Defenders of Shadow and Light: Ghost Thief

by Jason Levine

  “I’ll head back right away.”

  “You’ll never make it in time. Did you get the substance?”

  “Not yet,” Murray admitted.

  “Get it. We’ll hold off as long as we can. I’ll get Eddie out and will let you know where to rendezvous with me.”

  “Understood.”

  Murray made sure his air tank was filled up, secured the cooler pack, and pulled out his staves. Carefully, he peeked through a large hole that was punched through the door. Outside, on the ground, were the bodies of five guards.

  “Looks like my friend cleared a path for me,” Murray said, slowly moving through the hole and into the control room. “Here’s hoping it leads to what I need.”

  Murray entered the hallway and spotted the bodies of three more guards. The lights in the hall were flickering red, casting odd shadows along the passageway. At the end of the hall, Murray encountered a familiar sight. The elevator he had scaled down just a few nights before. It seemed like a lifetime ago now.

  The doors had been ripped open by something very powerful. At first, Murray was going to guess Brawn, but looking at it, he noticed they were bent inwards.

  “Looks like he made his exit here,” Murray said. Turning around, he saw two more dead bodies. “And he faced more resistance. I’m really glad I didn’t have to fight this guy.”

  “Murray,” came the crackling voice of Sean in his ear.

  “I’m almost to the substance.”

  “It might not matter anymore,” Sean responded.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I just tried to send Eddie off but my escape route has been disabled.”

  “Can you fix it?” Murray asked.

  “Not in time.”

  “What about just using the tunnels to get out?”

  “There are more soldiers in the tunnels making their way to us,” Sean answered. “I’ve fortified us in the shack as best I can but it’s not looking good.”

  Murray heard a roar of pain in the background.

  “What was that?”

  “That would be Eddie activating his powers. He’s determined to go down fighting, despite my assurances that I’ll figure a way out of this.”

  Murray began to run down the hallway towards the room with the vials. He noted that the security system didn’t seem to be active anymore and the door to the room was wide open.

  “I’m heading in to get the vials on the off-chance that you get out of this.”

  Murray ran into the room. Two guards rushed towards him, but he quickly dodged them and knocked them out with two quick blows to the head.

  “Nice work. My guards are loyal but oh so easy to incapacitate.”

  Murray looked up from the last guard. The man in the dark suit–the General–was standing across the room with his back facing Murray as he gazed into the cooler case filled with vials of black goo. Murray’s previous view was through a small door opening, halfway down a hallway. Not exactly ideal. Now, he was a mere ten feet away. With a name like the General, Murray had expected a large hulking man. Instead, the General was short–probably about five feet three inches. He appeared bald, though it was hard to see if he had any hair under the military cap he wore.

  The General turned to face Murray and Murray found himself backing up. The General’s face was contorted. It looked like it had been ripped apart and stitched back together badly.

  “So you’re the General?” Murray said, keeping his staves ready.

  “Yes. A fitting name given my history, but I am so much more than I was back then. I see you have been changed as well. Don’t worry. All will have a place under my rule.”

  “Sorry,” Murray said. “I’m not much for following rules.”

  Murray charged at the General and swung his staves at his head. The General calmly parried the blows. He walked to the side and then strode backwards, deflecting more strikes without even looking where he was stepping.

  “An impressive display,” The General said. “However, my guess is that fighting with those weapons is not the gift you have been given. Why not show me your power and I will show you how you will serve me?”

  “I don’t serve anyone,” Murray said swinging his staff again.

  The General grabbed the staff mid swing and ripped it out of Murray’s left hand. He casually tossed aside and it clattered to the floor near the room’s entrance.

  “A show of good faith then. I’ll show you my powers and then you will show me yours.”

  The General reached out. A black mass formed in the palm of his hand. Murray backed away as quickly as he could. The mass erupted from the General’s hand and shot towards Murray with alarming speed. Murray batted it away with his staff and it slammed into the wall. As it slowly slid to the ground, Murray recognized it as one of the creatures that had been affixed to Eddie’s back.

