The Warrior's Beckoning (12 page)

“And the girl?” I asked. Our eyes met, and I saw the grief he held.

He motioned to a nearby monitor to his right. I walked to it and watched it closely. The room was dark, but I could make out a young woman in a bed, surrounded by bizarre machines. Near her lay the body of the security guard that had tried to rescue her.

“I wanted to disconnect her immediately. But here’s the tricky part,” he said, pointing to another monitor. It showed a map monitoring the location of every being within the facility. “The black dots represent those creatures of darkness you’ve been slugging it out with. The white ones are living humans. The gray ones are trapped spirits. See this one?” he said, pointing to a white dot, not moving, on the other side of the building. “That’s her,” he said as he pressed the screen and brought up her vital signs. “She’s in a coma, but
that’s
not the kicker. See this gray dot?” He pointed to
a gray dot moving randomly around the facility. It had the exact same vital signs, the same biosignature. A black dot followed it closely.

“It has her spirit trapped…” I said, watching the tandem dots.

“Exactly. And that sucker is impervious to our attacks. I have lost a lot of men to it,” he said, looking to me. “I don’t know who you are, but you’re the only chance we have against this thing. She cried out, and you answered. You are her Warrior…her love.”

To this, I closed my eyes, raising my head.

“If you’re ready, I’ll tell you what you have to do,” he said, placing his hand on my shoulder.

“I’m ready.”

“Follow me,” he said, walking through the hall I’d followed previously. I followed closely, glancing at the guards I passed. Those whose eyes met mine seemed to offer me confidence and faith.

We approached the room in which I had awakened then continued into a smaller room with a bed. “You’ll be hooked up to the same machines. You’ll be in the same state she is. But you can fight. You will be on the side of light. The form you take will represent your true nature. Lay down when you’re ready.”

He rolled out the machines. There were two of them, and they did not appear very high tech. They were more like i-movie props, with five crystals, one at the top and the rest arcing down on both sides. The pedestals that held them were silver and ornate. Unlike those that surrounded her, these had a cross in the center, above the solid base. Silver branches wrapped around each piece.

He positioned one machine to my right and one to my left. Pulling out a syringe, he injected a fluid into my wrist. Soon after, my eyes grew heavy. As I went under, he left the room and watched through the window. Darkness fell, and for a moment it all went blank.

• • •

I sat up. Then I stood, turned, and saw myself still on the bed, asleep. The chief stood by the window. His eyes widened in awe. I approached the door, and he opened it. I felt so unusual…so powerful!

“There’s a full mirror in this room,” he said, pointing to the room next to the lab. I entered it and stood before the mirror. Reflecting back was a figure somewhat taller than my usual height. Clad in white crystalline armor, he radiated an aura that sparked with energy. The armor resembled that of a Knight Templar. A helm covered most of his head, save for the face, where the long stem of a cross began at the tip of his nose and the short arms ended at a thick rim just above his eyes. The top of the helm was round, the face hidden by a white mist. A cross was etched into the gauntlets, chest piece, and knee plates. I turned to the side. A white cape hung over his—that is, over
my
—shoulders. I carried a kite shield and long sword strapped to my back.

Reaching over my shoulders, I unsheathed the sword and pulled the shield loose. I held the shield out before the mirror as I slid my arm through and held the sword in my natural stance. The sword was crystalline, with a white aura of its own. The shield was white, with a large cross in the center.

Turning to the chief, I asked, “Where is she?” My voice was different—booming but filled with love.

“Heading this way. And there are many creatures behind her,” the chief said. He slipped into Kevlar body armor and loaded an M4. We entered the break room, where security guards in full armor, bearing riot shields and M4s, knelt behind flipped tables. Four of the guards were stationed in the room where I had first met the chief, to guard the entrance to the dark matter. I stood front and center, just beyond the door to the break room. It was not barricaded, in hopes that the creatures would be funneled through that door.

“Stay back. Don’t shoot unless they get past me,” I said, approaching the door, shield raised. The hall beyond me shook with shadows
as the creatures congested there. Some crawled along the walls and the ceiling; most ran through the center.

