Max Baker: Guardian of the Ninth Sector

by Matthew Cronan

  Then he felt it.

  All of his senses came rushing back to him. He felt scared. He felt nauseous. He felt his heartbeat. He felt his lifeforce. Time sped back up.

  As the creature came within a foot of Max, he extended his arms and beams of the blue energy jetted from his hands and smashed into the face of the death demon. It was as if the creature had hit a force field. It was knocked backwards several feet into the air. Before it landed, the creature quickly flipped over and landed on all fours. It looked toward Max and cocked its head, bewildered.

  The creature reared back again and roared. Max had to cover his head to prevent his eardrums from bursting. He looked up at the creature, which glared back down toward him.

  Run.

  Max ran as fast as he could past the creature, feeling a breeze of air whip by him as it launched itself toward him, barely missing. Max could feel the blood begin to flow back to his legs as he rapidly moved one leg in front of the other. He sensed the creature chasing him, and the ground shook with each step that the beast took. Max zigzagged across the field; the rancid breath of the death demon bearing down on his neck.

  As Max passed one of the larger rocks on the field, he quickly changed directions, diving behind the rock. He watched as the creature performed a barrel roll past him, failing to make the same maneuver. It flipped over four times. Suddenly it was back on its feet, racing toward Max. There wasn’t any time for Max to attack as the creature pounced toward him. He closed his eyes and quickly thought about the black hole behind the open gate.

  In the distance, he heard a loud collision. Max opened his eyes to see the creature, more than a hundred yards ahead of him, slam hard into the rock that he was just standing at.

  The creature was sprawled on the ground, motionless. Max looked up at the spectators who all cheered. He could see Donovan pump his fist in the air. Melotta was jumping up and down. Kennedy and Noah embraced each other. Max could feel the energy coursing through his body. It made him feel warm inside. He felt confident. He felt invincible.

  The creature began to stir and slowly rose to its feet. Max slowly walked out from the dark cave. He extended his right arm and shot a beam of energy at the creature. The beam glanced off of the death demon’s shoulder; it was protected by the thick black scales. It turned and hissed at Max, who in return shot another beam of energy at it. The creature evaded the blast and howled wildly at the air.

  Max marched forward confidently; he was no longer willing to be pursued. He no longer wanted to be the victim in this deadly dance. Max had new feelings swimming through him that he had never really experienced before. Walking toward the creature, he felt the energy flowing through him. As he neared the beast, the two of them made eye contact. In that one glorious moment, Max could see fear in the beast’s eyes.

  The moment was short-lived as the creature turned toward him and began to charge. Max, relieved of all of his fear, quickened his pace as well. The gap between the two of them quickly narrowed. With the beast closing in on him, Max remembered the sign above the door to the arena.

  “Either conquer or die,” Max said aloud as he ran toward the death demon.

  The creature lowered its head again as they came within a couple of feet of each other. Max closed his eyes and pictured himself standing behind the tall rock. He opened his eyes.

  Max hadn’t teleported; instead he found himself still running head on toward the mammoth beast. He knew that he was done for and tried to spin out of the way, but the creature’s pointed chin caught his leg and flung him high into the air.

  Max rotated weightlessly in the air. The dome’s lights spun above him. Why hadn’t he been able to teleport? How was he supposed to beat something 10 times his size if his abilities were this problematic? How was he-

  His last thought was interrupted as he came crashing down onto the ground below. The pain was excruciating, and he was sure that he had broken every bone in his body. He rolled a few feet before coming to stop. From his position, he could see the onlookers staring down at him. He could see Noah banging on the glass encasement. He could see Kennedy screaming. Far away in the distance, he could hear the beast howling.

  Get up, Max Baker, Donovan’s voice told him.

  I can’t, Max thought, everything is broken.

  Broken bones we can fix, Donovan told him. We cannot fix you if you are dead. Now get up!

