I delivered a ferocious kick directly up and under his chin. I kicked him so hard, it sent him several feet backward through the air. He shook it off, glared at me, and spat out a large portion of his tongue. I shrugged my shoulders at Akira.
“You just won’t sound the same any more, Akira,” I told him. “I sense a possible speech impediment in your future.” I laughed.
He gingerly stood and spat out blood and wiped his mouth. In a calculating manner, I circled him, waiting for the moment to attack. Now Akira seemed to be hesitant. He felt his sore jaw as he slowly narrowed the gap between us.
Akira was not the type to give up or surrender, so I know he’ll attack at any moment. And I’m ready. He got within a foot of me, and it’s obvious to me he wants to keep the duel at close range. Some warriors prefer it that way. He rapidly delivered several blows to my stomach, kidneys, and face. I responded with an open palm jab to his vulnerable throat, a hard one. He stumbled back and choked. He couldn’t catch his breath due to my strong hit that had partially collapsed his trachea. His eyes widened in pain and fear, an emotion I’m sure he had never felt in his life.
A few seconds went by, Akira could finally breathe, but just barely. His wound could quite possibly still kill him.
But I couldn’t take any chances. Akira bent over and picked up his sword. I guess this was an act of desperation, a last resort. I smirked at him because now I know he’s desperate.
“You sure you want to do that?” I asked him.
He moved toward me and took a swing, but I easily ducked, rolled across the sand, hopped up, and snatched my sword. I turned around, and much to my surprise, he was already behind me taking another swing at me. He sliced deep into my back, and I yelled out in pain. Blood spilled down my backside. I gathered my bearings and spun around with a slicing motion, and I connected across his stomach. It isn’t as deep of a cut as I hoped it would be. Akira came at me again and again. I must give it to him. He definitely had a high threshold for pain and a high level of perseverance. With all his strength, he sliced at my chest, but I’m too quick for him.
I flipped through the air over him and sliced my sword downward at the same time. I cut into his forehead all the way across his head and down his back by the time I land. He dropped to his knees. Blood poured out of him, and yet he still tried to attack me with sword swings from his knees.
I stood there and looked at him, trying the best he can.
What a shame to have to kill such a brilliant, tough as nails warrior such as Akira. However, he was the one who challenged me, and all challengers must be dealt with in the same and only manner I know how. It’s the code.
I stepped in front of him, but far enough away that he can’t wound me. I told him he had two choices. One, I can take him out. Or two, he can commit seppuku, which is an honorable way for a warrior to die by stabbing themselves in the stomach until dead. Each way is honorable, but a true warrior rather be killed by their opponent. And it didn’t surprise me when he chose the first choice. I raised my sword to slice off his head. He lunged forward and stabbed his sword through my stomach and out my back. I made a classic mistake and allowed myself to fall into a false sense of security. However, this wound only hurt like hell and slowed me down. Akira was shocked to see me barely affected by his blow.
“You’re one of the Chosen,” he told me.
He was even more shocked when he saw me swing my sword at his neck. His head rolled down the sand and into the ocean. I yanked out his sword and tossed it down the beachhead.
“Akira, you tricky bastard.”
He made me learn a lesson the hard way, and I would never make that mistake again.
Back at the church, I grip the mystery man’s broken wrist with a death grip. He winces in pain.
“Now, to reveal who the mystery man is,” I say with a hint of sarcasm.
Suddenly, I’m hit by repeated gunfire. It must be the Messenger. I release the mystery man and dive to cover.
“Long time, no see, Harvester,” the Messenger mockingly says.
I peer up to the window ceiling and I’m able to see the Messenger’s reflection and the mystery man escaping into the elevator. Senator Munley stays put. How am I going to play my cards here? I need Dorian and Kelly Marie to gain consciousness and very soon. I’m in a bad predicament but it could’ve been worse. Which brings the question to mind. Why did the mystery man decide to flee instead of aiding the Messenger? The plot thickens.