Holding my sword behind me, I began to focus my energy toward its crystalline blade. It sparked with light, and the energy radiated beyond the blade. Thrusting it forward, I released the energy in a single beam. The creatures shrieked as the beam pushed past them, tearing their dark forms apart.

“Help me!” It was a woman’s voice, but she was too far away for me to see her. Charging into the hall, I was met by more creatures. They ran at me, and I held my shield up. The first lunged directly at me; the second lunged underneath it. Swinging my shield, I slammed the first into the wall. The building shook with the mighty blow. The second creature clawed at my armor as I thrust my sword into its back. I spun as I jumped over it, swinging my sword and slashing at the oncoming creatures. Three of them charged me, and I cut all three in half. Swinging my shield like a plow, I charged into the remaining group of creatures, crushing them in my wake.

“Come to me, my Warrior!” the woman cried out from the adjacent corridor. I turned right and ran down the hall.

“Go to her!” the chief yelled as creatures poured down the hall behind me. There was a hail of gunfire and countless shrieks. The woman stood just beyond the next room. I could feel her. The gunfire intensified.

Someone yelled, “Frag out!” and an explosion rocked the building. In its wake came silence. The gunfire stopped. There were no more shrieks. Could the creatures have been defeated? Or were they just pawns, wearing down their adversaries until the real battle began?

I stopped just inside the doorway to the lobby. At the front entrance, she stood. “Warrior,” she said softly, looking at me. “You came for me.”

I walked to her, sheathing my sword and sliding my arm around her waist. I held my shield in front of us as I held her close. Sliding her arms around my neck, she rested her head against my chest.

“I will always be there for you,” I said, stroking her hair gently.

“I know,” she said softly, sighing.

An evil laugh echoed through the room. We turned to its source—a tall figure, almost hidden within the shadows behind us. He bristled with sharp spikes that jutted from his shoulders, elbows, and knees. He seemed to be wearing armor made of onyx. Turning to face him, I drew my sword and raised my shield, placing myself between her and him.

He laughed. He drew a glinting, ornate sword with a dark aura, its blade twisted as if from a nightmare. “Warrior,” he spat. He pointed his sword at me. “You are strong, yes, but those minions you and those filthy humans defeated were nothing but echoes of a greater form.”

“Oh?” I said, my voice booming with confidence. I pointed my sword to him.

“Like the two of you, I am projecting my spiritual essence. But
unlike
the two of you, my essential self is not a being of flesh. My real self is ethereal, not corporeal.” He approached me slowly, an evil grin visible inside his helm. “Besides, I have her trapped, and the only way to free her is to defeat this form.”

I turned to her, looking deep into her eyes. They were filled with fear, trust, and love.

“I will free you,” I said, bowing to her. Tears welled up in her eyes. Such a vow was unknown to her. After so many years, someone was finally rising up to defend her. Turning back to the Destroyer, I charged, my shield raised.

He slammed his sword, Nightmare, against my shield, Hope.

Pushing Hope forward, I swung my sword, Love, down at his legs. He stepped back quickly, holding Nightmare to the side then swinging at me once more. I met it with Love, bashing him with Hope. This knocked him back, as I followed by swinging Love once more, this time toward his head. Raising Nightmare, he parried my attack, lunging forward with his spiked shoulder. I barely raised Hope to block;
the spikes penetrated my shield and pierced my arm, and I lost Hope. I gripped Love with both hands, though my right was slick with blood and weakened by the attack.

A white mist escaped the punctures in my armor. He laughed, watching as I regained my stance. We charged each other, and our swords locked once more. More than that, my white eyes locked with his black soul as we pressed our blades together, each trying to push back or disarm the other.

Neither of us could gain ground, and we were locked in struggle. A lifetime of pain flashed through me…hers and mine. Times of peril and struggle…times of loneliness and loss…I gripped Love tighter. I would not allow her to know this pain.
I will not fail her
.

