by Bryan Cohen
"Dragon uppercut!"
As Ted prepared for one more blow, he felt all his muscles release at once. The powers that had kept him in the air to this point had shut down completely. His dead weight dropped like him like a stone out of the air, and all the confidence he'd gained from punching a dragon was replaced by fear and falling.
"Mayday!" Ted flattened his body to try to slow his descent. "A dark soul's blocking my powers. Helllp!"
Dhiraj squealed into the earpiece. "What do we do?"
"Catch me?"
Ted whipped past the tops of the buildings and knew there was little chance he'd survive the fall. If his powers didn't kick in, he'd be roadkill for sure.
"Ted!" Erica's voice came in through the comm. Ted wondered if he'd ever have a chance to hold her again.
He tried to access his powers with every fiber of his being. When nothing came, he screamed as the street approached and he covered his eyes with his arms.
Then something plucked him out of the air.
He felt a set of claws wrap around his body and hoist him onto a slick, oily surface. Ted uncovered his eyes and held onto the dragon's scales for dear life.
"What in the hell?"
A laugh pervaded through the comm links.
"Who knew?" Redican's smile was obvious. "Controlling a dragon's mind is even easier than a human's."
The dragon moved with lightning quickness beneath Ted's body. He was amazed that the beast who'd just tried to slice him to death was the only thing that kept him from splattering.
"Good work, Mr. Redican." Dhiraj sounded relieved. "Now what's say we take out some of those baddies?"
"With pleasure. Hang on, Ted."
Ted gripped the dragon's scales even tighter. The beast flew toward a pack of Lychos and Draconfolk that were terrorizing the Kable supporters. As it whipped its tail, Ted felt his body move in turn. He gripped his legs around the beast's body as it slammed the tail into about ten creatures as once. Ted looked back over his shoulder to see the beasts writhing in agony on the ground. He patted the dragon's scales.
"Who's a good dragon? You are. Yes, you are."
The creature roared with approval as it leaned back. Ted's body went almost completely vertical as the dragon kicked one of the Draconfolk back into its portal of origin.
"If we keep this up, maybe we can actually win this thing."
When the dragon went horizontal again, Ted saw a metal streetlamp flying toward them. The dragon shrieked when it saw the weapon and attempted to fly away, but the projectile was going too quickly and the metal pierced through the dragon's skin. The creature spasmed so hard that Ted lost his tight grip and fell to the ground. He landed thigh-first on the blacktop, sending a sharp pain through his leg and hip. Ted gritted his teeth and stood up.
Nothing broken. I guess I'm lucky.
The dragon's scream caught his attention. Ted looked back to see it collapse into a lifeless heap, cracking the pavement beneath it. Mr. Redican's screams simultaneously shot through the comm channel. Ted winced and clutched at his ear. "Something's wrong with Redican." Sheriff Norris was nearly drowned out by the sounds of agony.
Ted frowned. "If he was in the dragon's head when it died, he's in a world of hurt. Take it slow with him."
"Roger that."
Ted limped to the creature's side. The streetlamp seemed to have gone right through the dragon's heart.
"Well, that's just not fair. How did that even happen, guys?"
"No clue, man," Dhiraj said. "Didn't even see where that came from."
Ted tried to use his powers to fly again, but whatever was blocking his powers before continued to have him on lockdown.
As he began to walk toward the stage, he heard a low gurgling rumble. The fear that coursed through him made him feel even more vulnerable than he already was. Ted turned around to see half a dozen Draconfolk approaching. His heart began beating at an incredible rate.
"For what it's worth, I was really good friends with your big sister."
The Draconfolk were unfazed. One of them let out a loud gurgle-scream and the others joined in unison.
"Sorry guys, I don't think lizard a capella is going to take off."
As one of the creatures lunged, Ted avoided its grasp and ran in the opposite direction.
***
Natalie called out to a group of stragglers.
"Get inside! Now!"
The group got the message and joined the other people Natalie was waving inside. The large office building had a massive lobby, which made it perfect for holding most of the overflowing crowd as they got off the street. It'd be safe, as long as the Lychos and Draconfolk didn't pursue. When she noticed a bottleneck, Natalie dashed inside and willed her throat to emit the loudest sound it possibly could.
"Move to the back! Make some room, people!"
To her surprise, the Kable supporters actually listened. Pride in her success grew within her. The shift to the back allowed several dozen additional entrants.
If only they didn't want a murderer to win the election.
Natalie pushed through the crowd and out the doors of the front entrance, where she came face-to-face with a Lychos. Her heart skipped a beat. The creature was looking straight through her, as if she was standing between it and a buffet.
Natalie drew her knife and pointed it at the creature. "Not today, White Fang."
The Lychos snarled and lunged for her. She rolled under the attack and crouched beneath a circular patio table covered with campaign pamphlets. When the beast came closer, Natalie pushed the table up with all her might. It slammed into the beast's furry chin, resulting in a yelp of pain. The wolf-like creature took a few steps back. Natalie hopped to her feet.
"That's right, wolfman!"
The Lychos rubbed at its chin before drawing its sharp claws. Natalie's eyes grew wide as she tightened her grip on the hilt of the dagger. The beast swung at Natalie, and she parried the first blow with the blade. The wolf continued to approach, and she blocked another swipe, though it continued to push her backward. One more attempt to cut her in two resulted in her spine pressing up against the stone of the building.
Natalie's pulse raced as she looked at the beast's hairy arm. "Gotta time this right or I'm kibble."
The Lychos growled and sliced at Natalie. She leapt up and out of the way of the claws, which lodged in the building's exterior. Natalie landed on the creature's arm and sprinted, doing her best to keep her balance on the hairy runway. Before the Lychos could shake her off, Natalie reached the beast's shoulder, deposited her blade directly into the flesh of its neck and jumped off. Natalie shoulder went crashing down on the concrete below. The blow knocked the wind out of her, but it wasn't forceful enough to jostle anything out of place. As she turned back toward the Lychos, she saw the creature clutch at its neck wound before falling to the ground. Natalie stood up and pumped her fist.
"I just blew your house down!"
As she went to retrieve her knife, she heard a growling sound from behind her. Her heart dropped. She turned to see two more Lychos approaching. They looked between their defeated comrade and Natalie several times and then bore their fangs in unison. Natalie pulled the blade free from the defeated creature's neck.
"There's more where that came from!"
A honking noise drew her attention behind the Lychos. Then came the screeching tires. When the two creatures turned around, they were met immediately with the hood of a fast-moving car. Natalie dove out of the way as the vehicle slammed into the front of the building, crushing the beasts against the stone.
Natalie stood up and surveyed the scene. The familiar car had been totaled with both airbags deployed. Travis stepped out of the car and rubbed at his neck.
"Man, getting around all those barricades was one hell of a trick."
Natalie wiped the knife on her pants, placed it back in her holster and ran toward her boyfriend. She kissed him hard, but he pulled back.
"Car accident victim here. Take i
t easy."
She smiled. "You can handle it." Natalie looked over at the two dead Lychos on the hood of his car. "You saved my life."
"I did, didn't I?" He put his arms around her waist. "I shouldn't have told you what to do. If you're gonna risk your frickin' life fighting bad guys, I'm gonna help you do that."
Natalie felt strange. There was no instinct to recoil at his public display of affection. For a moment, she didn't care that people might think they were in love. Maybe they were.
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.
Chapter 52
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.
Chapter 53
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.<
br />
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.
