Pursuit of the Zodiacs

by Walsh, Nathan

  Leo parried the sword strikes and delivered a blow that knocked Adam halfway across the field. No longer in his half-man, half-Lion form, Leo ran toward Adam while morphing and charging on all fours. He pounced, but Adam’s Supernatural Carpet intervened and knocked Leo to the side of the house where his dead children resided. The sight of his home infuriated Adam even more. He ran toward a downed Leo and unleashed more sword strikes, outclassing the Zodiac. Leo released a roar that caused Adam to back off, drop his Super Sword, and grab his ears. Back in his half-Lion form, Leo grabbed Adam and delivered a series of punches. Leo did not have the heart to kill his friend. He’d suffered enough. A fatigued Adam admitted defeat.

  Both Leo and Adam changed back into their humanoid forms.

  Adam, tears streaming down his face, asked Leo one more question. It would be the last time the two old friends would ever speak. “Tell me, Leo, is my Son Paul with Ursula? Is he still alive?”

  Leo answered, “Yes, he is with her. That boy will be strong, stronger than all Zodiacs combined. Give it time, Adam. You will reunite with them soon, Brother. Farewell.”

  Adam spoke to himself, “Alas, there is some comfort to the worst day of my life.”

  The time of the gathering between Bishop and Lucifer arrived. War strategies were discussed among all other things. Both frontrunners brought their own support, making the numbers in the Dimension greater than anticipated.

  Bishop inquired, “Why so many Lucifer? Do you not have my trust?”

  Lucifer surveyed Bishop’s following, every bit as great. “You should speak. Your multitude seems greater than mine, Bishop.”

  Bishop wanted to move forward with plans. He motioned Lucifer to be seated. “Shall we?”

  In the midst of the secret remote Dimension, the two dismissed their men to wait in a field and merge. They both headed toward a private area to discuss strategy accompanied by trusted, neutral Master Archangels.

  Bishop commented, “I see one of your Master Arch’s is absent. Where is Crusix?”

  Lucifer replied, “I sent him to join your other Master Arch’s to guarantee the death of Michael. Hopefully they prevail this time.”

  Bishop agreed, “Yes, Michael, very elusive that one. Such a hard one to kill.”

  They laughed, both sharing a long history with a soldier of their common enemy. They even went so far as to place a wager: the first to kill Michael would receive thirteen kingdoms.

  Lucifer continued, “As you may know, as we speak, the Children of Sirius are at war with the Dark Graduates.”

  Bishop replied, “Yes, I am aware of that. I could care less about them. They can wipe each other out of the Galaxy and history books, for all I care.”

  Lucifer spoke, “You speak too soon, Bishop. The Dark Graduates would be a huge addition to our ultimate plan. Representatives from all over the Galaxy, even parts that are yet to be discovered, take part in their annual meetings.”

  “Well, what are you waiting for? Will you give them aid?” Bishop asked.

  Lucifer answered, “Yes, I’ve already dispatched thousands of my followers to their location.”

  Bishop said, “You have had differences with Noah the leader of the Dark Graduates in the past. How do you know if he’ll accept your help?”

  Lucifer said, “Trust me, he will submit.”

  Bishop said, “I’m not going to ask what you are up to, Lucifer. Just make sure my Archangels are unharmed during your excursions.”

  Lucifer replied, “Certainly.”

  As they went over strategy, Angels hid in the clouds the whole time. They watched to see if the rumors of this alliance held water, and they did.

  Thousands upon thousands of Lucifer’s minions and Demon Master Arch’s stood alongside Bishop’s own Soldiers and his Master Archangels. They practiced formations, looked at star maps and anything else relative to domination.

  Enemy satellites and war craft announced the detection of spies. Snipers bombarded the sky with lasers. Unfortunately for the Angels, both Lucifer and Bishop’s forces worked impeccably as a team. Three of the spies’ craft met fire and plummeted to the ground. The other Angels who survived the attack dove down after their comrades when they had to abandon ship. But it was too late. They watched as Demons caught the Angel’s fall in midair. The remaining Archangels left their comrades in the hands of Devils, too many opposed them with suppressive fire.