I hear a slight moaning sound coming from Dorian. This is a great sign. I look up to the window ceiling and see the Messenger sneaking around to get a better drop on me.
But more importantly, I see the weapon the mystery man was using. I make a mad scramble on my knees for it. I look behind me and see the Messenger aiming his gun at me. He fires right as I grab the weapon. I get shot in the thigh area as I snatch the weapon. I roll onto my back and fire it at the Messenger. He’s demobilized for a few seconds and then drops unconscious. I try to wake my crew up by slapping their faces a few times. Dorian wakes up first, then Kelly Marie.
“I’ve never seen a weapon like that before,” Kelly Marie states.
I shake the weapon at them. “Well, now, it’s in our possession, and Djinn will be able to replicate it.”
Dorian looks at the senator. “So what’s the deal with Senator Munley?”
“Not sure,” I say. “It’s like they have him on some powerful sedatives.”
“But if he’s on their side now, then why do they have to drug him?” Kelly Marie brings up an excellent point.
“I think right now, we should be considering if we send the Messenger to the After or keep him as a hostage?” I hand them this quandary.
“Definitely as a hostage. The Halo of Truth will work on him,” Dorian suggests, and he’s right.
“You have a good point, Dorian. Kelly Marie, you handle the senator. You’ll be able to lead him like a voodoo zombie. We’ll take care of the Messenger.”
An hour or so later, we’re at a secret Agency location. We don’t report our findings yet due to not knowing which of the six Agency Heads is the traitor. So for now, it remains just the three of us. Senator Munley sits by the wall handcuffed in a chair. The Messenger, due to his size and strength sits in a specialized chair made by Djinn that has an electric force field around it and no way of escape. He also has one of our Halo of Truths around his head. Dorian guards the door as Kelly Marie and myself are about to interrogate the Messenger, who is very pissed off that he has been captured.
“Where is Vega?” I ask him.
He pauses for a moment. “Rome, Italy,” he states in a sort of sluggish tone.
The Halo of Truth glows brighter, signifying he told the truth.
“What is Vega’s plan for Senator Munley?” Kelly Marie asks the Messenger.
“Power move,” he answers her.
The Halo of Truth glows brighter again.
“What kind of a power move?” I must know.
“Certain useful politicians will fall under Vega’s control,” he tells us.
The Halo of Truth glows brighter once again.
“If that were the case, why didn’t he keep the most important political head, the president, as a hostage?” Kelly Marie asks a brilliant question.
“Vega didn’t expect you to escape with him into your Black Door. He underestimated you,” he informs me.
As per norm, when someone is honest, the Halo of Truth glows brighter. It feels good to know I finally got one over on Vega.
“Does Vega know where you are right now?” Kelly Marie inquires.
“Yes,” he answers.
This makes the three of us worried.
“We need to leave now,” Dorian interjects.
And he’s correct. Vega could be sending any number of sick, twisted, devilish creatures to our location at any minute. But if he knows where the Messenger and the senator are, then why did he allow this interrogation to transpire?
Maybe he just found
out and is too late, but he most definitely will still attack.
“I believe we should leave the Messenger behind and take Senator Munley with us before Vega arrives,” I suggest to them.
“Shouldn’t we just send the Messenger to the After while we have the chance, so he doesn’t have the opportunity to retaliate like we know he will?” Kelly Marie asks and makes another good point.
“You have a good point. I’ll do it,” I inform them. I press a button on my belt and the electric field powers down. Then, I raise my sword to take the Messenger’s head for good.
There’s an incredibly loud, almost deafening rumbling noise that comes from behind the east wall to our complex.
We look at each other with wide eyes.
“They’re here!” Dorian exclaims.
“Quick. The Messenger.” Kelly Marie gets me back on track.
A massive explosion at the east wall sends all of us through the air and across the area. We hit the wall with such intensity, all of us have the wind knocked out of us.
