Pursuit of the Zodiacs

by Walsh, Nathan

  Crusix took the Scroll. “Yes, much appreciated, Bishop. We shall meet again … soon.”

  Crusix left Bishop’s Kingdom with one of the most powerful Scrolls anyone could be fortunate enough not only to set their eyes upon, but also to read.

  Chapter 26

  ART THOU SIRIUS?

  “And there shall be signs in the Sun, and in the Moon, and Stars.”

  – LUKE 21:25

  Levi chopped down Capricorn’s Dead Rising minions left and right while advancing towards a defiant Zodiac. While his comrades were busy fighting inside and unaware of the danger outside, Levi moved in before Capricorn completed his sinkhole.

  Levi knocked Capricorn into a tree. The impact somehow brought life to that same tree due to his gifts. It extended its limbs around and grabbed him, holding Capricorn tight against its bosom, awaiting the Zodiac’s command as if it was a mindlessly obedient machine.

  “Interesting,” an impressed Levi commented, notwithstanding certain death gazing upon him. The Pursuer switched into his signature rock-humanoid form and hoped to survive the ultimate punishment.

  The flesh-eating Devils that arose from the massive hole in the floor of the training room diminished. Justus pressed two against the wall and decapitated them. He joined Daniel and Goliath as more fiends approached. Dracuul descended from a portal aperture in the ceiling. He grabbed Justus by the throat and threw him across the training room into a stack of bookshelves.

  Dracuul ordered, “Come, it is time. Your service is required.”

  “A Vampeer?” Justus said, struggling for breath.

  Under his authority, and without pause, Daniel and Goliath obeyed the Vampeer. Both followed him into that same portal that had opened up in the ceiling.

  Justus yelled, “Wait! Daniel! Goliath! What are you doing? Where are you goi—“

  Justus dropped his guard, and Dead Rising minions savagely bit into the Pursuer. Their numbers proved too great. They consume his flesh.

  “No!” Natenal saw the portal closing. To his left, Dead Rising minions sunk their teeth into his Brother’s flesh. Enraged, Natenal blasted the dead with a series of Hellfire and Lightning from his two-handed “Hevil” sword. The walls and floor were plastered with scalded ligaments.

  After clearing the training room, Natenal grabbed the blood-battered body of his dying comrade and removed his hybrid mask from his head. He still held breath. Yet, Justus’s injuries were too severe. He started shaking erratically while coughing up blood. Natenal drew his ear closer to Justus’s mouth in time to gather his Brother’s last words, “A, a Vampeer took t-tooo-k-k them, bee-ee str-rr-oonngg, Broo-thers.” His struggle to speak ceased. Justus was dead.

  A devastated Natenal remained calm as he closed his comrade’s eyes. “We will meet in Paradise, my Brother.” He left his dismembered body there after hearing Devils regrouping in the hole in the ground. A brief Earthquake occurred. And, judging by its intensity, he knew that the safehouse was on the verge of collapse. He went in search of the remaining Pursuers.

  Outside, Levi held his ground. He couldn’t quite figure out how to overcome the Zodiac child’s offense. Nonetheless, he had succeeded in staying alive.

  “Pursuer, you have a hard time dying,” a frustrated Capricorn said while kicking Levi a few yards into a nearby toolshed. Blood seeped through fissures in his weakening rock-humanoid form.

  Abdeen intervened, loosing a meteor shower that set the enormous tree ablaze. Capricorn escaped the tree just in time before it was fully engulfed in flames. He fell into the arms of his departing bloodthirsty minions; and to Abdeen’s surprise, they did not harm him.

  “So you are the one responsible for these Devils, Zodiac?” An angered Abdeen shouted.

  He descended into the Underworld unleashing a few more Dead Rising Minions as sacrifice to guarantee an escape, while the rest of The Pursuers prudently vacated the safehouse, which they watched surrender to the Zodiac’s sinkhole.

  Adam asked, “Now what? Do we pursue?”

  Abdeen replied, “There could be millions of those monstrosities down there waiting for us to make that mistake.”

  After seeing his blood-stained armor, Ozias ran to Natenal and inquired about his health. Natenal responded, “I am all right, but I have troubling news. Justus has fallen.”

