by Matthew Fish
“Jenna, if you can run to that second column when Felecia lays down cover fire—see if you can’t break one apart and use it as a shield like you did at Lake Falls.”
“On it,” Jenna said as she nodded.
Mark ducked down and pulled out his cell phone as Felecia stepped out from cover and fired into the crowd that was assembling at the door at the far end of the large room. He dialed William’s number. “Hey…it’s Mark. Things have gone to shit over here at the Perpetual Council Building. We could really use an evac—I’m going to try and get everyone to the roof…no don’t really have an ETA. Just…when we can…”
“1971, 1983, 1899, 1975, 1992, 1961 and 1871,” Felecia spoke as she returned from cover.
Amelia brought up a large wall of water and turned it to ice. Bullets came through and ricocheted against the metal. “It’s no good for stopping bullets!” Amelia shouted as Christopher emerged from behind the wall just as Jenna stood in front of him as she made her way to adjacent column. He tossed the seven coins into the air and allowed them to vibrate. He kept the coins in his mind as he reached to his shoulder and made a graceful sweeping motion as he kept his fingers wide. The coins shot through the ice shield with loud pops as they sought out their targets. Three men fell and transformed to ash, another man squeezed his trigger just as a coin struck him in the head and passed straight through to the man behind him who turned to dust. The last three coins arced into the crowd and turned two men and a woman into ruin. Felecia continued to fire upon the crowd of bodies that seemed to fall rather quickly.
“1982, 1945, 1952, 1994, 1973, 1990, and…321,” Felecia spoke as bullet fire erupted around her.
“I’ve got this one,” Mark said as he instinctively reached for the coins and paused at the last date. He reached to his Schmied vest and pulled out an old rusty nail. He placed the six coins in his right hand and kept the nail in his left. Emily ran out from cover just as Mark did. She tossed a handful of lighters over the wall of ice as the air filled with thick black smoke and screams could be heard off in the distance. Jenna placed her hands upon the concrete slab as it began to crack apart. She ran her hands down the length until it came apart. She held her hands out and created a circular shield made from large and small chunks of debris. She ran behind Mark as he threw his six coins in the air. Despite all the smoke and rock he envisioned in his head each coin; he could feel the raised surface with his mind. The coins began to vibrate wildly as Emily tossed another handful of lighters over the ice wall. Another large plume of fire filled the room as the ice barrier kept the smoke away from the group. Mark made a long, sweeping gesture with open hands as the six coins shot through the air and into the crowd that seemed to not be able to gain any ground in this battle at all. Mark swiftly tossed the nail from his left hand into his right. He threw it up into the air and brought his arm up like he was holding a gun. He pointed a finger as the nail shattered its way through the stone and ice and turned an elder Perpetual into nothingness. A stray fire of bullets came through the wall in response as Emily grabbed Mark and brought him back against the concrete cover.
“Fuck,” Mark said as he held his side. Blood was pouring from the wound.
“Fuck is right,” Emily said as she grabbed her chest and stumbled. “You fuckers shot me in the tit!”
“You both alright…?” Maddie asked as she crouched between Mark and Emily.
“Yeah, we will live, just make sure that old dick doesn’t sneak up on us,” Emily said as she winced in pain and applied pressure to the wound. “How the fuck are they getting bullets through all this?”
“They’re packing some serious weaponry,” Felecia said as she fired blindly through the ice shield.
“Everyone stay behind cover,” Amelia spoke as she peeked around the corner. She reached her hand out and exploded the ice shield sending shards into the hallway and taking out a good number of attackers.
“We need to get down that hallway,” Mark shouted as he pointed to the large pile of unconscious burning bodies. Another group was coming through.
“Well,” Jenna said as she ran forward with the stone shield. The others quickly followed behind her. “If I can’t block bullets with it, might as well do some damage…” Jenna said as she pushed the shield into the group of about twenty armed Perpetuals. She waited as they stopped to look at it curiously. Taking a cue from Amelia she exploded the circle sending shards of concrete into the group, rendering them all unconscious.
