by Bryan Cohen
Natalie shook it off. "Alright, Prince Charming. Wanna help me get more people off the streets?"
He beamed. "With pleasure."
As they walked back toward the front entrance, Natalie took his hand and smiled back.
Erica swung again at Sela Fortbright, and once again the dark soul parried with her staff. After taking down eight creatures in less than a minute, Erica found the gatekeeper a much worthier opponent.
"You realize the plan's already in place." Sela swung at Erica's legs before she jumped the attack. "Nothing you do is going to stop that."
Erica flipped backward and planted her feet. She reset her grip and dashed toward the dark soul.
"Maybe not." Erica smirked before raining down a flurry of blows on Fortbright's sword. "But getting one more dark soul off Earth will make me feel pretty good about myself."
Sela went to one knee as Erica swung with more and more intensity. She felt impact after impact of weapon upon weapon until finally, her sword broke Fortbright's staff in two. She rolled away from Erica and stood up tall.
"We're going to win this war, Protector. Give up now and we'll give you more favorable–"
Erica dashed over as the gatekeeper monologued, and ran her through with the sword. She watched the steam rise up from the bloody wound. Before she could finish her thought, Sela Fortbright flashed with blue light and disappeared. All around Erica, the portals begin to close. There had been at least a dozen blue shimmering gateways, but one by one they shrunk into nothingness.
Erica tapped on her comm link. "How's everybody doing out there?"
"Redican's convulsing on the roof, but I think he's starting to calm down."
The big drawback to mind control.
"Keep him safe, Sheriff. Dhiraj and Jennifer?"
Dhiraj sounded calm amidst the chaos. "We're good."
"Ted?"
"I could use a hand! Near the stage."
Erica looked up and spied the platform in the distance. "On my way."
As she ran in that direction, Erica saw something strange. Despite the death of the gatekeeper and the destruction of the staff, one blue portal opened back up near the stage. It seemed to burn brighter than the others had. Something about it made Erica feel incredibly uneasy.
49
Sandra grabbed a cameraman by the collar of his shirt and pulled him behind the stage. The man struggled, but he was no match for Sandra's enhanced strength.
"Mrs. Kable, what are you doing?"
She laughed when she thought about how she wouldn't be Mrs. Kable for much longer. The senator would see to that, labeling her as an evil dark soul who'd been manipulating his heart. He would play the hero behind the scenes of his rally-turned-massacre.
"Hold this position." She took the gun out of her purse. "Or I'll put your brain on the pavement."
The cameraman's hands started to shake.
"Start filming. And it better not be wobbly."
He nodded and began setting up his camera to film her. Sandra looked straight ahead as Kable's plot came into view. Terry the campaign manager had his arms around a little girl. Terry stared blankly. She imagined there was nothing resembling a thought in his head. The child had cute curls and even reminded Sandra of what she looked like in her youth. Tears flowed down the girl's face as she called out for her mother. Sandra felt the tears well behind her own eyes.
You're not human. Stop acting like you're human.
Sandra didn't mind the screaming and the carnage going on in front of the platform, but there was something about putting a little girl at risk that didn't sit well with her. She reminded herself that that if the plan went right, the girl wouldn't have a scratch on her. Kable would be the one with scars to heal.
"Are we in position?" Terry's mouth moved, but she knew it was her husband pulling the strings.
Sandra hid her reluctance and smiled. "Of course." She looked at the cameraman. "Time to point and shoot."
He nodded and the red light went on beside the lens. Sandra watched as her husband's head poked out from behind the side of the stage. He gave her the signal to begin.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm sorry to inform you that many of your friends and family members from the rally have perished. You've been caught up in the middle of a war and, unfortunately, you're on the wrong side. President Blake thinks that Ted Finley is enough to stop me and the other dark souls from killing every last one of you." Sandra pointed the gun at the little girl, whose cries grew in intensity. "He's here with us today, but he can't save everyone, particularly this future voter before us."
Sandra looked into the girl's eyes. The senator had told her that it had to be a child. When he ran in front to take a bullet for the girl, he'd be praised universally and she'd be the one serving the time. Regardless, the girl would no doubt be traumatized by the experience. Despite the bullet wounds, Kable would really be the only person to come out of this situation unscathed.
"She's going to die like all of you will, because President Blake can't protect anyone in this country."
Sandra clicked the bullet into place. "Goodbye, little girl."
As she prepared to fire, Sandra watched her husband run into place. For the viewers, the candidate would've come seemingly out of nowhere to protect the young child. He'd lie on the ground in a pool of his own blood, Terry would pass out, and Sandra would be left holding the bag. Kable's brainwashed guards were prepared to apprehend her immediately after the shots. Every second that passed seemed like an eternity. Sandra aimed the gun at the little girl's stomach. Her trigger finger hesitated, even though she knew her shots had to be timed exactly right. All in one moment, she saw the girl's tears, Terry's vacant smile, and the senator running forward to take the glorious bullets in his stomach. She'd gone from being a pawn in one game to a pawn in another game. With those bullets, she'd doom herself to a life of imprisonment.
As the cameraman filmed, Sandra moved her gun and pointed it at Kable instead. She fired six shots in rapid succession.
