Ashlyn Chronicles 1: 2287 A.D.

by Glenn Van Dyke

  The pain from his nearly cracked jaw was intense, his breath trapped in his throat. Struggling, he defiantly rolled over to see the enemy who had struck him.

  Shaking, Steven rose to his knees. He wasn’t going to let the man rob him of his dignity, not in his last moments of life. Steven spat a mouthful of blood onto the ground.

  Suddenly, all around Steven flames arose, burning him. Steven screamed as his skin bubbled, blistered, and charred. The deeper layers of his muscle tissue flaked away, exposing the white bone beneath. The torrential flood of pain drove him toward insanity as a distant inhuman scream carried upon his last breath, escaped him.

  His hair in flames, dripped like candle wax to the ground. His fingers were black, charred. He wondered why he was alive, how he could endure such pain, such mutilation, and not die.

  Steven, the pain isn’t real. It is one of the Watchers, Enlil’s Elite Guard. He’s giving you the vision of pain—a pain that is only in your mind. Listen to me, Steven. It is only a vision. He is putting it into your mind. It’s not real. Focus on my voice! Focus! Picture a wall of cinder blocks between you and the flames. A wall, Steven! A wall!

  Steven strained against the pain, listening to Ashlyn’s voice. He pictured the wall, but the pain was so intense, so real!

  Yes, Steven—reach out and touch it. The wall is real! It is between you and the flames! Touch it. Feel it. It is shielding you from the fire. You are stronger than he is. Focus. Fight him! Touch the wall! Fight!

  Touching it, he suddenly began to believe in its existence. He could feel its rough texture. It was cool to the touch. He pummeled his fists against it, each blow reinforcing his belief that it was there. He pounded at the wall, his own blood staining it red. The wall was thick. It surrounded him. It was between him and the flames. It was between him and—the—flames.

  The flames receded until it went dark and then coalesced into a field of green.

  The pain was gone. He was floating, flying over a green field that ebbed with pulsing energy. Electrical impulses swirled and raced away from him as though they were fleeing from his presence. The pathway cleared before him, letting him escape. He concentrated harder upon reaching the other side, where he saw a bright circular doorway. Rainbow colors raced across the sky above as he sped toward it. He could feel his salvation nearing as he exploded into the light.

  Suddenly, from some distant place, he saw himself down on his knees. His hands were braced at his temples, his eyes wide like that of a madman. His face exhibited a look of fierce concentration. Steven was shocked to find that he had gained entry into the mind of his attacker.

  His excitement at the revelation, that he could reverse the flow of the vision sent a wild surge of adrenaline coursing through him. Steven pictured himself tearing at the man’s throat. His neck grasped firmly between his clawed hands, crushing it with a strength that was more than humanly possible. The man’s skin began to tear. “This is for what was done to my son, you demon bastard! This is for him!” The anger, which he had contained for so long, unleashed itself in a tremendous surge of power.

  Steven’s fingers dug deep into the man’s muscle and tissue, gripping his spine. A mixture of blood and flesh oozed from between Steven’s fingers. With all his might, he pulled, yanking the man’s spine out of his body.

  Rising to his feet, he held the grotesquely detached head and dangling spine in his hands.

  The headless corpse slumped to the ground, spurting heavy streams of blood from broken arteries. Steven reveled in the momentary, mental victory.

  With the mental death of his guard, the connection between the two warriors was broken. Steven found himself as before, kneeling upon the ground. Before him, the thousands of slaves were on their knees, bowing to the ground while as one they chanted, “Enki—Enki—Enki!”

  His eyes sought out Ashlyn. She was beside Enlil and surrounded by the Elite Guard. The look upon Ashlyn’s face conveyed far more than he could immediately comprehend. He looked at Enlil and the guards standing around him. Their frozen stance only reinforced his confusion.

  Steven turned around and looked behind him to see what the source of their distraction was. Only a short distance away, lay the decapitated body of one of Enlil’s Elite Guard. His head and spine lay grotesquely on the ground next to his fallen body. No one was more surprised than was Steven.

  Issuing an order in his native tongue, Enlil commanded his guards to take Ashlyn inside the palace.