  “All will serve me. Normals and powered alike,” The General said as he shot two more creatures at Murray. Murray dodged one and swatted the other aside.

  “Murray,” shouted the voice of Sean in his ear. “The shack is being breached. I don’t know how much longer we can hold off.”

  “Sean?” said Murray, swatting another creature aside.

  “You are listening to your friends? Good. Do not worry about them. They will survive. Your friends have great abilities. They will serve me well.”

  Two more creatures were fired at Murray and he dodged both. He felt something brush against his leg and kicked at it. With horror, Murray realized that it was one of the creatures that the General had shot at him before. Hitting them only slowed them down. There were now six creatures converging on him quickly and the General seemed ready to shoot more.

  “All will serve me. Resisting is simply impossible.”

  Murray dodged three more creatures shot at him and kicked two away from his feet. He realized that he was going to need to get out of there quickly before the General captured him also. Backing himself up, Murray prepared to ghost.

  “Your friend found that out and now she joyously serves me,” The General taunted.

  “My friend?” Murray asked wide eyed.

  From his earpiece, Murray heard a familiar sounding blast. He heard Eddie scream in pain.

  “My god,” came Sean’s voice. For the first time, Murray heard panic enter Sean’s voice. “It’s Ruth. Murray, she’s working for the General. Eddie is down. You must get out of there now. You’ve got to...”

  The communication cut out. Murray felt numb. Ruth must have tried to go against the General alone. Now she was under his control. Eddie and Sean would soon be also. He had nobody left to turn to. Murray swatted two more creatures away but then roared in pain. He looked down at his right arm. One of the creatures had bitten his forearm and was hanging off of it.

  “Fighting is useless, my friend,” came the General’s voice in his head.

  Murray felt like he was floating. The General was right. How could he fight? The General had so many people at his command and he was just one man. Murray dropped to his knees, his grip on his remaining staff loosened. The other creatures crawled away from him and swarmed over the General. They dug into his skin and disappeared. Murray knew he should be disgusted but somehow it seemed beautiful to him.

  “Do you see? It is only a matter of time. All will follow my rule.”

  Murray nodded. “You’re right,” he said. “I’ll eagerly follow your rule.”

  Suddenly, Murray realized what he was saying. Following rules. That wasn’t him. It was the thing on him. Murray fought back against the control.

  “You still struggle. I can appreciate the strength it takes to resist this long, but ultimately it is useless. Once one of my swarm have bitten you it is impossible to break free. Fighting is useless. Now, SUBMIT!”

  The last word echoed through his brain. Murray gripped his staff and charged at the General screaming. He swung the staff at the General’s head. The General didn’t even move but allowed the staff to hit him. Murray expected a t
hud, but the staff embedded itself deep in the General’s head with a soft squishing sound. The General’s face seemed to have rearranged itself around the staff’s end. His whole head squirmed and pulsed as though it were made up out of a thousand of the leech-like creatures.

  “Nothing you do can hurt me. So why fight? Submit to my rule.”

  “You’re wrong,” Murray said, fighting back an overwhelming urge to obey. “And I told you before, I don’t DO rules!”

  Murray pressed the button on his staff and injected his sedative into the General. The General roared in pain. Murray ripped the staff out of The General’s head and pulled on the creature affixed to him. It pulled off of his arm, taking a chunk of his flesh with it. Several deep gashes from the creature’s teeth bled profusely through his ripped outfit.

  Murray ran over to the case containing the vials of black goo. He grabbed a few and quickly secured them in the cooler case. Glancing at the General to make sure he hadn’t recovered, Murray ran for the door. As he fled the room, he grabbed his other staff.