  The remaining group didn’t take the news well. They prayed and hoped for Justus’s safe passage through the Judgment Realm.

  Zodeen asked, “How did this happen? And, where’re Daniel and Goliath?”

  Natenal answered, “I won’t get into too much detail, but he’s fallen to the same Devils who attacked us. As concerns Goliath and Daniel, the very same Vampeer who’d given them their new gifts has taken them away. Before his passage, Justus mentioned them both being taken into a portal in the ceiling of the training room. I believe that Vampeer has other plans for them and is in need of their service. Our fears have been met with those two.”

  Abdeel added, “They might as well be added to our list of fallen, also.”

  Vincent said, “You could be right, Abdeel. They are lost unless their Host is eliminated. Only then will they be of service to you once more. Eliminate the Host and you’ll be able to continue your mission without any more uncertainty.”

  “You seem quite knowledgeable about these Vampeers, don’t you Vincent?” Abdeen inquired.

  Vincent answered while Irisan finished restoring his arms. “Yes, I do. You’re not the only one who has obligations. I have my own campaign that I must attend to. Now, if you’ll excuse me ...”

  Ozias interrupted, “Wait, someone’s coming.”

  They hid amongst the trees and braced themselves for more company.

  “What? What the Hell happened here?” Cancer said while descending from his meteor. He investigated the devastating sinkhole.

  “Have I gotten the coordinates wrong?” Cancer rechecked the locational information.

  Natenal removed himself from cover. “Worry not, Cancer. You were correct.”

  Caught off guard, Cancer surveyed the damage. “What happened here? Is everyone all right?”

  They brought him up to date. However, Vincent was not quite convinced that they should let a Zodiac join their unit.

  Cancer, devastated over the news, said, “Capricorn? I’m sorry for your loss, Brother. I know this must be hard for you.”

  Irisan said, “No need. Our Brother is on his way home. I envy him.”

  Vincent interrupted, “What do you care? Natenal, can you trust this Zodiac? After our experience, I don’t think any of these Zodiacs can be trusted.”

  Cancer replied, “Don’t you judge me. I’ve proven my loyalty enough already.”

  Natenal added, “Yes, Vincent, don’t worry yourself any further. Go and finish your assignment. I believe we’ve kept you from it long enough. Thank you for the help you’ve given us thus far.”

  Vincent left, but not without some parting words. ”Pursuers, may God be with you all.”

  The Bookkeeper recorded the events that took place, recorded their losses, and updated his notes.

  “An hour and a half left before we reach our destination,” Libra announced, while putting the craft on autopilot to go check on her inventory. Aquarius took over the controls. Minutes later, the radar displayed something heading towards them at a rapid speed.

  “What is it?” Sagittarius asked.

  Aquarius warned, “I don’t know, but brace for impact.”

  Sagittarius yelled, “Libra, we have company. Brace for impact!”

  Libra returned, but not in time to safely fasten herself in a chair. Aquarius grabbed the craft’s controls, taking it off autopilot. She maneuvered the craft, but it met firepower from several other warcraft.

  Aquarius shouted, “Damn it! We’re going down!”

  The engines failed. Aquarius fought to guide the heavily damaged craft to safety. However, their assailants continued firing upon them. While putting her gift of balance into use, she avoided bei
ng thrown around. Libra raised a force field around the battered craft, but it was too far gone. It plummeted from the sky, bounced off a city skyscraper, down into a busy city street, off a bridge, and finally came to rest under it all. Despite a rough landing, they had all survived; but Libra’s ability to walk on walls failed her. She fell hard against the fortifications of the craft. Stunned and with bruised ribs, Sagittarius and Aquarius had little time to recover her. They knew that their attackers were on their way to finish the job.

  Sagittarius grabbed Libra and set the craft ablaze in hopes of fooling their enemies.

  In disarray, Aquarius stumbled over logs and other objects in her path. They all headed into the woods as amazed onlookers approached the burning alien craft. They weren’t the only ones. Four more craft hovered over the site and shined their lights for survivors. Two of the four craft landed for an even more thorough search. They did not care who observed, which further proved the importance of their unknown objective. The other two craft scanned the area for any fleeing Zodiacs.

