Daniel Returns

by G W Mullins

  In this new existence angels were hunted down and imprisoned. There was no balance anymore, only chaos. Daniel watched as demons gathered to execute an angel who had fallen to them. He knew it was all a dream, but the insanity shook him so badly he woke up screaming.

  “Daniel what happened? Are we being attacked again?” Jen was in a state of confusion.

  “No, it’s nothing like that. It was a bad dream. At least I hope it was a dream. Here lately my dreams are linked to things that are about to happen. The dark ones took over and everything was literally going to hell.”

  “I thought that everything was in balance and was kept that way.”

  “It is and should be, unless someone deliberately tampers with the balance.” Daniel was confused about it all.

  “Well, that is not our problem at this point. There are all kinds of angels around to take care of that. Right now, you only need to worry about the last Shadow. Have you had any warning about another one coming?” Jen asked.

  “No, I guess for a minute we have a little quiet. Maybe we should use this time to get on our way again.”

  Jen agreed with him, the sooner they left, the safer the people around them would be. They didn’t want to endanger loved ones and any more than they had to. There was no knowing where or when the shadows would attack again.

  Studying a map, they chose a destination where it seemed a lower population was in their advantage. A bus ride for about two hours would take them to a beach where they had learned of a church of sanctuary. It was a place where ghosts often gathered to seek safety.

  Daniel was dead on his feet from the disturbing dreams he was having. As soon as he was on the bus, he curled up against the corner of his seat. He drifted in to dream again. At first it was not too bad as he walked on the beach and watched the waves crash into shore. As the dream continued, he saw a light house. He had always been fascinated with light houses. As he studied it in his dream, he saw the man walking around the top level. He seemed distraught. Something was making him panic.

  As Daniel moved toward the light house he looked up and saw the man fly off the railing and land just a few feet from him. Daniel awoke in a panic. He didn’t understand what all this meant. Was he having more premonitions? Were his dreams trying to tell him something? He didn’t know. He just sat up in his seat and pulled out his water bottle and took a drink. He didn’t know how to tell Jen about what he was seeing.

  Jen studied the map they had bought of the area. She looked all around the church location for places they might need to visit. It was off-season and so many would be closed for winter. As she moved her finger up the map, she got excited. She turned to Daniel. “Did you see that there is a light house just down the road from where we are going?” Daniel sank back into the seat again; his fears were becoming reality.

  “Jen, we need to talk.” He said leaning closer to her. “I had another dream and this time there was a light house and a man plunging to his death. Is this weird timing or is this all a warning of some sorts?”

  “Ok, that’s too weird. What do we do, pick another place?” She whispered.

  “Wouldn’t make any difference, we can’t change any of this. Fate would only follow us and throw something new in our path.”

  Daniel sank down in his seat and looked out the window as the bus drove down the long beachside road. He looked up at the building they were passing. It was an extremely old church with a huge steeple. He looked hard for a marker to see what is was. Above the door, Sacred Heart, the name of the church they were looking for. The building looked to be hundreds of years old and in disrepair. Daniel thought to himself, that it was a perfect place for a ghost.

  The bus pulled up to their stop and they grabbed their bags and headed for a motel. They both needed a minute before embarking on a mission in an old dilapidated church. As they entered their room, Daniel fell across the bed and groaned loudly. “I used to have more energy as a ghost. I am always tired and hungry this way.”

  Jen offered to go for food, as Daniel stared at the ceiling. Being human again was going to take some getting used to. He rested a while and then when Jen returned, they ate lunch and prepared to embark on their walk to the church.

  As they moved along, Daniel felt the rays of sun on his skin; it had been so long since he was able to feel such things. He liked the feeling, but it had been so long it was almost foreign to him now.

  Arriving at the church, they tried the front door but it was locked. The building looked as if no one used it as a anything anymore. It appeared to have been boarded up for some years. Jen walked around and looked down the sides of the building but there were no other ways in.

  “OK do it.” Jen commanded.

  “Do what?” Daniel asked.

  “Do that thing you do. Get us inside!” She insisted.

  “You know here lately you are a lot more aggressive. If you are insinuating I orb in, may I remind you that to do that is a crime?”

  “Look angel boy, we do not have all day to argue and there is no other way. So, orb your way into the damn church!”

  “Ok, but if we get arrested it is all on you. I’m throwing you under the bus.”

  “Yeah, Ok, you do that.” Jen laughed as Daniel dematerialized from sight.

  The door the church was a bit hard to convince to move, but Daniel threw himself against it and it popped open long enough for Jen to run inside and close it behind her. They looked around the place and Daniel scanned for ghosts. He saw nothing. The place seemed locked up like a tomb and even the undead had abandoned it.

  “Jen there is nothing here, no ghost, no humans, just a dusty old mess.” He said as he picked up a newspaper from a pew.

  “What’s that?” She asked.

  “A newspaper from November 12, 1975. It was probably left be one of the last people to inhabit the place. I think we are wasting our time here.”

