did I do something wrong?" He asked the first one to his right.

  ---

  Sarah waited for them to walk past where she was hiding before she grabbed one from behind. He had little time to react as she snapped his neck instantly. One of them turned back and pulled his gun on her. She pretended to be shocked as he walked closer.

  "Hands where I can see them," he sneered at her. The others had their guns up too.

  As he made to grab her hand, Sarah twisted his from the elbow. The sound of breaking bones was muffled by his screams as he dropped the gun. Using him as a shield, she fired at the others. One of them was hit in the shoulder and quickly scampered to safety. The second one wasn't that lucky; he dropped to the ground, dead from a shot to the head. Sarah felt the one she was holding lean heavily into her - he must have been caught in the crossfire. She was about to drop him when the last one fired from where he was. Luckily for her, his shots were off target. She waited till he was testing against the wall that served as his cover before she walked towards him silently. He had little time to react when he saw her, a gun pointed to his head.

  "Which way is it out of here?" She asked him.

  The fear in the man's eyes was enough reason for her to believe him as he led her through a number of corridors. Once outside, he pointed to a gate at the other end of the large compound.

  "That's your best shot at getting out of here alive. The other entrances are heavily guarded."

  Sarah smiled at him. "Who told you I was leaving alone? Come on, now. You're going to help me find my way out."

  The man cursed under his breath silently. He walked in front while Sarah followed him from behind, the gun still pointed to his head. They were a few feet away from the gate when a shot rang out. Sarah ducked behind a pillar quickly as another burst of gunshots rang out. The man was caught in it and she sighed as he went down heavily. She looked towards the direction from where the shooter was. There was no way she could get him from here - she either had to step out in the open and risk getting shot at, or make a run for the gate. There was no option that gave her any chance of survival at all, and staying behind the pillar didn’t guarantee her safety either. There was no telling if someone was coming from behind.

  ---

  Sam felt his strength returning slowly as he tried the incantations again. This time around, he was more confident than he before. He felt the crypt coming alive again as more dark spirits emerged from it. Despite their uneasiness, he was surprised that the others stayed glued to a spot, eyes shut tightly. There was no end to the greed of men, after all.

  Despite what was happening, the compass still didn't point in the right direction. He knew there was something he was missing that made this very difficult and he had to find it as soon as he could. Something very crucial to the ritual was still missing and he had to find out what it was. And why was Gianna not back yet?

  ---

  The beast broke its way past the high walls and entrances, causing those in its paths to run for safety as they could be crushed by the taking debris or its deafening footfalls. It turned sharply and headed towards the room where the ritual was being held. There was something calling its name, and with each step, it answered with a loud growl.

  Gianna tried as much as she could to keep up with the pace of the beast while still trying to avoid getting crushed by the falling debris in her path. She made it as far as she could before a pillar collapsed and blocked her entrance. She cursed loudly and doubled back; she had to get to Sam before the beast did.

  ---

  Justin got out of the car first; he was more than impatient to get all of this over with. Duncan chucked softly at his enthusiasm. If only he knew the mistakes he could make from rushing things. He could get them all killed.

  "You need to calm down, Romeo," he teased. "We didn't come all the way here to die for no reason."

  The young man ignored him and dragged out one of the bags. He pulled a couple of grenades from it and stashed them in his pockets. The Kevlar he had on felt heavy, but it was better than trusting himself to dodge every bullet. Shay got out of the car and joined the two of them. He strapped on some ammo as well, his breathing shallow.

  "There's no one at the gate," Duncan announced, watching through a binocular. "Wait - seems like something's going on in the house."

  "Why? What do you see?" Justin asked.

  Duncan fell silent for a while as he tried to concentrate on what was going on. "There's a shootout," he announced. "I'm not sure about the number of people involved."

  Justin heaved heavily and tapped the guns to his temple. "Let's go in," he said to the other two.

  Shay looked at Duncan who shrugged.

  "He's angry. It's understandable," the short man said before they walked down to the gate of the house, Shay picking up the last bag of ammo.