Felecia pushed Mark and Emily along as they were slowed from their wounds. Jenna led the group as they reached a staircase.
“Why don’t we take the elevator?” Emily asked as she grabbed her breast and made a screwed up expression. “This shit is shit!”
“Fuck it,” Maddie said as she shrugged. “It sounds stupid, but it’s not a terrible idea.”
“Back the other way,” Jenna said as the sound of footsteps came from the staircase. Jenna waited for the group to get clear as she placed her hands on both sides of the concrete hallway. She concentrated on the smooth surface of the material as she formed giant cracks. A group of armed thugs appeared just as the hallway collapsed upon itself. Jenna coughed loudly as she emerged from a dust cloud. “Taken care of…”
“Everyone in,” Christopher said as he held open the elevator door. Mark and Emily stumbled into the elevator and collapsed against the far wall as they attempted to catch their breath. Amelia and Felecia rushed in, Felecia kept her gun ready and on the lookout for any potential targets. Maddie stood right in front of the door, her recurve bow ready as she backed into the elevator.
“To the top floor, we’ll have to find roof access,” Mark said as he coughed loudly and put pressure on his side.
“Well…surprisingly simple,” Christopher spoke as the group took a collective sigh. Everything seemed rather safe for the moment.
“It was lucky that Henry turned out to be on our side…” Mark said as he got to his feet.
“I just had Jenna explain that Cain was going mad, Henry wasn’t pleased about this whole axe obsession—that it was going to end up like last time. It was enough to put him on edge, she told him to get you to us if there was trouble and then he was free to go with a large sum of cash. Apparently sometimes disloyalty works wonders.”
“That was a good plan,” Emily said as she let out another sharp cry of pain. “Fucking shot in the boob….heathens.”
“They’re going to figure out we’ve headed up,” Felecia spoke as she shook her head.
“We’ll take them out—they’re not as organized this time,” Maddie said as she watched as the lights slowly illuminated until the elevator came to a halt at the top floor. “Last time we were surrounded and we didn’t have this kind of talent.”
The door opened wide as the group raced out of the elevator and down a hallway. The reached an intersection.
“Which way…?” Jenna asked.
“I’ve never been up here before,” Christopher added.
“Flip a coin,” Emily said sarcastically as she headed left. Five men armed with assault rifles emerged from a door that filled the hallway with grey light. Emily tossed a group of lighters as she nearly fell to the floor as the men erupted into flame. Felecia fired into the group until they stopped moving completely.
“We’re almost not even needed as Conductors,” Maddie said as she looked around for any sign of Cain.
“Well they just came from the roof,” Emily spoke as she headed up the small staircase. “Nice of them to lead us out…”
“They were probably chasing Henry,” Jenna said as she waited in the hallway as the others ran up and into the snow filled rooftop and the cloudy grey day.
Mark sat on the ground and put his hand on his side as a helicopter circled overhead. Jenna emerged from the door. “It’s all clear.”
“Let’s make sure we’re not followed.” Amelia said as she placed her hands upon the snow filled roof. She gathered all of the moisture and pressed it firmly against the
door, creating a wall of ice as a barrier.
“What about Cain?” Maddie asked as she kept her eyes trained for any sight of the man.
“Maybe he doesn’t know we’ve escaped,” Felecia said as she kept her assault rifle ready.
“Fuck him,” Emily said as she sat down beside Mark. “Let’s go home.”
“Can’t argue with that, though he’ll be a problem later,” Christopher said as the police chopper descended and came to a halt upon the roof of the concrete building.
“Or, shall I be a problem now, traitor?” Cain said as she appeared in a gust of wind behind Christopher. He brought his long sword high over his head and sliced the man into two.
“Christopher!” Jenna shouted as she backed away from the horrific sight. Christopher shuddered for a moment as blood erupted from the long, gruesome wound. He fell into two imperfect pieces as blood and guts were strewn upon the roof.
