Chapter 17
Treyson gazed upon Scarsdale in disbelief, he had seen the smoke from a distance, but wasn’t prepared for what he saw. Driving down Main Street it looked like a war zone, not one tall building was still standing and rubble was everywhere while fires were still raging. His heart raced as he thought about Sara hoping that his neighborhood had been spared this destruction. He had promised to stop for food, but now his mind was on his wife and nothing would deter him, eating would just have to wait. No one said anything; they too saw the devastation and the fear on Treyson’s face. Elisabeth touched Treyson on the shoulder with a hand that seemed to say it will be alright, but it came as an annoyance to him so he sat forward making her hand drop off. He didn’t want comfort, he hated himself for leaving her alone and now his fears may have come true, he may never see her again. Tears trickled down his cheeks unabated uncaring if anyone saw them; he deserved ridicule for his treason to his family.
As quickly as the destruction came, it went, like night and day. The residential area he lived in seemed to be spared not making sense to him, even the other had stares of suspicion. There were only a few cars left in the streets, no bodies on the sidewalks or in the yards, if you wouldn’t know any better you would think it was a typical morning. Something seemed amiss here, but Treyson didn’t care, his house was still standing that’s all that mattered.
Pulling into his driveway made Treyson’s heart jump, home at last. His door was open and he was sprinting across the well-trimmed lawn to the front doors not taking time to follow the sidewalks all the while shouting her name. Her name dwindled from his lips as he opened the door to find his living room full of mostly dissolved bodies and the sudden influx of air stirring the dust causing him to start coughing. His reflexes made him to step back out into fresh air as a fog of deaths powder slipped out behind him. His friends were standing with him when his fit of coughs had ceased asking him if he was alright.
Shaun looked through the door, “wow, it looks as if she was having company at the end.”
“That’s how she was, probably comforting the neighbors. Thinking maybe she could do something to save them,” he said as tears streaked through his white dusted face.
Ye Min put her arms around him and hugged him saying with tears also, “I’m sorry about your loss.”
Dwayne covered his face with his jacket and went in, opening the windows and going out the back door leading from the kitchen. He came back around finding the others had stepped further away from the house as dust emanated from every window. He put his hand on Treyson’s shoulder, “your house was full of people she must have been good and caring women.”
Treyson put both hands up pulling away from Ye Min, “say no more. I refuse to believe Sara is dead and until I find her body I won’t.” He stepped back into house and started to check the body’s and even without faces he knew these people, Mrs. Jones the older lady that lived next door was sitting in his recliner. Mr. and Mrs. Miller, the couple who were constantly doing landscaping and complaining about his lawn sat on their love seat. The Duncan’s and their two children sat slumped over in the floor their arms intertwined. He went from person to person in every room, yet not finding his wife even in the bathroom he found a lady that looked as if she had been breastfeeding a baby. He was sad for these people; people he had once interacted with, yet, he was happy he hadn’t found his wife.
At last he came out to the backyard where his friends had gathered around his picnic table and Shaun had the barbecue open with a couple of pans steaming on the grill. He told them his wife wasn’t here and thought for a moment she had went to the hospital where she worked, but found her car still in the garage. Shaun suggested that she might have went to a neighbor’s house to comfort or help and that it might be impossible to find her unless he would search every house. Treyson shook his head and laid his head down on his folded arms not wanting to think of such a daunting task. Shaun started to dish out the stew like soup he had prepared onto paper plates giving one to each person and even to Treyson who tried to refuse, but the smell and the remembrance of Shaun’s skills caused him to take it and start eating. The compliments began after the first taste and not a drop was left on either plate or pan.
Treyson stood, not knowing what to do next when a bolt of lightning shot across the clear blue sky. The crackle of static energy filled the air making the hairs on their heads and arms stand up and their skin tingle. A large man dressed in white armor dropped on the lawn with a ground shaking thud, his head was shaved and he carried a blue string less bow. His legs were like tree stumps with arms to match, both encased in solid white armor. His deep bass voice reverberated as he spoke, “MacAlistair”, his stare became intense his eyes fixed on Treyson, “MacAlistair, I’ve come to retrieve the sword; you will give it up if you want to see your wife alive again.”
Treyson reached for his sword realizing it was still in the van, in his hurry to find his wife he forgot to put it on. “My wife is alive,” he asked while taking steps towards the front of the house?
“She is and if you hope to see...” the large man said though stopping in mid-sentence and watched Treyson make a full sprint for the van. His hand strummed across the blue bow as he aimed towards Treyson releasing a white bolt missing him, but hitting the garage and engulfing it in an electrical field that shot sparks high into the air causing it to implode shattering it into a thousand pieces. Treyson didn’t let it stop him as he continued on his dead run for the van and his sword. Esther watched as the white giant aimed the bow again, she didn’t hesitate as she pulled the nine millimeter that was stuffed in her belt firing a shot hitting him in the leg armor bouncing off. Turning to look in her direction the large man aimed his bow discharging a glowing arrow at Esther that would have hit her had Dwayne not stepped in pushing her aside. His skin turned a bright white as he hit the ground and lay there in a smoky haze as Elisabeth quickly rushed to his side. The diversion gave Treyson enough time as he reached through the van window pulling the sword from the sheath and as soon as it was clear the sword screamed “parry.” Treyson brought the sword around blocking the next glowing arrow as it seemed to dissipate upon contact. The armored man brought the bow up though this time he didn’t fire but spoke, “MacAlistair if you want to see your wife again you will surrender that sword.”