  Daniel walked to the front of the large room and looked at the large pool that was near the vestibule. As he leaned over, he looked for what would have once been holy water. He laughed at himself to think there was anything holy in the water it now contained. As he leaned over to try to figure out what was in the blacked oily liquid that occupied the space now, two hands reached out form the dark water.

  Daniel jumped back as a slimy creature covered in a substance like an oil spill jumped towards him. He scrambled backwards throwing his hands and feet every which way he could to get away. As Daniel jumped to his feet, he orbed to the other side of the church and landed near Jen. She turned to him in fear of the creature that had just come to life.

  “What the hell is that?” Jen screamed.

  “I don’t know and I’m not sure I want to.”

  “We can’t just let that thing get out of here, can we?” She asked.

  “I don’t know what to do, I can’t just kill it.”

  “Why not?” She said hitting him in the shoulder.

  “Because, I do not know what it is. It is not a shadow. I did not get the warning. If it has been here all along, maybe we should just leave it here. Lock it back up the way it has always been.” Daniel was frustrated.

  “All right you win. Now orb me the hell out of here before it comes this way.”

  “I don’t know if I can do that with you. I have never done it before.”

  “Then learn fast, because it is coming this way!” Jen screamed.

  Daniel grabbed Jen’s arm and focused his power. They both disappeared into the light and reappeared outside the door. The creature scrambled for them as they locked the door securely back in place. Daniel breathed deep, he was not sure what they had unleashed, but he was sure he would never look into dark water again.

  16 Freeing the Beast

  As Daniel and Jen’s silhouettes faded into the horizon, the ravens started to arrive. One by one, they came and landed all around the building. Some on power lines others just lined the ground until the area was covered in a black moving mass.

  As they moved tow
ard each other taking shape Raven lifted her head up and looked at the old church steeple. A sinister smile crossed her lips. “What an archaic old belief. It’s funny such a grand place of worship should play host to such and evil creature. It is time your prison cell door is opened my lovely.”

  As raven moved towards the front door of the church, she flung her hand in its direction. So effortlessly, the power she unleashed disintegrated the door into a pile of splinters. “What a pity.” She laughed. “I only meant to knock.” As she moved in, she surveyed her surroundings for a moment and then headed for the dark water pool.

  “Come out, come out, wherever you are.” She teased the creature, who hid beneath the black murk. “I won’t hurt you. I have so many things to show you and so much to offer.” As she walked around the once holy pool, she dipped her finger into the water and swirled it back and forth. “I know you are not more than a child. Mama is here to care for you.”

  As she stopped and looked down into the water, fingers started to emerge from the surface. Then hands came forward and the dark body of the demon rose up in front of her. “That’s a good boy.” She praised him. “My, but you are a handsome creature, aren’t you? Now come out and I will free you from this place of confinement.”

  She took the creature by its clawed hand and led it towards the door. As the creature came out into the sun, it covered its eyes in fear of the light it had not ever seen. Raven threw out her cloak, and a dark black shield formed around them as she transported the both of them to the local light house.

  ~~~~~

  As Daniel walked towards the light house, he felt the all too familiar burning sensation on his back. He was being warned. A Shadow was about to come for him. He lowered his head and mustered the courage to tell Jen. He felt guilty for all he had put her through. But at last he thought, this would be the last of them.

  “It’s happening again.” He whispered.

  “I guess there was nowhere we could have gone that they wouldn’t have found us.” Jen moaned. “Ok, so we go to the light house as planned. That way we will know if your premonitions are right.”

  “I kind of wish I was wrong and it was all a dream.”

  “Yeah that would be nice, but I have a feeling it will not be that easy.”

  ~~~~~

  Raven appeared just outside the light house. She released the creature from her cloak and reached for the door. “Come inside, we have things to do.” She said motioning for the creature to move. The creature pulled back at first out of fear. It had been imprisoned for so long and unable to escape, it was fearful of a similar outcome. “It is not a trap, it will be a reward. You will be treated to something you have needed for a long time.”

  The creature obeyed and moved into the lower level of the light house. As Raven led him to the steps the creature began its long climb to the upper level. As they moved upwards, sounds echoed down form the man above who was working there. He came there as a researcher into the history of the area. He was about to become a headline in history himself.