  Max struggled to sit up. He could feel his broken ribs poking into his lungs. His left arm hung limply, the broken femur protruding from his skin. Blood ran freely from his forehead, dripping into his eye and onto the field of green grass below. Every time Max moved, he felt like he was dying. He used his right arm to push himself onto his knees, and then up onto his feet.

  Max stood swaying in the center of the arena. The death demon lowered itself on its haunches, preparing to attack again. Despite all of the pain, Max could still feel the surge of the energy as it pulsated through his body. With one fluid movement, Max whipped his right arm out in front of him, extending his palm toward the beast. The blue energy spawned from the palm of his hand and spread up his arm, engulfing it.

  The creature exploded toward Max, quickly gaining speed. Max didn’t move. He concentrated on his target. A concoction of emotions flew through Max. He felt scared. He felt embarrassed. He felt angry. He felt mad. Each emotion caused the emblazed arm to glow brighter and brighter until it was like a torch of blue flames.

  Max felt the energy bursting at his fingertips as the monster came within 50 feet of him. The beast lowered itself, ready to strike again. Max lifted his fist high into the air; it was swollen with the blue energy. Max swung his fist down hard, hammering it into the grassy earth beneath him. The explosion was louder than the death demon’s howls. It sounded like two trains colliding. The ground detonated with blue light, and the force from the blow caused the creature to be thrown back. For a moment, it was suspended high in the air, and Max wondered if that was what he had looked like just a few minutes prior. Helpless and scared. Max shot a stream of energy at the creature, forcing it to the edge of the arena. The creature fell to the floor, where it was impaled onto the sharp ring of spikes. It did not move again.

  The crowd above him erupted in applause and cheers. Max turned toward them and lifted his hand high into the air above him. The pain returned to his body. Max fell to his knees.

  Kneeling there, looking at the ivory bone protruding from his skin, he smiled. Despite the agony that he was feeling, everything else seemed right within the universe. He felt connected to it. A tidal wave of emotion crashed through him as the reality hit. He was responsible for not just his planet, but eight other ones as well. In that moment, Max Baker knew that he had become the Guardian of the Ninth Sector.

  Chapter 22

  A Debriefing

  “Where did you learn to do that?” Kennedy asked as she cleaned the blood away from Max’s forehead.

  “I’m not sure,” Max said as Donovan examined the jagged bone sticking out of his forearm.

  “His head is definitely going to need stiches,” she said, taking the rag to the stainless steel sink. Max watched from the operating table as the clear water filtered through the bloody rag, coming out crimson on the other side of it. “Is it just me or does this water smell really weird?”

  “This might be extremely painful for a moment,” Donovan said to Max as he wrapped his hands around Max’s arm – one on either side of the protruding bone.

  “Wait-” Max had started to say, but was interrupted by Donovan snapping the bone back into the flesh of his arm. He felt the sharp edge of the broken bone tear through muscle and tendons as it was forced back into his skin. Max screamed out. He saw stars in the back of his eyes and everything grew dark. He tumbled over onto his side. The cold steel table provided a brief relief from the hot anguish rushing through him.

  “What did you do that for?” Noah asked excitedly.

  “Melotta can heal the bone, but only if it is close together,” Donovan e
xplained.

  Max drifted further away.

  “How long will the healing process take?” Max heard Donovan ask.

  “Only a few hours,” Melotta said from somewhere out of sight.

  And then Max was gone. It was a dreamless sleep.

  * * *

  Max awoke lying in the comfort of a real bed. He looked around and saw Kennedy sitting in a chair in the corner of the room. She was curled up into a ball and looked as if she was fighting sleeper. H head bobbed and then jerked up every few seconds.

  “How long have I been out?” Max said.

  “Oh my God!” Kennedy said. She jumped from the chair and rushed to Max’s bedside. “How are you feeling? Does your arm hurt? How are your ribs?” She continued her onslaught of questions until Max held up his hand.

  “I’ve been better,” he chuckled. He had held up his left hand out of habit and surprisingly enough it felt fine. He looked down at his arm to see that the wound had healed. If Max didn’t know any better, he would have thought that he dreamed the whole thing.