  Disgusted, Bishop’s men looked on as the Demons beat the spies, and things got heated when they ate the flesh of the captured Archangels. They hollered in torment. Unable to take it anymore, Bishop’s men retaliated. Infighting erupted within the campground.

  Word of the fighting between their followers reached Lucifer and Bishop. They both entered the field to discipline their men.

  Bishop asked, “What’s this disturbance?”

  Lucifer ordered, “Stop this!”

  The two had their Master Archangels separate their men. Both opposing parties stated their arguments.

  “Bishop, we know half of these men. Despite our differences, it is immoral to have these Devils have their way with them. They should be given an honorable death due to our history.”

  Bishop agreed, “I believe he is right. If we capture our own, it is best that we be permitted to carry out the execution.”

  One of the Demons stepped forward. “What difference does it make? They are our enemies. They would not show us mercy on the battlefield, so we shouldn’t show them mercy. In the end, death will cloud out any recollection of torture.”

  Zacharia countered, “Spoken like a true Devil with no honor. What can we really expect from these abominations, anyway?”

  Bishop ordered, “Zacharia, hold your tongue.”

  Lucifer replied, “I can assure you, you have nothing to fear. And you are right. You do have the right to execute any Angel we capture. Just make sure if you come across any Redeems you hand them over to us.”

  Redeems were also known as Restored. Devils born again through repentance, they rid themselves of the Mark of the Beast, were baptized in Holy Water, and followed God. They stood as an abomination to all Luciferians. Redeems, unquestionably, were considered marked for death under the same classification of God.

  “Come, I know of a secret route that will get us there quicker,” Grenad said. Ozias and Grenad carried on with their orders to inform God of Bishop and Lucifer’s alliance. They headed through the secret passageway. Again, they smelled death. They covered their noses. “What has happened here? I don’t remember it being so misty and, my God, the stench!”

  Ozias whispered and touched Grenad’s shoulder. “Brother, we have no time. Let’s head back before these beasts catch our scent.”

  Grenad pointed in a different direction. “No, let’s go this way. The way out is not too far. It’s just up ahead. Let’s move quietly.”

  They saw giant reptilian beasts, distant relatives of spiders. As the two moved in silence, they observed the casualties hanging lifelessly high in their webs. They reached a dead end with nothing but the sheer drop of a cliff in front of them.

  “There’s nothing beyond this point, Brother. You’ve been mistaken,” Ozias remarked.

  Grenad walked around to see if he could find anything familiar. “Ozias, check by that cliff as I check behind these bushes.”

  They split from each other to see if they could find a road or another Dimension heading out of this hopeless land. Ozias saw more of those beasts, just resting, waiting for their next meal to wander in their webs. “Do you see anything over there, Grenad?” Ozias didn’t get a response.

  From the corner of his eye, Ozias noticed Grenad advancing towards him with both his hands unsheathed. Grenad’s touch of death closed in. Ozias dodged a fatal attack to the head, but not from his arms. Both of Ozias’s arms set to detonate. Ozias kicked him down, releasing him from his grasp. Grenad hit the ground as Ozias plummeted down the cliff towards the monsters.

  Grenad stood up, brushed himself off, and sheathed
his hands. Ozias, on the other hand, had to engage with a few of the beasts with his laser-powered weapon. After he ran out of ammo, he chopped down at the reptilian-like beasts with his Stealth sword; capable of camouflaging itself against anything it touches. The lucky ones wisely retreated. Ozias felt numbness in both his arms. He observed them as encryptions began to surface. He came to terms knowing that in a matter of time, they would part from his body.

  Ozias yelled after the retreating creatures. “Yes, you bastards. This is one meal you’re going to have to work for!”

  He saw Grenad shaking his head from the top of the cliff.

  Ozias yelled, “Grenad? What’s this? You’re the traitor.”

  Grenad replied, “You fools, did you think for one second after Jesus, the sacrifices would end there? His methods are pathetic! You are no match against the Zodiacs. Your only purpose is to soften them up. This campaign is nothing more than a suicide run.”