An explosion of such magnitude means bad news for us. After I shake the cobwebs out of my dazed head, I look to where the east wall once was, and I don’t like what I see. Several Section 520 creatures scurry in and fly in. Two Section 520 Bats fly in, one Section 520 Wolverine, and one Section 520 Centipede climbs the walls and heads for us. Not to mention five Underworlders step through the smoke and rubble with swords in hand.
“We’re heavily outnumbered! Grab the senator and let’s move out, quick!” I instruct them.
Dorian picks the senator up and places him in a fireman’s carrying hold. Kelly Marie and myself lay down some serious firepower on our enemies. We move toward one of the exit doors. The Section 520 Bats swoop down on us right as we open the door and escape into the long hallway.
We move as fast as we can. One of the 520 Bats rips open the door with its claws and closes in on us with the 520 Centipede and 520 Wolverine in tow. The shit has now definitely hit the fan.
“Dorian, get to the vehicle. We’ll buy you some time,” I order him to do so.
He keeps heading for the exit and Kelly Marie and I stand our ground. The first 520 Bat is so close we can feel the wind blasts from its enormous wings.
“I’ll take care of the 520 Bat, Kelly Marie.”
She nods at me and just like that, I leap higher than it and land on its back. Its large fangs try to rip me to shreds. With all my strength, I plunge my sword through its neck. The 520 Bat lets out a hellish squeal of pain and crash lands beyond Kelly Marie. She battles against the 520 Wolverine, who is a ferocious, formidable foe. She overthrusts and the 520 Wolverine bites into her leg.
Wolverines have an insane amount of power in their bites.
Most zoologists will tell you that once they latch onto you, even if you kill it, their grip does not release. She screams in pain. I dash back to her to help, but this bastard of a creature is downright tough. It tries to fend me off with its human arms and attempts to claw me to death with its wolverine legs. I spot the others coming, so I rapidly slice into it with my sword and instantly kill it.
Its grip on her leg remains.
“This is gonna hurt,” I tell her.
I pull out two daggers from under my trench coat and jab them on either side of its mouth and pry open its mouth just enough for Kelly Marie to squirm lose. I help her to her feet as the 520 Centipede scurries toward us on the ceiling.
“Can you make it?” I ask her, but I already know her answer because she’s so strong.
“I’m fine. It’s just a flesh wound. Let’s get the hell outta here to fight another day.”
We make it to the exit door where Dorian is already awaiting us with opened doors. I help her get into the front seat, toss Senator Munley in the back, and I dive beside him.
“Go, go, go!” I shout at Dorian.
Dorian slams the gas pedal and rips out of the parking lot and onto the street where traffic impedes our quick escape. I look behind us and I see the 520 Centipede giving chase. It knocks aside cars and scares the shit out of every civilian who sees it. The remaining 520 Bat lands on our vehicle’s roof and immediately shreds the roof with its long, strong, razor sharp claws. Without telling one another, Kelly Marie and I fire our assault rifles up at it. We must’ve got a few good hits on it because it releases us and swoops down in front of our progress.
“Run that bastard over!” I shout to Dorian.
The traffic lets up so Dorian is able to speed up. The 520 Bat stands its ground and now I’m beginning to think it knows something that I do not. Too late now. Dorian rams into it, and it disappears under our vehicle. Its blood covers our windshield. Dorian turns on the wipers and clears the windshield of most of the blood. I quickly look behind us, but I don’t see the 520 Bat’s body.
“It’s holding on underneath us,” I holler to everyone.
“It won’t be for long,” Dorian retorts.
He radically swerves the vehicle back and forth, jumps up and over curb after curb, and finally slams on the brakes to come to an abrupt stop. I hop out with sword in hand. I peer behind us and see the Section 520 Centipede closing in on us. I quickly look at the undercarriage of our vehicle. The 520 Bat is gone, but I see one of its wings is stuck and there’s black blood dripping down onto the street.
“It’s gone, guys,” I inform everyone.
I hop back into our vehicle and glance down the road and see a suspicious vehicle speeding directly at us.