“How do I know you speak the truth? Why should I give you my sword, first prove you have my wife,” Treyson shouted angrily.
The techno warrior raised his flattened hand as a holographic image appeared above it; Sara was seated on a wooden chair, her hair was disheveled and he saw that her belly had grown due to her pregnancy. She looked towards him as if seeing him, her mouth forming the words “I love you.”
Treyson allowed the tip of his sword to touch the ground and for a brief moment he was ready to surrender all to have Sara back, “Ok you got my attention. Where is she?”
“My master took her back to our planet,” his voice boomed.
“Your planet, I don’t understand, what planet, Mars?” Treyson asked.
The armored man laughed, “I am from a planet called Zenth far from Earth. I arrived through the portal my master opened not far from here.”
“He wants the sword and the scepter and he wants them surrendered to him. If you freely give them over, he could destroy them and forever rid this planet of magic,” the large man said.
“You mean if I hand over the sword you will open a portal and free my wife,” He asked?
“A doorway between our planets can only be opened at one spot in your country and that is at a place called Area 51. It takes a lot of power that’s very costly unless we employ technology on both sides. It took us awhile to create the facade of alien flying saucers, but your government protected us in trade for trinkets of technology,” he laughed.
“So I must go to Area 51 to trade the sword for my wife,” Treyson asked?
“You must find the scepter and its heir bringing both to Area 51. Ther
e you will enter the portal give them up and your wife will be returned to you. If you unite them beforehand your wife will spend the rest of her life imprisoned on our planet and you will never see her again. Surrender the sword to me right now and avoid the chance that that could happen.”
He heard Elisabeth scream something, but it didn’t register in his mind, his focus was on this giant armored man. “I am a McAlister, the sword bearer, the restorer of magic. To submit to the will of your planet will be the death of ours as you rape Earth of its natural resources and take them to build your planet. How about this scenario, I find the scepter and its heir, reunite them, then come for my wife and destroy your portal once and for all,” Treyson spoke, his were eyes afire never shifting from the man.
“You’ve been lied to MacAlistair, we are not stealing you’re resources, but instead we are trying to help earth become a technological world. Every time magic is restored as the Earth’s dominate science it sets technology back to the beginning. We cannot allow that to happen again we are close this time, we only need this or maybe one more renewal and the people will genetically advance. To warn you though, an army gathers near the portals edge, soon they will come to your planet and they will take the sword and the scepter by force. Your death will bring an end to magic for we will have your only heir on our planet,” he spoke as his hand strummed the string less bow turning it bright white and causing it to spin as it randomly shot many small glowing baubles into the air and each one exploding into high voltage sparks when making contact. He rose into the air taking his bow, “you will soon have to face the army that will walk through the portal when the time and power is achieved. Then you will join your wife and offspring where we will put an end to magic once and for all.” He shot into the sky and disappeared in a bolt of lightning.
Shaun lay on the ground after one of the balls of voltage had hit him causing him to convulse as the white energy coursed through his body. The others had managed to stay hidden behind the table while the girls tried to help Dwayne who was unconscious. Treyson looked down at Shaun who smiled and said, “I can’t move my legs or arms, but I am in no pain.”
“I think it was only meant as a way to incapacitate and not kill, he was just trying to get away. You should be alright in a few minutes.” Treyson walked over to check on Dwayne finding Elisabeth crying and singing at the same time.
Esther said, “He’s dead,” she bowed her head, “saved my life,” she too began to cry.
Treyson bent down putting his hand on Dwayne’s head while looking up, “I swear I will make them pay and requite your death. You will be remembered when magic returns to the land.” Walking over to where his garage once stood he found his shovel and after about an hour dug a shallow grave amongst the stalks in his wife’s flower garden. Shaun who had earlier recovered helped him carry and bury Dwayne while the ladies sang. Elisabeth said she heard him say he is with his family now, making them cry all the more.
Treyson spoke amid choking back his sorrow, “we need to find the scepter and its heir if we have any hopes of ending this. We know of two scepters that are on display in the states one in New York the other in Chicago hopefully one of these will prove to be the Scepter of Gao. I would just go to Chicago because fate will not allow the Scepter to be this close, but we can’t take the chance. It’s going to be dangerous so I wouldn’t blame anyone if they wanted to stay behind as I doubt Dwayne will be the last to die. I’m not sure who has Sara and I’m just as unclear as to the army that the armored man spoke about. There are a lot of uncertainties, but I have finally embraced my heritage and I will fight for magic.”
Except for Ye Min the others stood up in unison, “we are going with you Treyson, you will need our help,” Shaun spoke for them all. When he finished Ye Min also stood up and said shyly, “me, too.”
The Renewal Page 17