The first two projectiles struck the Senator in the midsection and the little girl bawled. Sandra felt the adrenaline ripple through her body. The other four bullets hovered in between Sandra and Kable. As her husband stood up, the bullets in his body dropped to the ground, though the wounds remained. The light seemed to dim around them as Kable pointed toward the projectiles.
One bullet zipped back toward Sandra, hitting her gun hand and causing her to drop the weapon. The wound stung as her blood dripped onto the ground. Kable moved his hand again, sending the second bullet into her opposite arm. Sandra winced and cried out. With two more flourishes, Kable sent one more bullet into each of her legs. She fell to the ground and fought against the pain. Sandra couldn't tell which of the wounds hurt the worst as she screamed in agony.
Kable stood above her. He carried one of the metal stanchions that had kept the crowd back.
Sandra let a laugh out in the midst of the pain. "I guess you can't control everything."
He smirked. "Maybe not. But I can adapt. If I can't be a hero, then at least I'll be a widower."
With that, Kable stabbed the top of the stanchion through Sandra's chest.
50
The Draconfolk surrounding Ted were distracted by the sudden closure of the portals. Ted crouched down and leapt. His plan was to jump on the edge of the stage and attack. When his hop took him 10 feet into the air, he realized that whatever closed those portals had stopped blocking his powers as well.
Ted floated in the air above the lizards and grinned. "Put on your rally caps. It's time for a comeback."
He tightened up his muscles and sent a flying punch into one of the beasts. The blow lifted the creature off its feet and sent it into a building a half a block away. Ted used his powers to push away the next two before they could strike him. One skidded across the street until it slammed head-first into a metal pole. The other one crashed through a car window and remained motionless.
"Like riding a bike."
Ted focused his attention on the other three, but he need not have worried. A metal blade emerged from the stomach of the lizard in the middle. The beast exploded in a fiery burst of blue, revealing Erica behind it. Another two swipes and the other lizards were likewise vaporized.
Ted saw Erica's chest heaving up and down. The sweat dripped down her neck. For once, her hair didn't look like she'd just left the salon. From the confident grin on her face, he could tell that she was in her true element.
"Nice swordplay."
She nodded up at him. "Nice punch."
Ted jogged over to her and wrapped his arms around her back. She did the same. Despite the grime of battle, Erica remained as sweet-smelling as ever.
When Ted pulled away, he saw that the battle was mostly won. There were a few roaming Draconfolk and Lychos, but with his powers and his girlfriend back, they'd be no contest. There was still one blue portal that remained to the right of the stage. His breath calmed as the tension left him.
"So, we kill the last baddies, implicate Senator Kable and find a way to close that portal?"
Ted felt a sudden pain in his side. He reached toward it and found a sharp piece of metal sticking out of his shirt. Ted looked in the direction the weapon had come from. Senator Kable was bleeding profusely from the abdomen, but the wounds didn't seem to bother him nearly as much as the metal was stinging Ted. Kable opened his hand and thrust his fingers forward. Another sharp hunk of metal flew toward them, but Erica was ready. She kicked the projectile away at the last possible moment, and it clanged harmlessly on the ground.
Kable has powers?
Ted yanked the sharp metal out of his side, which sent even more pain through his body. He tossed the weapon in Kable's direction and used his powers to aim for a direct hit. The gleaming shard stopped in mid-air, just a few inches away from Kable's forehead. To Ted's surprise it didn't fall to the ground. It actually felt like something was pushing back against Ted's powers. As if it was an arm wrestling match for control of the object. Ted had never felt anything like it.
"What is he?"
Erica crouched low as Kable continued to approach. "I don't know."
That's when Kable invaded Ted's mind. Hundreds of voices called out at once in his head. His world became nothing but screams of terror and cries for help. He clutched at his head as if to pull the overwhelming noises out.
"Ted?!" Erica put her arm around his shoulder. "What is it?"
The sounds grew louder. He shut his eyes and concentrated on pushing away the cacophony of horror. When he opened one eye, Ted saw Erica running toward Kable. The senator blocked two punches and grabbed Erica by the throat, lifting her body above the ground.
Ted clenched his fists. "Go away!"
With that, the sounds faded from his mind. He concentrated on the muscles in Kable's arm. The senator yelped in pain as Ted broke the man's wrist. Erica fell to the ground, though she quickly did a kick-up and backed away. Much to Ted's chagrin, Kable began laughing. He looked particularly villainous with the eerie glow from the nearby portal lighting him from behind.
"But Ted, I was just having a chat with an old friend."
Kable took his good hand and pulled at his own face. As he peeled away the skin, Ted's stomach lurched. The senator tossed the mask to the ground and revealed that half of his face was red and shriveled. Ted was grossed out for sure, but the look on Erica's face worried him. Her eyes had seen it all, but apparently nothing like this. She nearly stumbled as she ran back to Ted's side.
"You need to run."
Ted flinched. "What?! We need to stop him."
Erica shook her head. "You're not ready for this. He... he's–"
Kable moved his broken wrist closer to his face. He focused intently on the injury before he flexed the hand. From what Ted could tell, he healed the injury just by looking at it.