  ---

  Sarah felt boxed in. Another shooter had taken position to her left and was trying to flush her out by shooting the pillar. She held on still, hoping for a miracle. She didn't have to wait long, as she soon heard someone return fire from a distance. The first shooter shouted and fell from where he was perched. The second one wasn't lucky enough to shout; she just heard a shot and then sudden silence. She heard approaching footsteps and braced herself against the pillar. If she was going to go down, she might as well do it well.

  Justin leaned against the pillar and watched the person behind the next one turn to the other side. He raised his gun and aimed at the pillar. If Shay wasn't fast enough, he had to be prepared. He expected some action, but was disappointed when Shay stopped suddenly and raised his hands in surrender. How had he been so clumsily disarmed? Justin walked out of his hiding and ran towards Shay quickly. If the assailant was fast enough to get Shay, he would be quicker in putting them down. He had his finger nursing the trigger carefully as he stopped a few meters from the duo.

  "Let him go!" He shouted.

  "Let who go?" A familiar voice asked back.

  He lowered his gun when he realized it was Sarah who had spoken. Shay stood between them still, a smug look on his face.

  "Sarah?" Justin called with a sigh of relief. "Are you okay?"

  He walked towards her and tried to hug her. She brushed him aside.

  "How the hell did you convince them Cracker Jacks to help you? You’re running with them now?"

  Justin stood shocked at her questions. He looked around to be sure there weren't any other person there with them.

  "Which Cracker Jack?" He asked as he turned back to Sarah.

  She glared at him and kept the gun trained on Shay. "Are you blind or stupid? I'm talking about the one right here before me!"

  Justin burst into laughter. Shay also joined him as he brought his hands down.

  "What's so funny?" Sarah asked. "Keep those hands up or I put a bullet through your head!" She yelled at Shay, who was still laughing.

  Justin held her hands and brought them down. "That's Shay."

  Sarah's hands flew to her mouth. She was speechless for a few minutes, unsure of whether to hug the man before her or just play it cool. She decided on playing it cool.

  "Well, that's new. How did this happen?” She asked.

  Shay gestured to Justin. "Ask him."

  Sarah grabbed Shay suddenly and threw him behind her. She raised both arms so she could send a big blast towards the approaching man with two semi autos, one hanging behind him an
d the other in his firm grip. He also carried a big bag of ammo. She was shocked to realize that nothing happened. She tried again and again, getting the same results.

  "I think I've lost my powers," she said as she turned to Justin, who was trying hard not to laugh.

  Shay got up from the floor and gave her a wild look.

  "What?" She asked them both when the amusement was unable to leave their faces.

  The man walked closer and gave her a knock on the forehead.

  "Ouch!" She cried. "What was that for?"

  He ignored her and placed the bag he was carrying on the ground. He looked in and grabbed a submachine gun which he threw towards her. He added a few clips before he got up and asked her if she would need a vest as well.

  "Who are you?" She asked, clutching the gun and its clips in both hands. "A weapons specialist?"

  He ignored her and turned to the others. "She’s the one?"

  "Yeah," Justin answered. "Sarah, this is Duncan. Duncan, Sarah. Duncan is also a powered, but powers don't work on him, though," he added quickly when Sarah continued to glare at him.

  "It wasn't nice meeting you," Duncan said before Sarah could open her mouth to say anything. "Now, what's next?"

  Shay was having a hard time with stifling his laughter as Sarah continued to gawk at the man before her. The moment was so funny that he wished there was a way to record it.

  "Did you notice anything while in there? Anything out of sorts?" Justin asked Sarah.

  "Well, yeah," she answered slowly. Her eyes never left Duncan, who was picking his teeth with a tiny knife. "It seems there's something huge going on. There are lots of movements to the other side of the building."

  Shay looked around. "Think there are any other men out there?" He asked.

  Justin shook his head. "If there were, we would have been shot down a long time ago."

  The rest looked around and realized they were all in the open, making them easy picks for anyone with a trigger-happy finger.