  Libra, though still in pain and being held up by Sagittarius, asked, “Who’s trying to kill us?”

  She didn’t receive an answer as they treaded through the rough wooded terrain as stealthily as possible.

  “Wait! Stop!” Aquarius whispered.

  They paused and hid behind an abandoned, beat up old van buried underneath a fallen tree. One of the alien craft slowly hovered not too far from them, beaming a light towards the ground. The craft landed, and they impatiently waited to mark the identity of their shooter.

  “Here, tend to her wounds while I get a closer look.” Sagittarius handed Libra to Aquarius and moved in closer. He thought he recognized the figures before him. “Vampeers?”

  He moved in closer to the point where Aquarius and Libra could no longer see him. Again, she whispered, “Sagittarius! Where are you going?”

  Sagittarius heard a voice in the back of his head saying, “Now’s the time,” and braced himself for an alien abduction. These Vampeers had evolved into something else. They had large skulls and were taller than the average Vampeer.

  Sagittarius said, “You picked the wrong one to abduct, you blood-thieving bastards. I will not become one of your lab rats.”

  Slowly moving to his left, Sagittarius could see a field with a group of humanoids beyond the tall grass. He saw reptilians and other beings he couldn’t identify, unclothed. “What’s going on here?” Not too far from the field, he soon discovered his answer. On the horizon, a set of red lights emerged. The hovering craft attached to those lights looked to be about twice the size of all other craft present. It abducted the piles of bodies aboard its ship. Sagittarius heard something on his right and next locked eyes with a Super Vampeer. Its massive head and ten foot frame brought the Zodiac no small measure of discomfort. It smiled and displayed its fangs. These bloodthirsty extraterrestrial Vampeers had death in their eyes. Sagittarius knew the abductees weren’t coming back home alive.

  “If you think I’m going to be another victim amongst that multitude, you are out of your gourd.” He thought to himself, and yet the extraterrestrial had understood and replied, “There is nothing you can do.”

  Betrayers of Dracuul were given orders to only take samples; but instead, their own thirst for power had turned them into nightmares. They became bloodthirsty, murderous Devils that tortured and ate their victims.

  Someone intervened saying, “Bring those Zodiacs to me.”

  The Super Vampeer replied, “Yes, Vega, you will see them shortly.”

  Pursued by heavily armed Super Vampeers, the view of a fresh stream not too far indicated that there had to be a lake or pond nearby. She put her source of power to work punishing an incoming Vampeer with a chopping burst of water that had a pressure so fierce, it penetrated the Vampeer’s heart, dropping her victim face-first in the dirt.

  “But I’m not in any condition to swim!” Libra cried as they neared a lake bridge.

  Aquarius answered, “Just hold on to me.”

  From the bridge, she jumped. Still close behind them, and without hesitation, the Vampeers followed them over the bridge. Aquarius unveiled one of her many gifts: her ability to walk on water. Her wings caught enough air for a safe landing. And, as she landed, she heard the splashing sounds of uninformed Vampeers dashing about the cold water.

  Aquarius froze the lake’s surface above the submerged Vampeers, trapping them under the ice. The Vampeers clawed at the thick ice depriving them of air. One-by-one they drowned. “If it doesn’t kill them all, that should at least hold them for a while in our absence,” Aquarius spoke, feeling satisfied with her handiwork.

  However, she spoke too soon. The craft hovered back and came to a halt directly overhead. Instantly, she felt light as she ascended into the craft’s cargo bay. They flailed their arms and kicked helplessly while being pulled thirty feet into the air.

  “Fuck!” Sagittarius shouted as he finished slaying the Super Vampeer. He snuck into and under a pile of unconscious bodies that had been left behind on the field in the desperate hope that the same craft would in time return to finish abducting the remaining bodies. His plan worked. That same craft abducted him.

  As he ascended with the other entities into the craft, he thought to himself. “Those two had better still be alive.”

  BOOKKEEPER’S NOTES

  “The Pursuers didn’t sleep as much as they use to. They knew going into this mission that these dreams were only revelations of their past lives, back in time on a familiar Earth. And when they did, they woke up in cold sweats, incapable of bearing the nightmare. Each one of them seemed to have had a cruel ending. All of their lives cut short in some horrific manner. They compared notes, and every dream had the same occurrence, like a television show re-run.