  Enlil then gave the order for the guards to kill Steven. As the hundreds of guards around the square raised their weapons, Enlil turned away to follow Ashlyn inside.

  When hundreds of shots rang out, Ashlyn broke away from the grasp of her guards. As she turned toward Steven, she froze, stunned by what she saw.

  Enlil too, stood stunned.

  Hundreds of laser blasts pummeled him without doing any damage.

  Steven looked down, wondering how such a thing was possible. His bodily form flowed like liquid silver, freeing him from the collar and cuffs restraining him. His clothing ripped into shreds as long, black hairs began to grow upon his newly, forming limbs. His arms, legs, and body increased twenty fold as he grew to forty meters in height. And just like in the VDDs he’d watched as a kid, he became one of the most fearsome creatures he had ever seen as a child. He had become Kong.

  Feeling immensely powerful, Steven leaned forward on his long arms, bracing his stance upon his knuckles. He let out a shattering roar, baring his fangs. The whites of Kong’s eyes raged with anger, hatred.

  Seeing the threat, Enlil changed too, taking his serpent form.

  Charging across the square, Steven grabbed Enlil around the neck, trying to strangle him. Enlil twisted and squirmed in his grasp, until he loosed himself. The battle raged, Kong roaring and baring his teeth and Enlil as the serpent, hissing and displaying his long fangs.

  Steven made a fist and slammed it down, trying to give Enlil a massive, crushing blow to his head. Enlil’s serpent form had the advantage of speed though, and as Enlil reeled back, Steven’s blow was left to strike the ground—where it shattered the white stone in the Citadel.

  Steven let loose a savage growl. It seemed to be a natural accompaniment to his embodiment of Kong. The square became an arena, an arena in which two titans fought to decide the fate of humanity.

  Enlil’s coils managed to wrap themselves around Steven’s legs, tightening second by second. Steven’s powerful hands grabbed at the churning snake, but as quickly as he could remove one coil, another replaced it. Even as he landed a blow to the snake’s head, though stunned, Enlil’s grip around him tightened.

  Steven, it’s no use. He is too experienced. He’ll crush you, said Ash by way of the meld. Steven, how did you change?

  Between blows, Steven thought about her question. He remembered focusing on wanting more strength to break his bonds. It was an image of a movie that he had focused on—a movie he had seen but once as a kid. A movie where Kong had freed himself from massive chains. He wondered if it could be as simple as picturing a mental image and having the desire to want it to happen?

  Focus! Concentrate on becoming what you want. Feel it! Want it!

  Steven managed to grab Enlil’s wriggling body just below the head. His body was almost completely encased within the squeezing coils; only his arms remained free to hold the snake’s fangs at bay. Steven opened his jaws wide and with a huge growl to pump adrenaline into his body, sank his teeth deep into the nearest of the broad coils about his chest.

  He bit deep, tearing at Enlil. Disgustingly bad tasting fluids spurted into Steven’s mouth. Steven tore off a chunk, and then spit it upon the ground. The serpent roiled, churning violently. Their struggle toppled them over into the great wall, which gave way under their force and weight.

  Steven felt as though he were falling in slow motion as they tumbled toward the ground six stories below, where they hit with a quaking forcefulness.

  Beneath Steven, a clump of fleeing humans scra
mbled to get away. Steven put his arm out, forming a bridge over them. A heavy snorting blow of air from Steven’s nostrils toppled the people over as they escaped under his armpit. Enlil’s weight atop him was massive and Enlil used the time to get the advantage.

  Enlil had managed to get a coil around Steven’s neck, and he was tightening it.

  Struggling desperately to free himself, from somewhere in the distance, Steven heard the screaming roar of a large, jungle cat. His large, black eyes caught a glimpse of Ashlyn leaping through the air, four sets of outstretched razor sharp claws, ready for battle.

  Nice choice, my lady! said Steven to her in the meld.

  Thank you, my lord!

  Muscles taut and rippling, Ashlyn landed squarely on top of the serpent’s head. The cat’s claws sliced through his scales and deep into the fleshy tissue beneath. Ash threw her head back and then brought it forward, sinking her two, large fangs into him. Ashlyn had succeeded in using the Gift. Her saber-tooth cat was magnificent.

