“Josiah Versette stand up!” he commanded.
Josiah looked up at the Sufferer.
“Stand up and stand against your enemy,” Marcus commanded and presented his hand. Josiah took it and was helped to his feet. The police officer looked around him then at Marcus.
“What…. how have… have you taken it away from me?” he asked.
“Yes.” Marcus confirmed.
“How are you not… yunno, like that?” Josiah asked, pointing to the rest of their colleagues. “How is the fear I was feeling not crippling you?!”
“I’m refusing it.” Marcus declared confidently as he turned and began walking back to the middle of the road.“
Josiah felt a chill go down his back as he followed Marcus and stood by his side.
“Ah the graveyard gunman.” Spirit of Confusion mocked. “Wanting to burn again?”
“Not quite.” Josiah replied, trying his best to show no fear in his voice. When the words left his mouth he realised, to his joy, that he actually felt no fear. His spirit was calm.
“You’re not getting through,” Marcus declared defiantly.
Nagra laughed obnoxiously loudly.
“Stupid fools! You think we want in there?” He asked, as if talking to children.
Marcus looked back to the fighting for a moment and then to Josiah. He realised why they had come.
“No. We’ve come for them,” Nagra finished, pointing to the wounded fighters and trembling police and army men. He glared at Marcus for a moment then raised his arms quickly into the air. Two walls of fire suddenly ripped down each side of Austin Avenue. Squad cars and ambulances exploded in huge fire balls as the flames ripped towards the wall. The flames raced towards the men and women around the wall as some among their numbers began to panic and run in all directions. Marcus and Josiah stood still, not taking their eyes off of Nagra.
Manning gave direction and helped were he could through the communicators. He spoke to the whole group of leaders together and on their own were individual commands were needed.
Israel was taking hits from all around. This wasn’t just because they were making their move forward, it was as if Kennedy’s entire force was out to get him. When multiple enemies grouped around him and his friends, the enemy would all only strike at Israel.
One foe managed a lucky slice of a blade across Israel’s hip, the blade finding just the right angle to pierce the armour and cause a significant, but not deadly, amount of blood flow.
Greyfall, sword on his back, now held a gun in each hand, charging forward and blasting enemies in all directions. Squeezing the trigger on his right hand gun suddenly did nothing. The laser was depleted. Greyfall fired as many shots as he could with the left hand gun but after several seconds it too was empty. Tossing the guns aside he reached up behind his head and unsheathed the sword that had cut through the bulwark. The time traveller hacked his way through the enemy line towards the Skyborn.
Metalcore carried Warstone high in the air, picking up as much speed as he could. Satisfied with the trajectory and aim he let go of the wrestler who cannonballed his way to the earth. A mighty stone giant of a being towered twenty feet in the air, tearing at Manning’s force with it’s hands, killing effortlessly. Without warning Warstone exploded through the stone giants abdomen, shattering its body to pieces. Nearby fighters stood for a moment to see who or what could have destroyed such a mighty enemy. Picking himself up from the now cracked and broken ground Warstone shook his head and gathered himself up.
“Alright men!” he yelled to his comrades, pointing to what he thought was the direction of the Skyborn building. “Charge!”
The wrestler began running with an arm raised but was immediately met by Simpson who grabbed him by the wrist. Warstone stopped and Simpson twisted him round to face the right direction.
“That way,” Simpson told him, slapping him in the backside.
“Charge!” Warstone yelled as he ran at the enemy.
The army surged closer still to the Skyborn. The Reader stayed towards the back of the group fighting their way forward. He wasn’t a strong fighter and he was a critical part of finding and freeing the innocents held inside the building.
“We may yet do this.” he thought to himself.
At that moment all of the main front doors of the Skyborn opened and reinforcements for Kennedy’s army came rushing out in their hundreds.
Greyfall hacked down an enemy and looked to see the oncoming wave of new and fresh fighters.
Israel took a hit to the head from an unknown attacker. He took another in the gut.