  As the creature stepped off the last step, it studied the man and the way he moved about the place. Raven ran her hand over the creature’s back and she whispered to it. “This is for you my precious one. Go forward and feed.” As the creature moved into the open the man saw him coming. He had nowhere to run or get away as it came for him. As the creature grabbed hold, the man shook violently as the life-force within him was drained. As he jerked free a final scream for help left his body as he fell from the top of the lighthouse.

  ~~~~~

  As the body of the man fell from the lighthouse, Daniel looked up and his dream was becoming too much of a reality. He ran towards the lifeless body that lay on the sand. As Daniel approached, the body began to shake and move. As Jen came up alongside the man sat up. He raised his head and looked Daniel in the face. It was then they saw his eyes. The darkness had entered and the man was now under the control of a Shadow.

  As the man walked towards Daniel, he cocked his head to the side and smiled a sinister smile at him and said. “You have been lucky so far. You survived much, and for that you should be proud. Now prepare to return to the land of the dead.” The creature grabbed for Daniel and threw him several feet into the water.

  As Jen ran to help him, the man grabbed her by the throat and lifted her into the air. As her feet dangled inches above the sand, Jen felt herself begin to black out. She could not breathe and there was no way to break the grip of the Shadow.

  Daniel looked up as the waves hitting shore threw him around in the water. He focused in on Jen, who was hanging limp in the man’s hand. Daniel became enraged and drew upon his power and teleported to Jen’s side. She fell to the ground as the grip was loosened and the Shadow turned towards Daniel. “How is it you were able to hurt an innocent? That is not supposed to be within your power.” Daniel screamed.

  The Shadow swung at Daniel knocking him to the ground. As he sat up, he saw Jen was still unconscious. He remembered what Elizabeth has said about healing. He reached over and held his hands over Jen’s throat, and as he closed his eyes a yellowish glow came from his hands coating her. She jerked at first then she coughed. She was Ok, but out of it. Daniel stood up as the Shadow came at him again. What it did not count on was this time Daniel was angry.

  He turned in the direction of the shadow and drew upon his energy. He had finally attained his full powers. As he directed the light form within him, the beach lit up with his charge. Daniel hit the Shadow dead center. It fell to the ground at first, and then stood back up and tried to come again. As Daniel raised his hand to the Shadow, a blast came forward and the man’s head disintegrated and his body fell to the ground lifeless.

  Jen sat up; she had been watching the events as they unfolded. She had never seen Daniel wield so much energy before. Now, he did it as if it was effortless and second nature. As Daniel returned to her side, he ran his hand over her shoulder.

  “Are you Ok? I tried to heal you and I think it worked.”

  “Yeah, I feel fine you must have done it right. My throat doesn’t even hurt. I am just coming out of it I guess.” Jen answered. “So that was it I assume? We survived the last Shadow.”

  “I guess.” Daniel said as he pulled his shirt over his head. He looked own and all marking were gone from his front. As he turned for Jen to look at the back, she stopped and took a deep breath.

  “I think we have a problem. There is still one hand print on your back.” Jen’s voice was quivering and scared.”

  “That’s impossible. We killed all seven of them.”

  As the last word left Daniel’s mouth the last hand print started to glow. He pulled his shirt back over his head and turned around scanning the area around him. He knew he had survived seven attempts something was wrong.

  “Go into the light house and hide there. I am not going to risk you again.” He commanded her.

  As Jen left his side and went to the light house door, above on the observation deck Raven had been watching the whole event transpire. She walked back inside and turned to the creature. “I have one more thing I want you to do for now. I gave you power, now mama needs a favor. The girl at the bottom of the stairs needs to die. Can you do that for mama?” Raven smiled as the creature acknowledged her and walked towards the stair case.

  As it made its way down, Jen looked around the lower level. There wasn’t much there just a few old machine parts and power unit that fed the light above. As Jen turned her back to the steps, the creature moved quickly behind her. She turned to go back to the door as it latched on to her arm and threw her against the wall. She fought back as hard as she could, but a human was no match for a demon with power. As he tossed her back and forth, the last blow he gave threw her backwards into the power unit.

  Sparks flew as the power unit exploded sending Jen flying across the room and against the floor. She didn’t know what had hit her before it was too late. Another innocent life had been taken.

  17 The Final Blow
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  As Jen’s life faded, Raven approached from the stairs. She walked over to her dark creature and touched his shoulder. “You have done well. I am very pleased with you today. Now go and hide while I attend to our friend here.” The creature acknowledged her, and disappeared into the dark corners of the room. Raven walked over and looked at Jen. As she touched Jen’s hair, she admired Jen’s beauty and youth. Raven had neither, she was hundreds of years old and only maintained herself by claiming power form lower form demons. “You were a pretty one, weren’t you? It is a pity you had die this way but it is all for the grander scheme of things you know. We all have to do our part.”

  As Raven stood back up, she saw the signs of the Shadow approaching. Jen’s body shook and then her eyes opened as her head flew back. Raven walked circles around the event as it happened. She admired the Shadow’s handy work. They were so much more powerful than she was.

  “Hello. Come to join the party I see.” Raven joked.

  “Lower demon scum, what are you up to? The Shadow asked.

  “I just left you a gift is all. I knew you would have to find someone near Daniel to occupy, so I made it easy for you. Shall we say, I helped you?”

  “This is no gift, you have compromised the order. We cannot take a life that is not meant to die and use it for out bidding.”

  “You didn’t...I did. Well, the dark water creature I freed from his captivity did. So, you could say, we are both in the clear. We are merely innocent by-standers.”

  “There is nothing innocent about you demon.” The Shadow growled.

  “That may be true, but I handed you a gift. Now you can use it to claim the boy for your own.”

  “And what do you get form all this?”

  Raven laughed. “Nothing, which is exactly what the side of good will get. They don’t get any stronger, and the dark is growing already. It is still a win for my side. Now, go and claim your prize. I don’t think he will fight back much now.”