"I'm like you, Ted." Kable grinned. "I'm a living soul, too."
Ted didn't understand. He looked to Erica. "What does he mean?"
She was near tears. "It's Adam. I thought I killed him. He's the one who's behind all of this!"
Ted recalled the story of Adam growing too powerful and Erica bringing a building down on top of him. It seems the killing didn't stick.
Kable chuckled. "My humble protector, I have you to thank for all of this. Faking my death was the best thing that ever happened to me."
Erica looked at Ted. A tear ran down her face. "Please, run."
Ted shook his head, but he wasn't sure what to say in response.
Adam moved closer. "You know, it's about time I returned the favor. Sandra had told me of your desire to die."
Suddenly Ted felt a pinch in his mind as Adam made a twisting motion. Ted saw Erica's neck turn all the way around with a loud snap as she collapsed to the ground.
His muscles shook, his mind filled with his own personal screams of agony. He bent down beside Erica and cradled her body.
"No. No, Erica. No!"
Ted searched within her mind and heart for any signs of life. There were none. The love he saw before him was broken in two. Ted gently laid Erica on the street and stood up.
Rage flashed through Ted's consciousness. Everything around him began to float up in the air. Metal stanchions, two-by-fours attached to trampled signs, and even a nearby security golf cart. Ted clapped his hands together and the items flew toward his adversary. The opponent flicked the items away with his own powers, and they went zipping by him and crashing into the ground.
Ted seethed. "I'm gonna kill you!"
He leapt off the ground and flew through the air. His head was aimed for Adam's midsection, but the senator caught him before he could make impact. Adam flew the two of them about 10 feet off the ground and threw Ted back toward the pavement. Ted halted himself a foot above the ground and barely rolled out of the way of Adam's foot as the senator propelled himself downward.
Ted reached with his powers for the senator's gunshot wounds. He tried to rip at the man who'd killed Erica and tear the flesh from his bones. He succeeded for a moment, until the senator put himself back together
Ted was about to lift the entire stage up to use it as a weapon when the senator made contact with his head. The first punch stunned him, but the next three put him on the edge of consciousness. He tried to swing back, but Adam blocked the blow with ease. Another punch to the back of Ted's head would have sent him toppling over if the senator hadn't taken a hold of his shirt. He dragged Ted toward the shimmering blue portal.
"Despite my grudge with her, she really was a good protector." Adam smiled. "You should have run."
Ted used all his facilities just to keep himself conscious. He stared into the abyss of the gateway. There was no telling what was on the other side.
I may just find out.
Adam pushed Ted high up into the air and threw him directly into the portal. Ted felt a wave of hot air as the blue surrounded him. Something stung his eyes before he completely lost consciousness.
51
At the end of Erica's revised mission with Adam, she'd stayed near the fallen building for days. When there was no sign that the traitorous living soul was still alive, she remembered how she began to slip away. As a mission ended, so did the light soul's grip on its human body. The end was less painful than a forceful exit, but it remained similar. She'd feel something like an electric current go through her body before she was transported back to the Realm of Souls in her true form. At least, it was the closest approximation to her true form as she could get, given her miraculous existence there.
That's what Erica expected when she collapsed to the pavement. Only she wasn't dead. Erica reached for her neck, but it wasn't even sore. A bruise was beginning to form from where she'd made contact with the pavement, but otherwise she was alive and kicking.
But I heard my neck snap.
Erica pushed up to a sitting position and focused her eyes near the blue portal. She watched as Adam punched Ted multiple times in succession.
An illusion. He made me look dead so Ted would attack!
Erica tried to get to her feet in time, but it was too late. Adam lifted Ted into the air and tossed him into the portal. The living soul. Her mission. Her love. Ted disappeared before her eyes.
The senator saw Erica get to her feet and raised his eyebrows. "Now, I guess it's just you and me."
He cracked his knuckles and walked toward her. Erica suppressed her anger and steeled her mind against everything. The only way she was going to stand a chance would be to remain perfectly calm.
Out of the corner of Erica's eye, she saw something move across her field of vision. Unbeknownst to the villain, a second person had just gone through the portal.
Natalie stood at the ready. No more creatures had come their way since Travis took out the two Lychos. While he was an idiot for almost getting himself killed, she was glad to have him there. Natalie remembered her comm link and tapped at it.
"We can't really see what's going on out there. Can anyone report?"
There was radio silence for a long moment before Dhiraj piped up.
"It's not looking good, Nat."
Natalie furrowed her brow and looked at Travis. "I need specifics."
Jennifer sniffled. "Lost the comm on Ted and Erica when they got close to the portal, but the cameras... she hasn't moved."
Natalie growled. She motioned to Travis. "We've gotta help Ted."
"But what about the people?"
"Now you get a conscience? Come on!"
Natalie ran back toward the main street. It looked like the aftermath of a war. Fortunately, most of the blood and guts that'd been spilled had been that of the Lychos and Draconfolk. Natalie passed by the broken staff of Sela Fortbright as she came into view of the portal. A deformed-looking Senator Kable was punching Ted in the face. She cringed. The senator lifted Ted high into the air near the portal.