“A speeder!” he thought to himself as he began to punch and kick wildly in all directions in the hope that he could land a strike on his seemingly invisible enemy. It was no good. To the speeder Israel may as well have been moving in slow motion. A hard knock to the head had Israel falling to the ground on his back. Multiple hands grabbed at him and pulled him upwards. Two men carried him back behind their line of fighters and towards the oncoming wave of reinforcements coming from the Skyborn. Simpson who was surveying the scene spotted Israel and began to shove his way forward through friend and foe alike. If an enemy got in his way they got a laser blast or a bullet to the chest.
Metalcore had spotted what was happening and swooped down as fast as he could. Striking the lead man in the back of the leg he collapsed to the ground. Israel toppled from the grip of the second man carrying him. Metalcore punched him in the face, instantly knocking him out with one hit. Reaching down he picked Israel up and placed him over his shoulder. A dozen enemies were charging at him from all directions but he jetted of into the sky and back behind the fighting before any could reach him. Descending, Metalcore placed Israel on the ground safely behind the front fighting force. Simpson had seen everything and had pushed his way back through the fighting to reach them. Sliding to his knees he sat beside Israel who was coming back around.
“Whu… happened?” he asked.
“Metalcore saved you. They were taking you back to the…” Simpson stopped mid sentence and looked up at the giant skyscraper. “They were taking you back to the Skyborn.”
“Why the hell were they doing that?! They could have just killed me?” Israel asked.
Metalcore looked to Simpson for an answer.
Manning spoke up over the communicator. “Kennedy wants him.”
Israel was now standing on his feet and sighed.
“The Masterpiece?” he asked.
“I imagine so,” Manning confirmed. “We have to get our hands on whatever it is Kennedy has that would create such a being. It must be destroyed. Yunno, just to add to our list of things to do today.”
They stood in silence for a moment until Simpson finally broke it.
“I have an idea.”
The flames licked close to Marcus and Josiah but did not touch them or their friends and allies behind them.
“Where does this defiance come from?!” Spirit of Fear asked Nagra, starting to show signs of panic.
“They can’t defy us,” Nagra said cooly. “Not all of us.” He continued with a grin.
Suddenly a cloud of black smoke rose out of the ground behind Nagra. A thousand black figures carrying swords appeared out of nowhere to stand behind their leader, invisible to the world.
“Kill them all,” Nagra ordered as he bared his teeth and lashed out a whip of flame right at Marcus who didn’t move. The flame raced towards his face faster than he could have reacted but it wasn’t necessary. A golden hand emitting light reached out from behind Marcus and stopped the whip which fell limp to the ground before it could strike him.
“Light Fighters!” Spirit of Fear yelled in terror.
Behind Marcus and Josiah stood a thousand Light Fighters in full shining armour, swords and spears raised and ready for war.
“Kill them all!” Nagra repeated his order.
With a shrill cry his demonic force surged forward at full speed. The Light Fighters flew forward to meet them.
> Simpson tossed a simple smoke grenade several yards in front of him. Israel stood by his side. After several moments the immediate vicinity was smothered in thick white smoke. Lasers and bullets fired wildly through the air. Simpson had an advantage. Reaching up to the side of his mask he slid across a small button. Inside his visor he could now see the outlines of people in the smoke as red characters stumbling around. His victim, a man with claws and long sharp teeth, wearing a long and ragged brown cloth that covered from the top of his head down to knees, was ten feet in front of him wildly swinging his arms around to catch anyone he could get his hands on. Simpson tackled the man to the ground and smashed his face with his gun, knocking him unconscious.
As the battle raged on the smoke finally began to clear. Out of the madness, fighting and bodies exploding everywhere you looked, one dark and shrouded fighter emerged from the smoke carrying a seemingly unconscious Israel over his shoulder and was making his way back towards the Skyborn building.
“I have the boy!” the figure yelled as he waved his hands to signal a path to be cleared. “Move! I have the boy!”
“We have him! We have Israel!” Frank announced to Kennedy who was inspecting Jessen’s withering body. The shape of every rib and bone was visible under the skin due to the lack of food. Jessen was hooked up to a tube that gave him all the nutrients and strength to just barely stay alive but he was fading fast now. Every second brought him closer to his death.