  Ozias said, “If that must be our fortune, so be it. Tell me, Grenad, who was worth betraying the Lord thy God? Lucifer, Heru, Muhammed? Never mind, it doesn’t matter. Whoever it is, they are most certainly a fool for believing they could go against their Creator.”

  Grenad spoke, “After our victory, the only name that will remain will be Bishop!”

  Ozias answered, “My disappointment in you exceeds the stench of this place. Okay, Grenad, I’m ready to meet my Creator, and may he show no mercy on the day of your Judgment. Get on with it!”

  Grenad clapped his hands three times and both of Ozias’ arms exploded. The pain was so severe that he hit the ground in agony. Grenad didn’t have the stomach for what he had witnessed. He headed toward the entrance that they had come through. The beasts of the field regrouped. They couldn’t resist the urges surfacing due to the smell of Archangel blood. They tore into Ozias, but not without his cry reverberating throughout the entire field. Grenad covered his ears as he fled.

  Chapter 28

  HEMOPHOBIA

  She hid in a storage room, huddled there as armed guards passed her in the war-torn halls. She kept her balance as the whole base violently trembled and quaked. The armed guards closed in, and she had little time to plan her next move. Lucille searched for anything that could help her escape. She lucked out when she found a new helmet and spacesuit. She needed a spacecraft to get out of this place. She continued looking, and at one point glanced out a side window. “What’s this?” Thousands of Demon spacecraft rose up over the Eastern horizon. “Whose side do they fight for? Or, do they share a common hatred for both the Dark Graduates and the Children of Sirius?” She didn’t want to stick around to find out.

  She trod down the hall, fooling more Dark Graduate soldiers, clad in the same uniform as her new enemies.

  “Hey! That’s not your craft! Get down from there!” Lucille shot the Reptilian engineer in the head. She boarded the craft and sat in front of the cockpit. Reptilian guards entered the front of the craft. They meet a barrage of laser fire from her transport, a runway for her escape. She destroyed more pursuing enemy craft, leaving the Dark Graduates to whatever fate awaited them.

  BACK ON VENUS

  Crusix, along with his army and Bishop’s five Master Archangels, Ezra, Leviticus, Genesis, Exodus and Amos, infiltrated Michael’s front line. Fighting spilled out onto the streets and into the air. Vastly outnumbered, Michael fought his way to one of his dead signalers, retrieved the communications device, and pulled it from the hands of the dead corpse. However, he did not send out the signal to retreat, but did signal reinforcements. Even though he couldn’t allow any more of his men to perish, if they departed during battle, the whole city would be at the mercy of these Devils. He threw the communications device away and went to meet his enemies.

  He set his eyes upon his first opposing Master Archangel, Amos. Amos thrust his sword forward, confident that it would meet Michael’s throat. However, Michael swiftly sidestepped the blow, causing the Master Arch to stumble and lose his weapon. Michael spun around and chopped down at Amos’s leg with his axe. As Amos crawled towards his sword, Michael finished him with a blow to his skull.

  Michael saw Ezra beheading one of his soldiers. Michael chopped down at her with his axe. She blocked the attack with her round silver special shield and swung her long sword. He dodged the sharp blade and kicked her into an incoming crowd of her own soldiers.

  Crusix wielded his mace, and it connected with Michael’s golden shield. The force tossed the shield into the crowd of hostile soldiers. “Die, Michael!” Crusix yelled. Still smeared with Amos’s blood, Michael struck Crusix across his chest. The armor bent under the blow, but stopped the axe. Still wounded, he exited with Michael’s axe still lodged in him. Michael took out another weapon from his inventory, pressed a button on the handle and went to work with his infamous two-handed sword. He delivered deadly blows to any Demons that dared to confront him.

  A spacecraft’s blaring sound pulsated over the battlefield.

  Clouds parted, and onlookers saw a craft the length of two football fields suspended stationary in the sky, without movement or further sound. Another sound boomed, and the spacecraft opened up. Raphael, along with well over a thousand soldiers made up of all classes of origins, descended from the large craft to meet the traitors and Luciferians in battle. Some were Annunaki, some were Reptilians, and some were the Children of Sirius. Nevertheless, they united as soldiers of God.