“We got company. Go, go, go!” I command Dorian.
He rips it into gear, slams the gas, and within a few seconds, we’re already doing sixty.
“You should’ve been a racecar driver, Dorian,” Kelly Marie states.
“People have been telling me that since WWII,” he tells her.
I peer over at Senator Munley and realize he hasn’t moved once, remains in a comatose type state, yet awake, and he doesn’t even blink. Very bizarre. What has the Underworld done to him, and is it reversible?
Dorian looks in the rearview mirror. “They’re gaining on us,” he informs us.
We’re rammed from behind, and this makes Senator Munley slump over a bit. I look back at the Underworlders’ vehicle, and I notice there’s only four of them. We can take ’em.
“Make a left at the next street, Dorian,” I tell him.
“There’s only four of ’em. We can handle this,” I add.
“I never did like to run from a fight,” Dorian says.
He makes a left hand turn onto Stone Avenue. I point out to him to go into the four level parking garage on the right hand side. I look back to make sure they’re still tailing us and they are. Dorian hightails it into the parking garage and heads for the next level.
“Don’t go to the top. We don’t want any freaky Bats unexpectedly dive bombing us. Second to the top,” I instruct Dorian.
“Makes sense. You got it, Harv.”
He drives to the third level and brakes hard. Only a few vehicles are parked here and nobody is around. We pile out of the vehicle and line up abreast and await our enemies. We obviously leave Senator Munley in our vehicle, but I lied him down so they can’t see him.
We hear the Underworlders’ vehicle screeching around the corner and now they head toward us. They stop about thirty feet away from us. Then, exit their vehicle with swords in hand. I’m glad it’s going to be a straight up sword battle. The four of ’em stare us down and we do the same.
There’s an eerie silence.
“I’ll take the two on the right. You two handle the other ones. Rock and roll?” I ask them.
They smile. “Rock and roll,” they simultaneously say.
In unison, we walk toward the four Underworlders. This spurns them on to do the same.
“No Harvesting. Send ’em straight to the After,” I let them know.
“I like your thinking, Harvey,” Kelly Marie says.
Dorian and Kelly Marie make movement gestures to the ones they will battle to silently let them
know that they want to battle. The two others look at me with cocky smiles. I shrug my shoulders then quickly attack both of them. I jostle left. I jostle right. I connect with a minor slicing blow to both of ’em. Now their smiles are nonexistent. Now I smirk at them and this angers them, just what I wanted to do. They approach me and I lead them into a false sense of security by backpedaling. This maneuver is effective as well as to safely separate my battle from Dorian and Kelly Marie’s battle.
“Give us Senator Munley, and we can avoid this whole battle thing, and we’ll let you live,” the first Underworlder propositions me.
“Oh, really? That’s all I have to do to avoid battling you two? What makes you think you two won’t be the ones with your heads separated from your bodies? Just curious,” I say with confidence.
They scowl with confusion and I smell the intimidation and fear emanating from them like an odor coming out of a sewage plant. This stench always makes me feel complete. I must admit that it does stroke my ego when I inhale that stench. I stand my ground and keep my sword half raised and don’t move a muscle. This is another Miyamoto Musashi technique. To not do anything and let your aggressor grow frustrated to the point of attacking you under high distress. Sometimes to do nothing, means to do everything.
I know one of ’em will break soon. And I spot the one who will trigger our fight. The second Harvester’s hands begin to shake and his sword bobs up and down a bit. He’s going to snap any moment.
While I wait for this moment, I allow my eyes to shift just slightly, so slightly that they don’t even notice I’m now seeing how Dorian and Kelly Marie are faring. They seem to be handling business as usual, but they haven’t bested their opponents yet, yet.
I focus my attention back on these two, and I know it’s going to blow up any moment. The second Underworlder hollers some sort of war cry and charges me. He’s full of yells, not skill for the battle. Before he even raises his sword, I slice across his stomach, and his intestines spill out onto the unforgiving, cold concrete.
The Harvester Page 19