  “Melotta fixed it,” Kennedy said darkly. She paused for a moment and then said, “She’s very pretty.”

  “Yeah…I guess,” Max said. He pulled himself up to a seated position in the bed. His body didn’t hurt in the slightest. In fact, he felt reenergized. He threw his feet over the edge of the bed and hopped down onto the tile floor below.

  “I think maybe you should slow down,” Kennedy said, trying to direct him back toward the bed.

  “No way,” Max said. He pressed his hand against his ribs to make sure they were all intact. “I feel great.”

  “Don’t you think that it’s weird that a few hours ago you were on the verge of death and now you’re hopping around like nothing happened?”

  “No weirder than anything else that’s happened today,” Max answered.

  They both laughed. It felt good to laugh with her again. It was something that he missed more than he was willing to admit. She had a beautiful laugh.

  “Well at least let me get some of this dried blood off your head,” she said. She grabbed a rag off of the counter across the room and ran some water onto it. “Sit down.”

  Max reluctantly sat back down on the table as Kennedy walked over to him. She came in close and pressed the damp rag firmly against his forehead. Max flinched.

  “Sorry!” she exclaimed. “Does it hurt?”

  “No, it’s just really cold,” Max laughed.

  Kennedy moved the rag more delicately across his forehead – back and forth slowly. She was only a couple of inches from Max, and he couldn’t help but notice how good she smelled.

  “I’m glad you came along,” Max said.

  “It’s not like I had much of a choice,” she said, moving to the opposite side of the room and rinsing out the rag. “I couldn’t let you and Noah follow Donovan down the rabbit hole by yourselves. What would you two do without a level head amongst you?” She brought the damp rag back over and continued to clean the blood from the wound that no longer existed.

  “Do you really think that this is Wonderland?” Max asked. “Do you think we’re dreaming all of this?”

  Kennedy knelt down to eye level with Max. He couldn’t help but admire how beautiful she had become. He resented himself for all the time that had been wasted by misguided feelings. It felt like eons since the last time that they had spoken. Now she stood in front of him. Her face was inches from his.

  “If this is a dream,” she began, “I’m glad that I’m here with you…”

  Someone knocked loudly on the door. Noah stuck his head through the door.

  “You’re alive!” he exclaimed. “Guys, Max is alive!”

  Noah entered through the doorway. He was followed by Donovan and Melotta. She bolted over to Max and wrapped her arms around his neck. She began showering him with kisses.

  “My champion,” she said between pecks.

  Melotta kissed him deeply on the mouth. Max felt his knees go weak, despite the fact that he was still sitting down. He felt his heart quicken. He felt butterflies. When she finally let go of him, Kennedy had left the room.

  * * *

  “What are we going to tell our parents?” Noah asked.

  The group had gathered in the training room, after getting a full night’s rest. Now that they were rested and he had been officially declared the Guardian, Max hoped he would be given some advanced training on how to use these newly developed abilities of his. At the very least he expected a crash course on how not to kill himself when using these powers.

  Donovan and Noah stood next to the two tables of odds and ends; Noah had found another snow globe and was tossing it up into the air. Kennedy sat in a small chair in the corner of the room, her arms folded across her chest. Max thought she looked angry and contemplated reading her mind, but decided against it. He had to learn to respect the privacy of his friends’ thoughts.

  “I mean,” Noah continued, “I have a feeling that my parents have probably called the police and are filing a missing persons report as we speak. And I would imagine Kennedy’s parents are doing the same.”

  “What is up with all the snow globes?” Max asked.

  Noah grinned at him as he tossed the object in the air again.

  “Do not throw that at me,” Max said, noticing Noah’s grin.

  “Don’t read my mind,” Noah said, pointing a finger at him.

  “I didn’t have to,” Max said.

  “Hopefully you won’t have to tell them anything,” Donovan said, interrupting their squabble. “Time moves at a slightly slower pace on Sidus Refugium due to the significantly slower orbital speed of the planet.”

  “How much slower?” Kennedy asked.