Maddie quickly released an arrow as it blinked out of existence and emerged just as Cain projected across the roof. The arrow flew off into the distance and harmlessly arced down to the ground. William jumped from the cockpit as he fired his gun towards Cain as Felecia let loose a barrage of heavy gunfire.
Emily and Mark quickly got to their feet. Emily pulled out a handful of lighters and tossed them at Cain as he projected beside her. He sliced into her side as she and Mark fell to the ground. He raised his sword as bullets riddled his body he brought the blade down upon Emily’s neck, cutting open a huge wound as blood sprayed high into the air. She reached her arms around Mark and projected him into the back of the helicopter.
“Think it’s time to pass out,” Emily mumbled weakly as she lost consciousness atop Mark.
Cain disappeared in a gust of wind and appeared behind Jenna, he placed his hand upon her as he continued to take heavy bullet fire. He began to vibrate her body, her skin started to glow. A sick look came upon Cain’s face. His eyes were bright and wild. A mad grin was permanently creased upon his face. Just as he was about to turn Jenna to ash, an arrow appeared in his back. He released his hold as Jenna fell to the floor. Maddie pulled another arrow from her quiver as she stood over the convulsing body. She pointed the arrow at Cain’s forehead and shot his at point blank range. A small stream of blood flew up into the air as the arrow lodged itself straight through his head.
“Everyone in,” William said as the ice barrier at the door began to shatter.
Amelia and Felecia climbed into the back, as Maddie followed quickly behind.
“Mark, you alright…?” Maddie asked.
“I’ll live,” Mark said quietly.
“Sis…!” Amelia shouted as she wrapped her arms around Emily’s unconscious body.
“She’ll be fine tomorrow,” Amelia spoke as she looked to Christopher’s body. It was a terrible, grotesque sight.
“Get in the back, Jenna!” William shouted as the ice barrier shattered even more.
“Leave me!” Jenna said as she placed her arms over Christopher’s broken and split body.
“They’re coming!” William shouted as bullet fire passed through the wall.
“Leave now!” Jenna commanded as she placed her hands upon the surface of the roof. She placed all of her concentration and energy into her power. The roof began to buffet wildly as the helicopter lifted up and off the roof. William watched as he cleared the tall buildings around him as the Perpetual Council Building came crashing down all the way to the bottom floor. Jenna had managed to flatten it like a pancake.
“She’s still alive down there!” Felecia shouted over the roar of the helicopter blades. “Or at least…just unconscious…!”
“I’ll try and find a safe place to land!” William shouted as he brought the helicopter down. People ran off in panic as the distant sound of siren approached. “We don’t have long, we have to find her and get the hell out of here.”
Jenna appeared from a thick cloud of ash as her broken arm slung useless at her side. She walked up to the helicopter in a complete daze. Maddie reached her arm out.
“Climb aboard, you’ll be okay.” Maddie said as she leaned forward.
“I’ll never be okay,” Jenna whispered as she pulled one of Maddie’s arrows from her quiver. Without another word nor warning she rammed the arrow into her chest and fell to the ground. Her body began to tremble violently as the ground beneath her started to break away into a large sink hole.
“Goddammit,” William muttered as Amelia pulled Maddie back from the edge of the helicopter. Maddie’s mouth was open and wordless. Her eyes welled with tears as they rose up into the air.
“This…this shouldn’t have happened,” Mark spoke as he held tightly onto Emily’s unconscious body. “There must…have been another way.”
William landed the helicopter just outside of Red Manor. He helped Felecia carry Emily’s body into the house as they put her upon Caesar’s couch. They wrapped her up in a blanket as Mark took a heavy drink of whiskey to dull the pain in his side.
“Why wasn’t I brought in on this?” William said as he placed his hand upon Mark’s shoulder.
“We were…yeah, we were just supposed to talk,” Mark said as he shook his head.
“We came prepared for the worst,” Maddie admitted as she placed her bow and quiver into a black long case. “But that was…we had no idea he’d attack us.”