“Have him brought down here as quickly as possible. How is it going outside?” Kennedy asked.
“Good. The remaining super powered and security personnel that were inside have all reinforced our fighters. It’s just us down here and the boys up in the labs.”
As Jessen slowly died the bulwark closed further and further in on itself. The opening Greyfall had smashed in the wall was now only several meters wide.
Elaine was struggling to keep up with the intense and constant barrage of attacks coming from every direction by Kennedy’s men. Several members of the Stirling Forty had fallen. Silvercord wailed and swung her sword with fury as several of her warriors died, bravely protecting the exit from the dome towards the wounded and emergency services just outside. Elaine didn’t know if she had the stamina to keep this up for much longer. It was all out anarchy. Death was everywhere.
Outside the wall Light Fighters battled the hordes of Nagra in an invisible battle. Elaine turned to check on the wounded to see Marcus and Josiah standing in the middle of Austin Avenue staring at three dark figures in front of them. In another realm swords cut through black as demon after demon dissipated in a cloud of smoke.
“Enough! With me my spirits!” Nagra yelled as he exploded into a swarm of black birds. Spirit of Fear and Spirit of Confusion ran forward following the flock. Spirit of Confusion zipped his way through the police and wounded with great speed and slow motion at the same time, wreaking whatever havoc and insanity he could. Spirit of Fear stealthily danced from one victim to another leaving them a trembling mess. The Nagra birds swarmed over the scene at the slowly closing entry setting fires among the wounded in a last effort to cause as much pain and death as possible.
Marcus and Josiah ran to help the wounded and put out as many fires as they could but it was useless. Nagra, Fear and Confusion were too fast. As the Light Fighters battled their demonic enemy the entry was now a mere ten feet wide.
Inside the wall Elaine took notice of the smaller gap. Running through the throng she found Silvercord who had just downed an enemy with her sword.
“We’re nearly closed in!” Elaine shouted. “When the gap seals do we rejoin the others?”
“Honestly…” Silvercord began but had to swing wildly to block an attack from a man made of stone. Elaine made a fist of ice and plunged it at the man’s chest, slowly turning him blue as he writhed. Once turned to ice, she relented and let the attacker fall back as a solid block of ice.
“Honestly I don’t even know if we’ll make it to them. We’re over-run,” she finished.
Elaine couldn’t quite take it all in. They were most likely going to die.
“All we can do is fight,” Silvercord added.
Elaine surveyed the battle then glanced back to see Marcus and Josiah. Something was wrong. They were now running around the wounded frantically trying to help them as they burned in a wild fire that was spontaneously erupting around them. A swarm of black birds flew in and around the crowd of people as they panicked.
Josiah hugged the flaming leg of the screaming policeman with his upper body, suffocating the flames. Standing up he ran to where Marcus was kneeling beside a teenager, one of the wounded fighters. His hand had been cut off and he was coughing up blood. Marcus had his hand on the boys shoulder and was easing his pain. Josiah could see not just agony, but grief in The Sufferer’s eyes. They were now removed from the invisible battle taking place on Austin Avenue by a hundred yards. As the Light Fighters laid waste to the final few demons Marcus let his guard down as a creeping sense of fear came over him while he comforted the dying youth. That moment was all that Nagra needed. Suddenly the young man burst into a ball of flame, screaming and wriggling as he died. Marcus and Josiah, stunned, frantically crawled back away from the boy. In the moment of terror the Sufferer let his powers go and the boy felt everything as he died.
“No!” Marcus yelled, turning in anger to see where Nagra was. From the ground Josiah reached out towards his friend.
“Marcus no!” he yelled
His warning was too late. Marcus slumped forward, a flaming blade piercing his stomach and emerging out of his back. Nagra stood tall over The Sufferer and spat on the ground.