  “Only a few hours have passed on Earth,” Donovan said with a smile.

  “No way,” Noah said, “we’ve been up here for almost a full day.”

  “I am afraid that we do not have time for me to explain the complexities to you,” Donovan said.

  “Then how about you just explain the simplicities to me,” Noah sneered.

  “The laws of physics are universal. Einstein’s theory of relativity is surprisingly accurate for a human, although there are some Furtorians who speculate that Einstein was half Angrothian.”

  Noah stood there with a blank look on his face.

  “You are familiar with the theory of relativity, aren’t you?” Donovan asked. “The twin paradox? Sidus Refugium revolves almost twice as fast as Earth. Time seems to pass at normal speed, but in actuality, while we are on this planet it is moving at a much slower rate.”

  Noah continued to stare blankly.

  “If you cannot grasp a basic understanding of your own planet’s rules and laws, then how do you expect to understand the laws of the universe?” Donovan asked. “What part of the theory do you not understand?”

  “Who’s Albert Einstein?” Noah asked.

  Max couldn’t help but to burst into laughter. Noah glared and then hurled the snow globe at him. Max, who had focused his attention on Donovan’s perplexed expression, turned to see the object rocketing toward his face. Without hesitation, he closed his eyes and imagined himself standing beside Noah. When he opened them, he saw the glass sphere speeding away from him through the air. Max extended his arm, causing a blue energy beam to come rocketing out of his palm. The beam hit the orb, and it exploded in midair.

  “Whoa-” Noah began, but was quickly interrupted by Max grabbing his arm. Max directed a small amount of his energy through his hand and into Noah. The shock was enough to knock Noah off his feet and send him into a crumpling mess on the floor. Kennedy covered her mouth to keep from laughing aloud.

  “Your instincts are absolutely incredible,” Donovan said to Max.

  “Ouch,” Noah groaned from the floor.

  “I told you not to throw that at me.”

  “Duly noted,” Noah groaned, trying to get up from the floor.

  Max extended his hand in an offer for help.

  �
��No thanks,” Noah said. “I’ve seen that trick before.”

  “I’ve arranged for someone to accompany you two back to Earth,” Donovan said, motioning to Noah and Kennedy. “Noah, if you could inform Mrs. Baker that Max will be spending the night with you again, that should give us enough time to get through a good portion of his basic training.”

  “As much as I would love to have a conversation with Evelyn,” Noah grinned and winked at Max, “how do we know that as soon as we leave you’re not going to pit him against another butt-faced demon?”

  Like flipping a switch, Max flicked his wrist and a blue fireball emerged; it wrapped around the entirety of his hand.

  “Not cool,” Noah said, stepping behind Donovan. “You can’t threaten me with death any time that I make a joke about your mom. Besides, I was just looking out for you.”

  “Who says I can’t?” Max asked. He flicked his wrist a second time and the blue flames disappeared. “And I can take care of myself.”

  “Good,” Kennedy said, getting up from her chair, “because I’m ready to go. Where are these escorts?”

  “Kennedy,” Max said, but stopped. He could see in her eyes that pleading with her would be useless. They were back to non-speaking terms.

  “Why are you acting like that?” Noah asked her. Instead of answering, she just turned her attention to Donovan.

  “Can we please leave now?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

  “The escort will take you from the gateway back to Forest Valley,” Donovan continued. “Once you two are back, I ask that you keep a low profile. We will have a sentry at each of your homes to look for more scout demons. The Council strongly believes that Ausiris will be looking to make a move very soon. Max and I will return late Sunday evening. At that point we can meet up with you at the library to discuss future plans for you two.”

  “What do you mean future plans?” Kennedy asked. Her face twisted in what Max thought looked like disgust.

  “Many, many years ago there was a prophecy. This prophecy not only told of how the Guardian would be chosen and how he would take on a great evil force, but it also spoke of a team of individuals that would aid Max during his journey. It was not a coincidence that you two were with Max at the library. And to say that your roles are anything but critical would be a huge understatement.”