  “Took you some time, but you are here, Brother.” Michael greeted Raphael as Crusix and his army fled towards all exits of Venus.

  “I’m disappointed. They flee before we can provide punishment. Let’s pursue,” Raphael replied.

  Michael said, “After you, Brother.”

  DRACUUL, GOLIATH AND DANIEL RETURNED TO THE KINGDOM ONLY TO SEE DEAD GUARDS SCATTERED ABOUT LEADING UP TO THE LAB.

  Dracuul grabbed a dying Vampeer. “What happened here?” The Vampeer uttered a name: “Fidor.”

  Overwhelmed, Dracuul dropped the Vampeer and spoke, “No, he couldn’t! No!”

  Dracuul stepped over the bodies of scientists and genetic engineers and conducted a thorough search through the lab. All the blood samples labeled in their respective compartments had gone missing. Down a hall, he discovered all of the containers from his most valuable collection emptied and shattered on the floor.

  They left the lab, followed the trail of emptied and broken containers and found Fidor sitting on Dracuul’s throne. His arm grew back in place, and two more arms fixed him properly in the chair.

  Infuriated to see Fidor sitting on his throne, Dracuul said, “Fidor! What the fuck have you done, you bastard!”

  Fidor, drunk with the power of sitting on Dracuul’s throne, a seat he had always coveted, said, “Silence, bitch. I’ve beaten you to the great punch.” He laughed at Dracuul. Neither he nor his followers could do anything about it. Fidor had fashioned himself into a god.

  “Not that you would’ve given a damn whether I lived or survived your sorry display of a suicide run. After that bastard removed my arm, I took it upon myself to resign from your stupid campaign completely. I nearly bled to death from my wounds. I stopped a carriage and came across your final ingredients silently making their way to your kingdom. I figured out all my options and came to a wise conclusion. I could either bleed to death or become a god. Therefore, I bled those Virgins dry and made my way to your lab, killing anyone who tried to deny me entry. What the fuck do you think I would desire? Furthermore, I could not bear the thought of having a bastard like you rule this place for another thousand years. That would be ludicrous.”

  Dracuul replied, “I guess you didn’t expect us to return here alive?”

  Fidor answered, “I must admit I’m quite impressed that you did survive. Where’s Dynamo? I don’t see him. Did you leave him there to die as well? His absence alone answers all my queries.”

  Dracuul said, “He’s dead, and Victoria made sure there was nothing we could do about it.”

  Fidor commented, “So,
I assume the Queen is dead too? Of course, it would not have been possible without your two abominations present. How did you ever get two Archangels to turn?”

  Dracuul disregarded his question and said, “Thief! That is none of your concern, you bastard!”

  Fidor said, “Hmm, I suppose it doesn’t matter. Fuck you, Dracuul. Now, kneel before me, or meet death.”

  Dracuul gave Daniel and Goliath a sickened look. His face wrinkled from all the emotion boiling through his veins. The next move would determine whether they lived or died. His decision would also put the two Pursuers at risk since they remained under his authority. Dracuul didn’t care. His ego was too great. He worked too hard for those samples and would stop at nothing to get them back.

  Dracuul motioned to The Pursuers. “Daniel and Goliath, kill him!”

  Fidor, not entirely surprised, spoke, “You are a fool, Dracuul. You’re willing to sacrifice them just so you can get a good chance at me? Despite my differences with these two, I must admit their gifts are indeed superb; and quite frankly, your greatest accomplishment yet, ha-ha-ha. It’s a pity they must die on behalf of their stupid Host.”

  Dracuul answered, “Enough of this idle chit-chat. Let’s see what you can do with all that power, Fidor!”

  More protestors occupied the streets of Rome. They displayed civil disobedience, but it wouldn’t be long before injustice would bring forth outright rioting. Jacob walked through the crowd in complete despair. “You are all fools! They do not care to listen! You are wasting your time!” He yelled, but no one acknowledged him.

  The elevated chants of other people trying to get their point across drowned out his warnings. He continued and came upon something peculiar. On top of a cathedral roof, four strange men on flying horses examined the protestors. “Is no one else seeing this shit?” Jacob continued looking up until one of them spotted him. That’s when they decided to take their leave.