  Murray ran full speed down the hallway heading for the elevator. As he reached the doors, he started his air flow, ghosted, and activated his thrusters. Murray passed through the broken elevator doors and flew up the shaft. The doors to the main floor were broken as well.

  Murray flew down the hallway, following a trail of dead guards that his friend had left behind during his escape. He couldn’t help but wish that he could have gotten Shadow to help fight the General. Maybe together they would have had better luck. Of course, he might have also wound up fighting both Shadow and the General at the same time.

  Murray reached an outside door as his air was running out. The door was smashed to pieces along with a chunk of the wall around it.

  “Shadow really did want his freedom,” Murray thought as he de-ghosted and ducked down to hide from view. He quickly refilled his air tank. Peeking outside, he noticed that all of the guards were on the ground. Some were clearly dead–victims of Shadow’s escape no doubt–but others were writhing in pain.

  “Looks like linking with the General has its disadvantages,” Murray said as he put his staves away. He started his air flow again, ghosted, and glided out of the building. As he rose into the air, he spotted Brawn on the ground. He was alive but howling in pain. For a split second, Murray paused. He might be able to save him–to free Brawn of the General’s control. It would be nice to have the big guy on his side. Then again, who knew if Brawn would stick around to fight or if he would flee. That was even assuming that Murray could free Brawn before the General recovered and that Murray wouldn’t be hurt simply by Brawn flailing in pain.

  “I’m sorry,” Murray said in Brawn’s direction as he floated away.

  When he was sure he was far enough to have evaded any pursuit, Murray landed on a rooftop, de-ghosted, and collapsed to his knees.

  Chapter Nineteen: On His Own

  “I should just run,” Murray said to himself. “I’ve been on my own before. I do my best work that way. Nobody to get in my way. Nobody to tell me what rules to follow.”

  Murray pounded the gravel littering the rooftop with his fist. Pain radiated up and down his arm and he noticed just how much he was bleeding.

  “This is what happens when you try to be a hero. You get hurt and nobody is left to even thank you for your effort. Better to stick with what you know and be a thief. Who cares if the General takes control of people? As long as there are places for me to rob.”

  Murray took off the cooler pack and set it down. Then, he unfastened his backpack and placed it down as well.

  “It would be so easy to leave. Just get to the city limits, hop on a bus, and head out of town.”

  Murray looked down at himself again.

  “Of course, it would be hard to explain the outfit and the bleeding arm. That might attract more police attention than I want. And I don’t exactly carry a lot of cash in this suit.”

  Cash. Murray realized with a start that his safe containing his cash was still in his apartment. Ruth knew about his hidden compartment. The General’s men could be cleaning him out at this very moment. Murray swung the pack onto his back and locked it into place. For a moment, he considered leaving the cooler with the vials behind, but he had risked everything for those. They were definitely coming with him.

  “New plan, then,” Murray said to himself. “Check out the apartment and make sure it’s secure. If it is, get the money, a change of clothes, and run. If it’s not… figure out a plan B.”

  Murray ghosted and took off, flying low above the rooftops to avoid detection.

  The sun was hanging low in the sky when Murray arrived at his apartment building. He landed on a rooftop across the street and looked at the road below. Murray saw a series of military vehicles parked along his street. He whispered a few choice curse words to himself. They were already here. The landlord was talking with one soldier while others took various containers out of the building and loaded it onto a truck.

  Murray looked towards his apartment. Activating his goggles’ binocular feature, he zoomed in. He could see at least five guards. They were tearing his apartment to shreds. One was reaching in his vent. His safe was on the ground along with other possessions of his.

  Murray punched the roof in frustration. He had no other choice. He had to get out of there. There was no way he would be able to fight all of the guards off. He might still be able to get out of town, but no money or street clothes, would complicate matters considerably.

  Murray ghosted and flew away from his apartment. For a while, he wandered from rooftop to rooftop. Finally, with dusk approaching, he landed and de-ghosted. He realized that he was starting to feel woozy. He examined his arm. It was still bleeding.