  The serpent’s hold loosened, enabling Steven to throw off coil after coil. Ashlyn’s cat was tossed off as the serpent managed with great effort to fling her aside. Rolling over, now completely free, Steven crouched, resting on his knuckles and haunches. In a single bound Ashlyn leapt to his side.

  They stood in a face off—but even as they watched, Enlil’s wounds were already beginning to heal.

  “How do we defeat him?” said Ash.

  The serpent laughed at her question. His tongue lashed out toward them in a taunt.

  Steven’s thoughts were of Phillip and of what this monstrosity had done to him. His adrenaline surged and his rage grew as he recalled his son’s torturous cries.

  Steven shifted into the thing that had terrified him the most as a child. He’d had recurring nightmares of a sword-wielding soldier made of bronze, sixty meters tall. His strength and invulnerability were limitless.

  His body grew and hardened into that of Talos. His bronze chest rippled with musculature. His sandaled feet spread taking an aggressive posture. He hefted the sword in his hand and swung it, getting a feel for its weight. With every movement, the familiar, grinding squeak that had frequented his every movement reverberated shrilly through the air.

  Ash changed back into her human form.

  The serpent dissolved, liquefying. The chunk of tissue that Steven had spit out, like water running downhill, flowed across the ground. Having rejoined with Enlil, he began to take form into—

  “Novacek?” Steven said.

  “Did I tell you, they died slowly as I roasted each of them alive and ate them?”

  Ashlyn focused upon Enlil in Novacek’s form, her eyes squinted, studying him. “He’s lying. He didn’t do what he claims.”

  “How, Ash? How can you read his mind?”

  “I’m not sure, I just can. I can see his thoughts. Novacek defeated him. Enlil lost most of his army in the failed attacks. I can see everything he has done, all the atrocities.

  “But—the mountain was destroyed. If I had to guess, I think Novacek detonated the energy cores.”

  “Very interesting! So, your whore can read minds,” said Enlil. “And yes, they are dead. Actually, I found the whole thing very entertaining, despite my losses. Their last act—was almost noble.”

  “Ash, is Phillip alive?”

  Steven watched as Ashlyn closed her eyes.

  When she didn’t answer, his eyes darted to Enlil in Novacek’s form. He saw that Novacek watched Ashlyn, but the strained look upon his face conveyed something much deeper. The intensity, with which they stared each other down, showed that they were inwardly locked in a mental battle.

  It was Steven’s chance, a chance to strike at Enlil while he was vulnerable. He began to move forward.

  “No, Steven!” Ash screamed out. “This is beyond you. If you should get caught between us, it will rip your mind apart.”

  Steven stepped back. Ash, seemingly weakened, fell to one knee. Her concentration had faltered in order to warn him—and it had given Enlil an advantage in their invisible, mental battle. She screamed out loudly from the inflicted pain. A trickle of blood seeped from her nose, catching on her lip.

  A scream from Novacek drew Steven’s attention away from her. Though he was on his knees, grasping his head in agonizing pain, he was grinning maniacally. He had won.

  Ashlyn screamed, collapsing to the ground. Steven stepped forward, shielding her.

  Horrifying imagery raced through Steven’s mind at a pace that was mind-boggling. He saw thousands of years of torture and atrocities. Enlil had been trying to drive Ashlyn insane, showing her his own acts of cruelty, knowing it would be more than her human psyche could bear.

  The images of thousands of children being dismembered and eaten, women being tortured without mercy, men having the skin peeled from their bodies was unfathomably painful. Steven fought to block them from his mind, focusing on his desire to protect Ashlyn—but when he saw an image of Phillip screaming, strapped to a table, his rage unleashed itself.

  Widening his stance and squaring his shoulders, the noise made by Talos’ every movement was ear piercing. With a tilt of his head, he looked down at Novacek.

  Dissolving his sword and reacquiring the molecules into himself, he put his hands out to his side. Drawing upon the energy in the air around him, he drew it into himself. The air ionized and stirred to life, sparkling, sizzling, and crackling.