“Christopher didn’t trust Cain, thought the discovery of the axe was driving him mad—that he would become dangerous or something,” Mark said as his muddled mind attempted to remember. “Christopher said to not give it to him…Cain asked for it and I refused to and he flew into a rage. I used the nail…the one from Cain’s year, the one he gave me as a symbol of trust. However, he faked one, kept the original for himself. He used my trust in people, and…he turned it against me. I should have given him the axe, Christopher and Jenna would still be alive now.”
“We were there when he found that thing,” Felecia spoke up. “That thing was definitely evil. It turned all those people completely and permanently mad. If Christopher didn’t want Cain to have it, he had to have good reason.”
“He seemed like a good guy,” Amelia said as she hung her head down. “Sorry for your loss.”
“I can’t believe he’s gone,” Mark said as he shook his head.
“It was a tough call,” William said as he nodded. “Christopher came to me with what happened as well—I was not pleased. I’ve been tracking Cain’s actions ever since he found the damned thing, he was not acting himself. You did what Christopher wished—what he would have wanted.”
“I didn’t even think to check the nail,” Mark said as he continued to beat himself up over the incident. “I had him, in his office, alone. He had turned so angry, he would not calm down no matter how I tried to reason things out with him. I got the nail into him…it was just…not the right one.”
“Hell, even I started to trust him after the battle at Lake Falls,” William admitted. “It wasn’t just you that he deceived.”
“Why did he want that thing so badly anyway…?” Maddie asked.
“Said it was Abelio’s axe…the god who created all Perpetuals, that it was a gift to be used.”
“The only one capable of using it, refused to use it and was killed by Cain according to Christopher,” William spoke as he chewed against his knuckle. “I’ll have to head back, there’s going to be one hell of a mess to clean up. A lot of stories to fabricate…at least there’s the sinkhole, I guess we can blame the collapse on that. Damn it Jenna…”
“I had no idea she’d do that,” Maddie said as she sat down on the floor and buried her face in her hands.
“She was distraught,” William said as he squeezed Maddie’s shoulder tightly. “People…they do the craziest shit when they’re inconsolably broken. To think, she had the power to bring down an entire building like that…you two can stay here—I won’t have any Perpetual work, I’ll be doing a lot of Mortal PR for the next few days.”
“I’ll come with y
ou,” Felecia spoke patted her sister on the head playfully. “I’d like to help if I can…learn about how that all works.”
“You leavin…? Amelia asked as she pushed her sister’s hand away.
“I’ll be back soon,” Felecia said as she nodded. “Besides, be here to cheer up Emily in the morning.”
“Well, let’s head back then,” William said as she turned to one last time to Mark. “You lost some good people today, and I know things didn’t go as you had hoped. For what it’s worth though—you did the right thing. I’ll always be around when you need me, just give me a call if anything comes up.”
“Thank you,” Mark said as he sipped at his bitter drink and watched William and Felecia leave through the large metal door, allowing a gust of wind and snow to fill the room and chill his bones.
“What in the hell are you doing?” Grandma Fran asked as she clamored into the room. “You are far too young to be drinking, and why is your girlfriend all…oh dear lord, is she hurt…and you’re hurt too?”
“Met with an old friend,” Mark said with as he shook his head. “Only…yeah, turns out he didn’t want to be friends anymore. Emily’s out for the day, but she’ll wake up in the morning, I’m sure you’ve seen this kind of thing before.”
“Not amongst youngsters,” Grandma Fran spoke as she reached behind the couch and pulled out a large case. She retrieved some bandaging and some needle and thread, give me a hand with this will you…”
“Maddie,” Maddie said as the old woman turned to her.
“Don’t bother,” Mark said as he took another sip of alcohol. “I’ll be fine in the morning.”
“I used to patch up my old Spotter,” Grandma Fran said as she ignored Mark and pulled up the left side of his blood stained shirt. She poured some strong smelling liquid onto a cloth and placed it against his flesh as Maddie held onto the needle and thread. “He always got himself shot up—Perpetuals can be so reckless.”