“Never.” I spoke softly at first, and his fierce stare became a look of puzzlement. “NEVER!” I shouted, thrusting forward and knocking him against the far wall. I ran at him, jumping into the air and pressing my foot against his elbow, which caused him to drop Nightmare. I thrust Love into the wall and grasped the two spikes on his left shoulder. Ripping them off, I jabbed them through his elbows and into the wall. Quickly I ripped off the other two and thrust them through his knees into the wall. Seizing both Love and Nightmare, I thrust a sword through both of his hands. He hung, crucified, from the wall.

“Warrior,” he said, unable to move. “I underestimated you.”

“That’s an understatement.” I stepped a few feet away from him. I held my hands off to the side, focusing on directing energy into the space between them, forming a white ball that sparked as it grew. Reaching into its center, I threw the ball of energy at the Destroyer. He roared as the ball crashed into him, struggling as his form began to dissipate.

“This is not over, Warrior,” he said threateningly just before he vanished. I turned to her, and we smiled at each other.

“Thank you,” she said. Then she, too, began to vanish.

All went black for a moment. I felt nothing.

Slowly, I opened my eyes. My vision was a blur. The chief stood beside me. “Good work, son,” he said, extending his hand. I took it, and he pulled me up. Two guards stood at the doorway.

“We’ll take you to her,” one of them said. I stood, and we entered the break room, which had been torn to shreds. Though many of the guards had survived, they and the building showed the wounds and scars of an intense battle. Bullets had shredded the walls by the open door, and most of the tables were broken in half. Beyond the door, the hall was black with shrapnel. There were no creatures, alive or dead.

We continued down the hall, past the dent in the wall where I had slammed my shield. Burn marks from the ball of light were further down. Soon we entered into the lobby. It, too, showed battle scars. The wall where the demon had been slain showed six holes and one massive burn mark. We passed through the lobby, the offices, and a maze of corridors and entered into a lab. There she lay, between two machines, now disconnected and deactivated. She did not move.

“We’ll wait here,” the guards said, standing to the right and left of the doorway. I stepped into the lab and approached her slowly, studying her. She was beautiful…the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Taking her hand gently, I leaned over her and kissed her. She squeezed my hand, returning the kiss.

Sliding one arm under her legs and the other under her body, I pulled her toward me and lifted her gently, holding her close to my heart. She wrapped her arms around my neck as we broke the kiss slowly.

I turned, walking to the door, carrying her away. Away from all that had tormented her. Would it follow? I did not know. I did not care. I had found the love of my life. And I would always be her Warrior.

The Ghost Hunter’s Epilogue

THE SPIRITS OF
Decay surrounded me with scythes raised. It was the end…or so I hoped. All went black as they swung as one, and a sinister voice entered my thoughts.

You are mine now. You sought to enter the unknown, and so you shall
! The voice echoed all around. I was so cold…I could feel nothing but the still darkness.
You shall bear witness to what is to come, helpless to intervene. That will be your torture. The pain you will know will not come from my hand but from your own eyes and heart
.

A glimpse of the world passed all around me. The men I had fought with were all dead, and their families were mourning them. The Survivor had become the Specialist, and he was growing stronger. The girl had been taken, trained, and was now being used as a conduit. The company—the people in charge of the facility, who called the shots but never showed their faces—who, what, and where were they? Why did no one beyond the facility hear about the dead or the living who had fought so valiantly to spare the world from the dark forces? My own family was informed of my death—from “accidental work-related injuries”—yet they went about living as if nothing had changed. Such was their way in life, so it was with my death.

The entity who had bound me to him forever routinely attacked the girl in her dreams, forcing me to observe her pain helplessly. It would bring her to tears, then leave her sobbing. I could only observe from the shadows of the room.

The girl grew and became stronger. There was another, a man who could pose a threat to the entity.

“She truly believes that this man, this Warrior of hers, will come to her aid and free her. Foolish girl,” the entity told me. “He gives her hope, and she clings to it.”

I prayed she would continue to believe.

“Ghost hunter,” the entity said to me. “They will soon attempt to capture me. The time has come.” It spoke with an evil laugh. The entity entered her mind and was pulled into a vault, leaving me stranded between worlds, observing the chaos that ensued. The entity had established a connection with her mind and could now use her as a conduit through which more dark creatures could enter the world… and slaughter everyone they encountered.