  The wind grew thick, warm. It circled him, racing around him as if he were in the center of a hurricane. The eye expanded as the storm grew in strength until even Enlil stood within it. Small bolts of lightning struck his metal form, empowering him.

  “What is this?” screamed Enlil, trying to be heard above the din of noise around him.

  Ignoring Enlil’s question, Steven gathered the enormous energies of the earth and air, making their power his own. The chiseled, taut lines of Talos’ body tensed, his veins rising ever sharper as he gained power. His muscles bulged.

  The winds raced at hundreds of kilometers per hour around them and nothing could be seen outside it. From the interior walls of the vortex, from every direction, dozens of energy streams fed him raw energy. His body glowed as the energy inside him radiated outward, unable to be fully contained.

  Out of concern for Ashlyn, with a mere thought, Steven created a protective barrier around her. It encased her unconscious, naked body within a floating bubble of pure, white energy.

  Novacek stared at Steven not comprehending the power he possessed. His eyes went wide as Steven pulled his arms down, turning them toward him. With a loud shriek, Steven pointed at Enlil. His eyes glowed golden as his fury prepared to unleash itself, his temples pulsing to the beat of an inhuman, iron heart.

  “I damn you! For every human you have killed. For every innocent child that you have tortured. For my son, I damn you!”

  Suddenly from each of his palms, Steven sent alternating orbs of pure energy into Novacek. With each burst, the form of Novacek screamed out as the bolts electrocuted him. Enlil seemed to be trying to change form, trying to find one that was impervious to the effects, but the pulses were like a reset button that prevented him from doing so. With each burst, instead of growing weaker, Steven grew stronger, the raging storm supplying him with an ever growing, limitless power.

  Steven continued to pummel Novacek though he lay still and lifeless. Steven felt no pity for him even as his last breath exited him.

  And yet, Steven continued to assault him. He knew not how to let his rage die, to bring it to an end.

  Ashlyn awoke within the bubble. “Steven, stop! This isn’t you!” The thought of losing him gripped her.

  Steven lowered his large arms. Facing his hands toward the ground, he sent the hastening stream of pulsing orbs into the desert floor. The sand beneath him began to crystalize and glow. Suddenly, Steven sent a last, massive pulse into Novacek, and like a lightning rod, it drew all the energy Steven had sent into the ground into Novacek.

  Steve
n, in the blink of an eye, put up a shield, protecting Ashlyn and himself from the ensuing eruption.

  Like a small atomic blast, the desert floor below Novacek exploded. The city, even though more than a kilometer away, was completely engulfed in the dust and raining debris.

  Through the haze of dust, he saw Ashlyn ten meters behind him, lying upon the ground.

  A laugh drew his attention. His surprise could not have been more evident as he turned around. Enlil, still in Novacek’s form, rose from the bottom of a seventy-foot wide, blast crater. How he had survived, Steven had no idea.

  Steven moved toward him, his sword again at the ready.

  Novacek transformed—disappearing.

  Ok, so tell me, how did he turn invisible?

  Steven thought for a moment. I don’t think he did—I think he just became something so small, it looked like he disappeared.

  So, this isn’t going to be easy, said Ash.

  It’s smoke and mirrors—little tricks like that one that make him appear stronger and more powerful than he is.

  Novacek suddenly appeared behind them. “I wonder how it is that you received your Gift? It can only be given to those who are—ah, I understand. You are—pure Anunnaki.”

  Enlil’s eyes shifted to Ashlyn. His desire for an Anunnaki female clearly evident. “That explains much.” His eyes shifted back to Steven. “I should have realized humans could not be trusted. They created your whore, hiding her from me.

  “Let me ask you, Tin Man, do you like being Anunnaki? Is it not, god-like? If you will give your whore to me, I will spare your lives. I will let you rule at my side, giving you all the Anunnaki that I have created. They will obey you as they do me. In exchange, I will spare all the humans here. You can even have them as your slaves. I have no taste for them anymore. They are withered and dying. Take them—they are yours.”

  “Serpent, your tyranny has come to an end.” Steven’s eyes blazed.

  “You will never leave this world. You will never build your army to attack Heaven. We have made sure that none of your pure Anunnaki will be permitted to see the Keeper.”