  Did Lucifer already know this Pursuit of The Zodiacs was underway?

  I sensed foul play, but what do you expect from the Devil? We still have yet to find out which one of The Pursuers is the traitor, the mole for Lucifer, Bishop or some other entity.

  How the deal for the souls of mankind came about is a question beyond anyone I know. But here we are.

  The rules had been broken, and Lucifer was devouring souls by any means. But he didn’t intervene in any of these skirmishes. At least he lived up to that end … but for how long?

  We lost Justus today.

  I’m burdened. We all are.

  Each day grew more and more uncertain and took a toll on the faith of the mission. None of them wanted to admit it, but the expression on their faces told me otherwise. Natenal was the hardest one to read out of them all. I could see why he was chosen to lead this assignment. Even at a young age, Capricorn is very strong, but he has yet to meet the cusp of an Elder Zodiac. I would hate to see that day come. I never saw anything like it. I can only imagine the threat they would become if all of the Zodiacs became one. That’s why prevention is somewhat eminent. Cancer seems loyal, but will he allow any more of his kind to fall under the hands of The Pursuers? That answer is yet to come. Daniel and Goliath are gone, lost to the Vampeers. What happened to those two in that Dimension is beyond my comprehension, but I hope they’ll be freed from that Vampeer’s control soon. If Vincent was right about eliminating their Host in order to free our Brethren, Goliath and Daniel, it is worth the risk in getting them back. But there’s still no word of a rescue mission. The Zodiacs seemed more important to them at this point.”

  End of Bookkeeper’s Notes

  “What the Hell happened back there? I’m surprised any of you survived.” Taurus remarked.

  Taurus and Pisces returned after witnessing the carnage Aries had left behind at the Cathedral.

  The Pope answered, “Yes, Taurus, my Cathedral is in ruins by none other than your Zodiac counterpart. Never in the history of this Cathedral’s existence has anyone been able to accomplish such a job. Most wouldn’t even get past my Mercenary Nuns, let alone manage to spill the Vampeer blood of a Pope.”

  Pisces said, �
��A Vampeer?”

  In response to this brief inquiry, the Pope regurgitated a lengthy narrative:

  “Yes, a Vampeer. Well, I might as well enlighten you two with this story while we wait for the Four Talismen to arrive. Over a thousand years ago, a secret society came into existence. Of course, if you look at me you couldn’t tell, but that’s one of the many benefits of being a Vampeer. Seven families, sworn enemies at the time, came together to fight a common enemy who became so powerful the alliance was not just an option, but an absolute necessity. His name was Dracuul. Among others, this secret war never made the history books. But its very existence gave rise to the reality we are witnessing today.”

  He continued, “Even I must admit, the meeting itself was an abomination. Not an instance went by where we wouldn’t kill each other in those same secret Counsel Halls. But, nevertheless, there we were, as one, at the negotiating table. Among the families was Victoria, a Vampeer Queen representative for the Vampeers. She made it clear that Dracuul did not act on their behalf, but for his own gain and greed. There was Crusix, representative of Lucifer himself. Gabriel represented the Kingdom of Heaven. Oh, how we all despised him. Myself included. Countless individuals who attended those meetings wished a thousand deaths upon him, and he knew it. There was Jonathan, Father of Cameron and Uncle of Julius, my two most trustworthy couriers. He was a Super Human from Sirius, and so were they. We had Honda, representing the Reptilian Race. Lucia, who was a virgin of Earth. She was nothing too special, but her blood was one of the most critical key ingredients for Dracuul’s agenda. Last, but not least, Gemini and Leo, the only two Zodiacs successfully discovered. Not too many knew of the Zodiacs’ existence until that meeting, and their attendance justified the importance of it. Despite the rumors, they were not the two who were recently killed during The Pursuers’ campaign, but indeed their predecessors.

  Before my turning, my occupation as a spy stood supreme. I had been hired by Crusix himself to monitor all those present. Due to my excellent work, he received critical intelligence that kept him ahead of the game. His later success granted him promotion, and that explains why he became a Demon Master Archangel.