  “First things first,” Murray said to himself. “I need to get this taken care of.”

  Murray’s stomach rumbled.

  “And some food wouldn’t hurt either.”

  It wasn’t much of a plan, Murray moved across the buildings until he spotted a pharmacy that was closed for the day. Murray ghosted in, feeling like a common thief. Despite his chosen career path, he had always prided himself on the types of jobs he pulled. Breaking into a store to steal some everyday items seemed beneath him. Desperate times called for desperate measures, though.

  Murray grabbed some bandages, a few boxes of food, and a bag to hold it all. When he was done, he floated back to the rooftop. There, he wrapped his arm as best he could. Opening a box of crackers he had obtained, Murray looked out at the setting sun. He crunched on handfuls of food while thinking about his next move.

  “Going up against the General again would be stupid. I was lucky to get away the first time. But can I just abandon Ruth, Thomas, and everyone else to him? It’s my fault they’re in this mess.”

  Murray stared at the cracker box as if it might suddenly tell him what to do. He chuckled as he thought that this wouldn’t be the strangest thing that happened to him in the past few days.

  “Murray?” came a static-filled voice in Murray’s ear.

  For a split second, Murray thought that perhaps the box really was talking to him, then he realized who it was.

  “Sean?”

  “Yes. Did you get away from the General?”

  Murray looked at his bandaged arm. “Just barely. How did you escape?”

  “I didn’t.”

  Murray dropped the cracker box to the ground.

  “Wait, so you’re under the General’s control?”

  “No. He has a leech on me and it is making it difficult for me to keep my thoughts clear, but there is enough technology infiltrating my brain to render me resistant to the General’s control.”

  “How do I know you’re not just lying to lure me into a trap?”

  “From what I can gather, those under the General’s control are unable to speak ill of him. That evil man does NOT have me under his control. I’ll fight being his puppet as long as I can.”

  Murray thought back to when he wa
s bitten. For a moment, he had felt like the General was the best thing in his life. Talking negatively about the man would have been as possible for Murray in that split second as passing through walls would have been before his powers.

  “Okay. Let’s assume for the moment that you are free of his control. Where are you? How are you contacting me?”

  “I’m in The General’s not-so-abandoned military base. As for how I’m contacting you: How do you think I answered my phone number so quickly? One of the perks of having technology taking over my body. I have a communications system built into my brain. Right now, I’m surrounded by a dozen of the General’s guards and, for all they know, I’m preparing for tomorrow.”

  “What happens tomorrow?”

  “I’m not entirely sure. From what I’ve been able to gather, the General’s condition is deteriorating. He has a plan to stabilize himself but needs Thomas for it. His encounter with you seems to have spooked him. During your encounter you were bitten by one of his leeches and were able to break the control yourself. Is that right?”

  “Yes. It wasn’t easy, but I ripped that sucker off my arm after I pumped him full of my sedative. He did NOT like that.”

  “Interesting. Unfortunately, while I am mostly in control of my mind, I cannot summon enough willpower to remove his leech. In any event, you seem to have left him scared. He is going to do something to Thomas tomorrow night.”

  “Are Thomas and Eddie okay? What about Ruth?”

  “I haven’t seen any of them since we were brought here. I think that they took Eddie for medical assistance. Ruth hurt him pretty bad.”

  “We’ve got to figure out a way to stop the General. What do I do? I can’t possibly take on everyone there by myself. Even if I weren’t injured, I’m low on supplies.”

  “When the General’s men arrived, I managed to hide your supplies in the Junkyard. I don’t think they expended too much effort searching. However, it’s too dark to attempt to retrieve that now. If the General’s men are still there, you might not spot them until it’s too late. For now, you should head to 28 Langmuir Road. There’s a safe house there that you can use to heal and regroup. Ask for apartment 143H. I’ve got to go now. I’ll contact you again as soon as I can.”