“Look where it all got you boy,” he snarled, twisting the blade causing Marcus to scream in agony, blood starting to pour from his mouth. Josiah stood to his feet and ran to help his friend. He was met with the back hand of Nagra and sent flying, landing twenty feet away, his chest on fire. Landing hard he wriggled and writhed on the ground to put out the fire.
“Look around you Light filth!” Nagra spoke, looking Marcus in the eyes as he held his dying body. “You’ve lost!”
A tear ran down the side of Marcus’ face as he struggled to breathe.
“You’re friends have failed,” he continued. “They are all going to die UNGH!”
Something twisted inside Nagra.
“We may well die…” a voice came from behind Nagra. Marcus struggled to see through teary eyes what was happening. Nagra loosened his grip on him and he fell to the ground, looking upwards to see what was happening.
“But after you go back to the hell where you came from!” Elaine’s voice concluded as a sharp icy blade came exploding out of Nagra’s chest.
“Marcus!” Josiah yelled as he stumbled his way over to help his dying friend.
Nagra writhed and let out a shrill high pitched scream that caused those nearby to cover their ears against the noise. Spirit of Fear and Spirit of Confusion instantly cried out in terror, their hands shaking. Behind them the last of the battling demons disappeared in a cloud of smoke as the Light Fighters stood victorious. Spirit of Fear and Spirit of Confusion made a run for it but only made it a few steps before golden blades cut through them, sending them back where they came from in two clouds of red dust.
Nagra twisted and flailed his arms as the blue ice spread across his chest, around his back and throughout his arms and legs until he stood frozen and still as a statue.
Josiah made it to Marcus who was barely breathing. He grabbed his hand and held it, comforting the dying Sufferer.
“It’s ok man! It’s ok!” he told him.
Marcus spat out something that was almost a chuckle.
“Don… don’t think… it is…” he managed to say between breaths. “You don’t… you don’t know any… other… sufferers… do you? This… really stings.” he began to cough violently. Josiah fought back tears as he laughed with his friend.
“No, I mean… you know it’s gonna be ok right?” Josiah asked.
“Ye… yeah I… I do,” Marcus smiled. “I know I’ll… I’ll be…”
“You’ll be ok buddy.”
“It… it finally feels… dying…” Marcus took a deep breath. “It finally feels… wonderful,” He finished. Letting out a deep sigh he closed his eyes and breathed his last breath.
Chapter 27
Josiah held his friend as he died. Elaine still stood beside the now frozen and upright body of Nagra, watching as the police officer gently rested The Sufferer’s head on the ground. Looking towards the dome she saw that the opening was only a few feet wide now. The fighting on both lines was still fierce and full of fatalities. Josiah stood up, sighed and looked to Elaine.
“Thank you,” he said quietly.
She nodded. “I have to go back. We’re losing.”
Josiah reached down to his holster and released his gun, taking it in his hand.
“I’m coming with you,” he said.
“It’s not for the likes of you,” she told him.
Josiah raised his gun and aimed it right at Nagra’s frozen face at point blank range. The gunshot echoed down Austin Avenue as icy shards and black feathers exploded from the neck up of the demon. Josiah shot again at Nagra’s upper body and then his lower body, each time causing more ice shards and feathers to fly in all directions.
Elaine stood in silence and watched for several moments then finally spoke.
“Yeah alright,” she said. “The dome is closing in on itself. It’s now or-“
Before Elaine could finish her sentence Josiah was already walking past her towards the bullwark.
“… Never.” She concluded as she followed the police officer back into the fray.
Josiah picked up a shotgun and ammo bag that lay beside the body of one of his fallen comrades.
Stepping inside the dome the first thing Josiah noticed was the noise. It was unbearably loud. He had no idea what it was that the bulwark was made out of but it was creating an echo so fierce and terrible it made the hairs on his arms stand on end. But it didn’t slow him down for a moment. The shotgun blast hit a man of metal in the chest before he could deliver a fatal blow to one of the Stirling Forty. Another shot into the air took down a flyer who fell uncontrollably out of the sky into the energy wall and disintegrated. Confidently he walked forward shooting enemy after enemy without flinching.
The Hade War Page 28
